The Seven Questions You're Asked in Heaven: Reviewing and Renewing Your Life on Earth

I read this book in a few hours. It made me laugh and it made me cry. It also made me think about my life and what I could do to live a better life. It is not about whether there is a heaven and if we will be accepted. It is about living life to it's fullest and being the best person we can be. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it.

Basic explanation of deep thoughts, presented in a fun way of story telling. I felt inspired! It’s almost a new year. A perfect time to reflect

Interesting perspective. My Rabbi spoke of the work during High Holy Days and he peaked my interest so I ordered the book. The book itself was disappointing. It was quite simplistic but did have a good point or two. Would have liked more adult development of ideas.

Needed book for a class that is ongoing.

Clear and concise.

|TITLE| The Seven Questions You’re asked in Heaven: Reviewing & Renewing Your Life on Earth|AUTHOR| American Jewish University Professor Ron Wolfson B.A., M.A., Ph.D.|REVIEWER| Josh Grossman, Colonel {r} U.S. Army medical Corps, M.D., FACP|BOOK FORMAT| soft cover - quality paperback|BOOK PAGES| 152 pages|BOOK ISBN-13| 978-1-58023-407-8|BOOK COPYRIGHT| 2009|BOOK PUBLISHER| Jewish Lights Publishing Woodstock, Vermont“Live the Questions Now”Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 -1926} “Hope never in extremity asked a crumb of me” Emily Dickinson {1830 – 1886)• I learned much from this exemplary text!• I plan to keep this book handy on my desk for ready reference in our study in our B’nai Sholom Synagogue in our lovely Upper East Tennessee Area as essential to my ikar (my personal learning journey}.•• All of our Synagogues, all of our College and University Hillel (Centers of Jewish Life on Campus) should have a copy for their attendee undergraduates and graduate students as well.•• My hatikva {Hebrew: Hope} and my reasonable expectation is that this outstanding book will make an excellent gift for our Synagogue/Temple youth on completion of their Bar and Bat Mitzvah.•• Mazel-Tov {Yiddish-Hebrew: Congratulations} to Professor Ron Wolfson Ph.D!

People do not need to learn and memorize seven answers to seven questions and recite the answers as a password when they die to assure entry into heaven and eternal bliss. No, the problem, as Dr. Wolfson stresses, is how people live here on earth. It is important to answer the seven questions he raises now to live a more productive and enjoyable life.All too many individuals have a passive life, although they do not realize it, a life in which they seem to wait for the moment of death when they can truly live. This passive life must be avoided.Wolfson drew his teaching from Jewish sources and fills his book with many inspiring examples and many interesting and illustrative stories - perhaps close to a hundred. The surprising lessons that he offers are significant for people of all faiths. A person does not have to be Jewish or observe Jewish practices to enter heaven. The doors are open to everyone who God created.The seven ideas that he offers are generally not what people would expect to hear, but when people read them they will realize that the seven can change and improve their lives. The following are two of them, told very briefly.People need to enjoy all the earthly pleasures that should be enjoyed. Imagine appearing before God and telling the Almighty that you decided that it was far better to avoid all the things that he placed on earth for you to enjoy! You would be saying to God that he is a fool, that you know better. This is the misguided approach of many people who fatuously think that they are "pious." They dress in dark ugly clothes, cover up their women, avoid wine, keep away from movies and do not "waste time" looking at TV or art. They do not enjoy living and will not enjoy their death. A highly respected Jewish sage surprised his disciples when he insisted on traveling to Switzerland. He explained, "When I stand before the Almighty...I'm sure to be asked: `Why didn't you see my Alps?"People also need to work to become the best that they can be? It is a waste to live an unfulfilled life. Imagine the dismay that parents would have if they see an unfulfilled person at the end of life; they had so much love for their child; they wanted so much for their child. Zusya once wisely said, when I die, God will not ask me was I as good as Moses. He will ask, have you been what Zusya could have been?Imagine having the opportunity to acquire ten million dollars and imagine being so foolish that you do not take advantage of the opportunity to have enough money to live a better life. This is what occurs when a person shunts aside the opportunity to enjoy life and the opportunity to be all that he or she can be.This is a book that can be enjoyed because of how it is written and how it can transform people to live the proper enjoyable life.

I rarely write negative reviews, but as much as I tried to like this book, I just didn't. It was a bit condescending at times. For example - Big surprise - you won't be asked if you made a lot of money or were famous when you get to heaven (yes, the author actually mentions this - as if people who are that shallow would read this type of book anyway). If you've ever read a single article, story, or book about being a better person and living a better (more spiritual) life on earth, the seven questions won't be a surprise. The only thing "new" for you is likely to be the author's personal stories about people he knew, which I didn't find interesting or even relevant (though sweet that he loves his wife so much).Instead, you might want to consider  The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions To Guide You To An Extraordinary Life  by Debbie Ford. I found that book, the stories, the questions themselves, and the "how to live your answers" section, much more inspiring and applicable to daily life (as well as being prepared for the review of your life when you get to heaven, if that's what you're looking for).