The body returns to the dust from which it was formed, as stated when Adam is told that he is dust and to dust he shall return (Bereishit 3:19), and Hegyonei Uziel, Gate I 6 explains that this dissolution of the body does not entail dissolution of the soul, which instead ascends back toward its source according to its own refinement.
The Gemara in Shabbat 152b teaches that the deceased retains awareness of what is said in his presence until the grave is sealed, or according to another view until the flesh decomposes, and that the body ('the dust') returns to the earth while the spirit returns to G-d who gave it. Moed Katan 28a likewise describes the moment of death itself, recounting that Rava asked for minimal suffering and later reported experiencing only the pain of a needle-prick, indicating that death for the righteous need not be agonizing. The vivid midrashic account in Various midrashim describes the angel of death confronting the dying person, the soul being made to testify to its deeds, and the righteous soul willingly handing itself over while the wicked resist.
Beyond the moment of death, the sources describe the soul's continued existence and eventual reward. Berakhot 17a and Mishneh Torah, Repentance 8:2 both describe the World to Come as a bodiless state for the souls of the righteous, without eating, drinking, or any bodily needs, who instead delight in the splendor of the Divine Presence; Sefer HaIkkarim, Maamar 4 30:1 cites this same teaching as one view among the sages on the nature of posthumous reward. Sulam on Zohar, Vayechi 170:1 adds that when the soul departs, departed relatives and friends accompany it and show it its place, whether of reward or punishment, and the righteous one ascends to delight in the supernal Garden of Eden. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 77:16 similarly teaches that when the soul leaves the body, the righteous greet it in peace, and that souls are gathered, the righteous with the righteous and the wicked with the wicked.
Several sources treat the interim state between death and the final resurrection. Recanati on the Torah, Bereshit:194 records that souls upon leaving this world first enter the lower Gan Eden, accustoming themselves to the light before rising to the greater light, and cites the Ramban's view that for the first twelve months the soul remains drawn to its former body and deeds. Recanati on the Torah, Achrei Mot:27 similarly describes the righteous entering a realm called Gan where they stand before the Divine Presence until the resurrection and the day of judgment, after which final reward is apportioned. Valle on Bereishis 49:31 describes the separation of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah after death, with the nefesh remaining at the grave, the ruach rising to the lower Gan Eden, and the neshamah to the upper Gan Eden, while Valle on Bereishis 15:17 reads "you shall go to your fathers in peace" as the soul's rest in its supernal source and the burial itself as the body's repose until decay. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 34:3 compares this state to sleep, in which the spirits of the dead wander the earth yet offer praise to G-d in anticipation of resurrection.
Ultimate resurrection and judgment are affirmed as well: many who sleep in the dust will awaken, some to everlasting life and some to disgrace (Daniel 12:2), and Sanhedrin 90b-91a derives from the verse "you who cling to the Lord your G-d are all alive today" that just as all Israel lives together in this world, so in the World to Come all will exist together. Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3:14 teaches that teshuva before death secures a share in the World to Come even for one who sinned his entire life, since nothing stands in the way of repentance. Job 14:13-15 gives voice to the longing to be hidden in Sheol until a set time of remembrance, raising the question of whether one who dies can live again.
Tzitz Eliezer (10:25) addresses the halachic question of how the moment of death itself is defined, discussing whether death is determined by the heart or the brain and noting the view that death is established by the cessation of breathing, a standard it describes as traditionally accepted.
A number of other sources develop related philosophical and mystical dimensions of what follows death. Rambam on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 and Guide for the Perplexed, Part 3 51:21-22 describe the perfected soul's death as a culmination of intellectual attainment and even liken the death of the righteous to a kiss, freed from bodily hindrance. Kuzari 1:109 similarly describes the divine soul separating from the senses to behold the upper world. Sefer HaIkkarim, Maamar 4 36:1 and Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Toldot Adam, Beit David:57 discuss whether ultimate reward is for the soul alone or for body and soul together, while Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Aseret HaDibrot, Pesachim, Matzah Ashirah 4:34 outlines stages of the World to Come, including the reward granted immediately after death. Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 29-31 and Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 36:7 frame the soul's journey in terms of the divine spark within it and the ultimate perfection reserved for the era of resurrection. Ein Aya, Berakhot 3:4, Ein Aya, Berakhot 1:96, and Ein Aya, Berakhot 2:50 reflect on death as revealing the soul's true fruits and as a necessary separation that allows the soul to attain fuller delight. Chiddushei Aggadot, Ketubot 75 and Chiddushei Aggadot, Ketubot 77 both contrast an animal's death, which is complete cessation, with human death, after which the soul endures and may attain Gan Eden and a closeness to the Divine unavailable while embodied. Kaf HaChaim (Palagi) 3:11 urges attachment to Torah in life so as not to regret, upon death, the loss of the ability to see and study. Sha'arei Kedusha, Part 1 3:3 ties the soul's completeness after death to fulfillment of the mitzvot during life. Michtav MeEliyahu (Rav Dessler) reframes death itself as not the departure of the body but the persistence of base bodily traits in the soul. Hegyonei Uziel, Gate III 43:2 and Notes by Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman on Netivot Olam, Netiv Hatorah 10:164 discuss the World to Come as a portion given to all Israel and reconcile the teaching that it includes no eating or drinking with the state of ultimate reward. Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah:5 anticipates that the future era will include eating, drinking, and joy for the righteous. Kiddushin 82a teaches that Torah study yields reward preserved for the World to Come, unlike worldly trades. Duties of the Heart, Fourth Treatise on Trust 2 speaks of G-d's exclusive care of a person from birth through old age to life's end. Chochma uMusar 1 p. 38 records an analogy comparing life to sleep and death to waking. Rav Yosef Yaavetz discusses the belief that the dead who will be resurrected do not return to dust, addressing objections to bodily resurrection.
Practical halachic concerns surrounding dying and burial also appear: Bava Batra 175a establishes that the words of a person on his deathbed are treated as if already written and delivered, since a dying person is presumed not to jest; Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 339:3-4 rules that one should not leave a dying person alone and that Tzidduk HaDin is recited as the soul departs; Peninei Halakhah, Family 10:6 describes the practice of those accompanying the deceased reciting words of awakening from Pirkei Avot about whence one came and whither one goes; and B'Mareh HaBazak Volume II 81:3 addresses the definition of the moment of death for organ transplantation, relying on cessation of breathing as the halachic standard. Even Sheleimah 7:11, Even Sheleimah 10:10, and Even Sheleimah 10:12 describe the fear and judgment attending the moment of death, the vision of the Divine Presence experienced by both righteous and wicked, and the series of judgments a person passes through before entering Gan Eden.
