is it true that jews don't believe in hell???

Answer 1

Yes.

There is, however, a place of purification. Depending on sect, it is believed that no soul is so depraved it would need even a full year, meaning only 11 months or 364 days is the maximum time a soul would spend before moving on to higher existence.

The Christian and Muslim concepts of Hell are completely divorced from Jewish teaching.

Answer 2

It depends how you define "Hell". Thus, you have people answering, no, we don't believe in a place where sinners get eternally crisped, and others saying, yes, we do believe there is some kind of punishment after death.

Our perception of a place of punishment in the afterlife is rather different from the Christian concept of Hell. For one, it's called Gehinnom. Gehinnom is a strictly temporary measure- the longest you can be in there for is 12 months. And the "fires" are understood as a metaphor for burning shame at one's sins. With all that said, being sent to Gehinnom is no slap on the wrist. Twelve months of constant shame and self-loathing are not pretty.

Answer 3

Not in the manner that Christianity professes it. For example, there is not an idea in Judaism that espouses an eternal hell of fire and torment for those who lacked sufficient faith in a person or doctrinal creed. Judaism teaches that hell is created and experienced while one is alive in this world. As far as an afterlife hell the only concept is one in which the soul has to be purged of its evil before ascending to the Upper Worlds. This is a temporary purging wherein the soul relives and experiences the evil it had created in an intimate way. This is not eternal though.

Answer 4

Not exactly; we believe in a form of hell that is more or less different then what Christians believe in. There is an arguement on whether it's really cold or hot, and you only go there for a certain time period in order to cleanse yourself of the "stink" or sins and impurity of this world. Also, in Judaism hell isn't below us, but rather simply next door to heaven, which is explained to be as if in another dimention.

Answer 5

The question of what happens after a person dies isn't officially asked in the Jewish religion. There are many ideas in the subject, but since it isn't written in the torah, nobody knows if there's any afterlife, even a heaven. Naturally, some Jews do, others don't. What matters in Judaism is this life.

Answer 6

Hell is mentioned briefly in our religious texts, but it certainly does not feature in the way that the Christian hell does.

Judaism teaches that ALL people, no matter what their faith, will have a place in the afterlife, if they lead moral, good lives.

We are very much a religion of the 'here and now' which is why, probably, heaven and hell don't feature much.

Answer 7

What we believe in is euphemistically called "The World to Come". Not much is taught on it (at least not in open sources.) It is not a world as we know itg, nor are there beautiful gardens and winged angels playing harps with golden halos around their heads. At the same time- their is no fire and brimstone or eternal damnation and burning in the fires of hell...

The world to come is a spiritual realm- souls try to cluster around the pure essence of God, to close to the holy for the sake of being near it- because souls yearn to be as close to God as possible. but it is not as simple as that either. The world to come is not a simplistic realm of one level- in the Talmud, Masechta Chagigah, it is said that the outer courtyards to God's abode has seven levels - each of ascending holiness, each soul wanting to be as high as possible. It briefly states that beyond these levels you have the inner courtyard and abode itself- but stops there with the statement "Beyond here we do not enquire". Maybe it elaborates further in the Kaballah- I have no idea on that.

Hell is completely absent from Judaism. There is no devil in Judaism as it is not possible for an angel to rebel (only humans have free will- angels can only perform specific tasks). What is generally misinterpreted as hell is the concept of Sheol or Gehinnom. This refers to the burning the soul feels at the heavenly trial after death.


Essentially, we are brought to the heavenly court (God) and judged. Satan (literally the accusser) is the prosecutor and wants to introduce all oput sins into the equation. God is merciful, and drops some of the sins before the trial begins (Rambam, Hilchos Tteshuvah). After that, the soul basically watches two movies- one is- what your life was- the other, what your life could have been. The soul feels shame at the lost opportunities, at what it could have been vs what it is. It is this shame that feels like an eternity of burning. The burning is not a literal one- it is the burning of shame that it feels at realising how it has transgressed, when it could have been so much more! Think of how, for us with physical bodies, the shame of being shouted at by a parent/teacher/ boss can feel like burning- how much worse for a soul which is a pure being and has no physical imperfections or mental imperfections to give it excuses! But though it states that this "burning" feels like an eternity- it truth, it never lasts for more than 12 months. God is much too loving to give out eternal punishments, just as a loving parent would never punish a child for forever.

Answer 8

They should. Hell is mentioned in the OT, in Psalm 37:20 and Malachi 4: 1,3. The Jews at the time of Christ had compromised their doctrines with those of the surrounding pagan communities, and about 40 years after Christ, they were scattered throughout the world - retaining those last beliefs, up until Jews of modern times. The God of the ancient Israelites is the same as the God of the Gentiles. He does not change, and He always tells us the Truth.

Answer 9

It is true. We do believe in heaven, but we do not believe that there is a hell. We believe in some degree in reincarnation, but we do not come back as animals, rather as humans with situations that will provide us with the opportunities to lead better lives.

Answer 10

Jews don't believe in Christ and he taught on the subject of Hell and in one instance, Jesus confronted a person who was possessed of demons and the lead demon cried out to Jesus and ask, "Are you here to torment us before our Time?" So even demons know of their appointment with hell fires. So The Jews are again deceived because whether Jew or Gentile, hell awaits those who have not the Holy Spirit of God abiding within them. There is no reincarnation, There is no coming back as a plant or animal or evolving into another form. It is appointed unto mankind, to die ONCE and afterwards the Judgment. When a person receives Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives them new life as their names are written down in the Lamb's Book of life in heaven and whosoever's name is not found written there is cast into the place prepared for Satan and his demons....