Jews don't go to hell??

Question

I was talking to a co-worker who is Jewish the other day. He was telling me that Jews don't believe in satan. But then he was telling me something about how everyone spends a certain amount of time in hell after they die. Can anyone clarify for me? Im interested in Judism, but this just doesn't make sense to me!

Answer 1

The Jewish concept of Satan is very different than the Christian one.
The Satan (literally, the Accuser) is the prosecuting attorney in the Heavenly Court. His job is to try and get the harshest possible punishments for sinners. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
The Satan is also involved with the Evil Inclination. But he does it as a sting operator, not a rebel. The possibility of evil is necessary for free will, and so God set up the Satan as the chief tempter. Again, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
In Judaism, the idea of a rebellious angel just doesn't make sense. Angels are simply messengers of God, and do not have free will.

On to Hell (metaphorically, that it):

As with the Satan, the Jewish idea of Gehinnom is different than the Christian Hell. Gehinnom is probably best translated as "purgatory".
The idea is that a soul remembers everything it ever did, and also knows whether it chose rightly or wrongly. The shame and self-loathing of knowing that you messed up is Gehinnom. Even that is only for twelve months, maximum.
Don't get me wrong- a year of psychological torment is no fun. But it's not burning in Hell for eternity, either.

Answer 2

There is no one Jewish view on heaven and hell. Thats why we spend so much time arguing. Most Jews do not believe in Hell or see heaven as a closer proximity to God.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of God models that are accepted in Jewish thought and teaching. Basically for an ideation of God to be Jewish, it has to be consistent with the 3 following rules:
1. It is and always must be non corporeal. It can never be or have been enfleshed or have a physical presence. Not for one millisecond let alone 33 years.

2. If it commands, it's commands should be consistent with the Torah.

3. It should promote unity.

Its a religion where everyone can have a different opinion to a great extent without anyone being wrong. And best of all...lotsa holidays

Answer 3

Okay. Here's a Jewish answer in addition to the (very) few you've gotten out of a sea of people who don't know what they're talking about. Ideas of the afterlife differ from Jew to Jew.

But this is usually uniform:
No, we don't believe in hell. After we die, there is a temporary place we go to where we atone for our sins. How long you stay there depends on how bad you were in life, but the longest you have to stay there is a year. After that, you go on to heaven. Everyone has a right to paradise, Jew or non Jew. Some people believe that there are levels of heaven, and which level you get to depends on how good you were in life. (which is basically distance to G-d--the better you were in life, the closer we get to G-d.) So it's all relative.

Secondly, no, we don't believe in satan. In Judaism there is something called shaitan, which translates as satan, but in Hebrew means "adversary." When you die, HaShaitan is the prosecuting attorney in your case that determines what happens in your afterlife. He isn't the same thing as in Xtianity, where he causes you to do evil things. In Judaism, only you control your actions.

Answer 4

"Jews believe in the immorality of the soul--an immorality whose nature is known only to God--but they no longer accept the literal idea of heaven and hell. There was a time when heaven and hell were accepted in Jewish theology, but even then, rarely as physical entities. A soul tormented with remorse for misdeeds was "in hell"; a soul delighting in a life well lived was "in heaven." The twelfth-century philosopher Maimonides opposed the idea of rewards and punishments for behavior; the reward for virtuous living, he said, is simply the good life itself. (Maimonides makes this point in his later writings. He gives a more literal interpretation of the hereafter in his "Thirteen Principles," written at the age of twenty. Thus, Judaism can be said to have two concepts of the hereafter--on sophisticated and philosophical, the other relatively simple.)"

Religions in America, p.105

[I am not clear whether 'immortality' is intended rather than 'immorality'! There are a number of other spelling mistakes in the passage.]

Satan (as the personification of evil) is a Christian invention. The original idea of 'an angel who fell from grace' did not imply that he was the author of evil. Evil is simply the lack of goodness, as darkness is merely lack of light. Humans are capable of choice, so are able to choose to go away from God, with resulting harm to themselves and others. There is no philosphical need for 'Hell' and 'Satan', since the effects of our own actions in turning our backs on God are punishment enough.

Answer 5

Depends on what you mean by Hell. I think that the six million or so Jews who experienced the Holocaust or the reign of terror in Europe from 1934 to 1945 certainly knew Hell. As for the after life as Christians or Muslims view it, the Jewish faith does not hold this belief.

Answer 6

Hell--Jewish

"Jews believe in the immorality of the soul--an immorality whose nature is known only to God--but they no longer accept the literal idea of heaven and hell. There was a time when heaven and hell were accepted in Jewish theology, but even then, rarely as physical entities. A soul tormented with remorse for misdeeds was "in hell"; a soul delighting in a life well lived was "in heaven." The twelfth-century philosopher Maimonides opposed the idea of rewards and punishments for behavior; the reward for virtuous living, he said, is simply the good life itself. (Maimonides makes this point in his later writings. He gives a more literal interpretation of the hereafter in his "Thirteen Principles," written at the age of twenty. Thus, Judaism can be said to have two concepts of the hereafter--on sophisticated and philosophical, the other relatively simple.)"

Answer 7

Judaism is a religion of *action* not belief. There are many different opinions about the afterlife. You can read some of them here:
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm#Resurrection

We seldom discuss or think about the afterlife. Judaism is about Life and living it to its fullest! Why obsess over the afterlife? A fetus doesn't know what life will bring, but God provides. We don't know what the afterlife will bring, but we have faith that God will be merciful.

You don't think our view of the afterlife makes sense...? Can you imagine what we think of a God that would condemn his children to eternal torment for a "belief?" Or a God that would condemn his own son to an excrutiatingly painful death on the cross? Does THAT make sense to you???

Excellent answers from Melanie Mue and LadySuri!!!
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Answer 8

Actually, Satan is an angel. In Hebrew, the word Satan means "adversary". Satan is the angel that most tests you. He is also your accuser when you are judged after death.

I think that Jews believe in Satan as the angel I described above.

Answer 9

Start with reading the book of John in the Holy Bible.
Look up John 8:44, and it will give you an idea who the Jews are. To find out what will happen to them, read the parable of the Wheat and the Tares on Matthew chapter 13.

Answer 10

I would talk to your local Rabbi.

I can't remember what religion it was but this religion believed that hell was not hot, but cold.

Your jewish friend perplexes me because if he believes in good and bad, truth and lie or dualities, simply, he must believe in hell because he believes in heaven.

Hell has become popularized by imagination. I have not died so I don't know if there is a place where 'bad' people go.

I say live your life the way you think is fit because you have to live with yourself, dammit.