Afterlife in Judaism

[Jewscout]

First and foremost it should be pointed out that Judaism does not put a large emphasis on the afterlife. The point of existance is to be a good person now, in this world and not to concern yourself with what may or may not be waiting in the hereafter.

That being said there does exist an afterlife in Judaism and there are many differing opinions on what it may or may not be.
First off, Judaism does not teach about heaven and hell like in other faiths. there is no lake of fire, no eternal ****ation for those who do wrong. Lets face it we all do wrong, we're human it's sorta who we are.
The place that the vast majority of us will go is a place called Gehenna, which is sorta like purgatory and the max time one spends there is about 12 months (Shabbat 33b). During that time you are shown what your life was, and what it could have been had you lived up to your full potential. These images shows you not just yourself but all the ways your choice effected those around you. It is said that it is not the first set of images, but rather the second set which is the most difficult to watch, as we see what we could have been. And it is through this process that we are purified and then may enter into paradise.
What is paradise?
It is known as Gan Eden, but it is not the place in Genesis but rather a place of spiritual purity where we can be close to HaShem and live in His light of bliss.
but there are a small few, such as Pharoh of the Exodus story, and (most likely Adolf Hitler) who do not get either, their soul is not only cut off from G-d but is completely destroyed from existance.

Also there is the belief in the resurrection of the dead, which is one of the 13 Principles of Maimonides. It is believed that this will occur during the Messianic Era, also known as the Olam HaBa, the World to Come. Oddly enough this is also the term used to describe the afterlife.

But wait there's more!
There is also a belief in Jewish Mysticism of reincarnation, that the souls of the righteous are reincarnated again and again in order to continue tikkun olam, mending of the world. This also goes along to explain the belief that every jewish soul, whether born jew or convert, was at Sinai when the Torah was recieved.

as you can see there is a great deal on the afterlife, but mainly because we are not sure what awaits us in the place. It is said that the living can no more understand the afterlife than a blind man can understand color.

Now i'm sure the next question is how does one get the rewards in the afterlife. For the non-jew that is easy: Be a good person. Period. That's it! You win! If you want specifics here's a site on the Noahide Code, the covenant made w/ the nations of the world through Noah after the flood.
http://noahide.org/
And remember that the Noahide code is really more like guidelines than actual rules, and that we can not guess as to how we will each be judged when the time comes. But Judaism tends to be of the opinion that non-jews will have an easier time getting into paradise and reward than the Jew.
For the Jews, traditional Judaism stresses the observance of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah (of course one would have to exclude the mitzvot dealing w/ the Temple and things within Isreal if one lived in the Diaspora). It is often referred to as "The Yoke of Mitzvot" because it is a difficult, but ultimately rewarding, path to lead. These Laws are far more stringently enforced than that of the Noahide laws.

that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the afterlife in Judaism. But i think that gives a general idea of the different opinions and thoughts on the subject.