By Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried
Dear Rabbi Fried,
I am a convert to Judaism. In Christianity there is heaven and hell. What happens in Judaism? As I understand it, we do not believe in hell.
Sincerely, Richard
Dear Rabbi Fried,
I grew up with the understanding that heaven and hell are Christian concepts. Recently I was surprised to hear that Orthodox Jews believe in these concepts. Is this true?
Steven R.
Dear Richard and Steven,
The rabbinical writings often mention heaven and hell. They are, in fact, very Jewish concepts and form some of the 13 core Jewish beliefs as outlined by the famed medieval Jewish scholar, Maimonides. The Mishnahsays, “This world is comparable to the entry hall of a king’s palace before the World to Come. Prepare yourself in the entry hall in order that you will be granted entry to the palace.” The “World to Come” is referring to heaven, as it is referred to throughout rabbinic literature. Hell is called “Gehinom” and is a very real concept.
Although both Jews and Christians believe in heaven and hell, the only similarity between the Jewish and Christian concepts of heaven and hell is their English terms. Otherwise, they are worlds apart. When we talk about “heaven” with reference to an afterlife, this, Jewishly, refers to three separate stages in the eternity of the soul. The first stage is where the souls go immediately after death. At that stage they enter heaven, more precisely termed “olam haneshamos” or the “world of the souls.” This is a spiritual “holding place” where the righteous souls enjoy joyous bliss, basking in the light of G-d. This is also referred to as the Garden of Eden. In order to be part of that first stage, before entering that blissful world of the souls, most souls need to spend some time in Gehinom, or hell.
The concept of hell in Judaism is not a punishment, rather a purgatory. It is compared to the smelting of gold. In order to obtain high-grade, pure gold, it must be smelted to burn off any impurities. Similarly, every wrongdoing performed in one’s life places a blemish on one’s soul, like an impurity in the gold. For a maximum of 12 months the soul goes through this purification process to burn off the blemishes in order that its eternity will be unblemished and pure. That is the purpose of “hell’s fires.” Once a soul has “done its time” in Gehinom, it is then a pure vessel to receive the connection and eternal bliss of the next stage, the World to Come, Olam Haba.
During this time, the soul resides in the Garden of Eden and it is “nursed back to health” as an unbridled soul, overcoming the weakness of spending time in the physical world in the shackles of a corporeal body. It is thus preparing for the next stage. At the same time, the body which housed the soul is also being prepared for the next stage. Through the breakdown of the body in its burial spot it is being purged of all impurities of its physical life. It is becoming a vessel to be recombined with the soul in the next stage.
The third stage is Olam Haba or the “World to Come.” Many Jews who believe in heaven often have a misconception of that “place.” Olam Haba is not one large generic “place” into which one either “gets in” if they have enough “tickets” or doesn’t get in. Truth be told, that world is actually a very private experience, very personal and unique for each soul. Each person builds his or her own Olam Haba while in this world. Although there is a perspective of heaven where the souls will interact collectively, the foundational concept of heaven as a place of reward is very private and individual.
The final stage of Olam Haba in Judaism is the reconnection of the soul to the body, albeit in a greatly heightened state, in the period called “techias hameisim” or the “Resurrection of the Dead.” This is a core Jewish belief. It is predicated on the great importance placed upon action by Judaism. It’s not enough that we think as Jews, but we must do. The soul is incapable of action without the partnership of the body. Therefore, it is only proper and fair that the body should share in the eternal reward of its partner, the soul. For example, a soul alone can’t give tzedakah (charity) or light Shabbos candles without the body participating.
The recreated, eternal body will be a spiritual representation of the physical body in the next world. This spiritual stage of the body combined with the soul will grow out of the decomposed physical body, much like a butterfly grows out of the caterpillar after its “burial” in the cocoon. There is much more to be said about these very deep ideas and we are not truly doing service to such core concepts by writing about them so briefly. We can, however, at least learn from these brief words that heaven and hell are very Jewish concepts — when understood from the Jewish perspective (i.e., there’s no devil in hell with a pitchfork!).
To summarize: We certainly believe in heaven and hell, heaven being eternal bliss and hell, a temporary purgatory to prepare the soul which needs purging to eventually enjoy the eternal bliss of Olam Haba.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Yerachmiel Fried
Rabbi Yerachmiel Fried is dean of DATA-Dallas Area Torah Association.