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Hell and Its Purpose

Answered by Rabbi Shlomo ShulmanFurther responses from Rabbi Eliahu Levenson

Question

Do we as Jews believe in Hell? If so what would someone do to deserve a place in hell?

Answer

Hell, yes.

Well, sort of…

…you see, it’s nothing like the images we probably have of it, fashioned from TV evangelists and B horror movies. There’s no devil, and perhaps even no recognizable physical existence.

Rather, it is a place (called “Gehinnom” in Hebrew) where the soul is exposed to the reality of everything that it did in this world, while simultaneously being shown the potential that it possessed to achieve. All the facts are laid on the table in a manner which is irrefutable and undeniable. The principal punishment of Gehinnom is the inescapable pain of regret for wasting or even abusing one’s potential and thus not achieving what one could have achieved.

Gehinnom is a cleansing process for the soul to enable it to eventually enter the World To Come. Some souls are able to enter the World To Come without experiencing Gehinnom, either because of their lofty achievements in this world or because they already experienced all their suffering there (or a combination of both). For those who have to go to Gehinnom, the cleansing process is usually completed in eleven or twelve months. On rare occasion, for people who did terrible evil in their lifetimes, causing many to suffer, Gehinnom can take much longer. For example, the Talmud states that Titus Andronicus, the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem and the second Temple in 70 ACE, is still inGehinnom .

Only G-d, with His infinite knowledge and wisdom, can judge who does or does not deserve Gehinnom and how long their stay there must last. But it is obvious, from our human perspective, that by studying and fulfilling the Torah as much as we can, we move ourselves away from the judgment of Gehinnom.

Follow-up questions (2)

Question

Does this mean that eventually EVERYONE goes to Heaven? That it is just a matter of how long or how short a period of time that a sinner spends in Gehinnom? Sounds like purgatory to me.

Answer

Not everyone merits Gehinnom. Yes, you heard me correctly. I said merits. Some will bypass Gehinnom and go straight to Olam Haba (the World to Come). Others, who merit, will first spend time in Gehinnom. Others, who do not merit, will be lost.

Since the formula for who goes where is complex beyond human understanding, and G-d has not informed us of where the dividing lines are, to have a Fear of G-d is quite a rational state of mind.

Question

In regard to the Afterlife, how does it create a more moral society. Hitler will be punished but it doesn’t change the horrible fact that 6 million Jews died because of him. And he wasn’t the only one, throughout history there have always been people who are ‘evil’ (for lack of a better word) but their punishment in the afterlife doesn’t change the present world. Also, “And the Almighty formed the man of dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the soul of life”. Why would G-d allow a soul of such evil to be born into this world? or have i misunderstood the nature of the soul?

Answer

This world was created to be balanced between good and evil. If you read Isaiah 45:7 G-d tells us that He Himself is the Creator of evil. Evil is a tool. It has a great purpose. Our job is to overcome evil, primarily the evil that is in ourselves, and no one is exempt to this.

One does not need get too wound up about the seeming inconsistencies. It is very complicated and G-d, who is a precise mathematician, does all the calculations.

That should be enough to begin redefining the way you think and look at this world. Your question is exceedingly complex, enters many philosophical arenas, and countless books have been written discussing this subject.

Regards, Eliahu Levenson