Rabbinic afterlife teachings varied in different places and times, and
was never synthesized into one coherent philosophy. As such, the
different descriptions of the afterlife are not always consistent with
each other. This is especially true for the descriptions of "Olam
Haba", the world to come. In some rabbinic works this phrase refers to
the messianic era, a physical realm right here on Earth. However, in
other works this phrase means Gan Edan, Paradise (in Heaven, so to
speak), a purely spiritual realm. At various points in the afterlife
journey, the soul is said to encounter:
* Hibbut ha-kever, the pains of the grave
* Dumah, the angel of silence
* The angel of death
* The Kaf ha-Kela, the catapult of the soul
* Gehenna (purgatory) and Gan Eden (Heaven; Paradise)
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought/section-9.html
