Do the Jews believe in hell and heaven?

Answer 1

Judaism is a religion that focuses mainly on this world, and the Torah says very little about what happens when you die, but there are some beliefs in the afterlife.

Some Jewish people believe in heaven.

Heaven is a place where souls live before coming down to earth, and the place they go back to after finishing their mission in this world.

Other Jewish people believe in reincarnation (gilgul hanefesh), but unlike the reincarnation of Indian beliefs, this is seen as a reward, rather than a trial.

There is also a belief in the resurrection of the dead at the time of the Messiah, but this belief is not widly held by Reform and Conservative Jews.

Answer 2

Judaism doesn't really talk about what happens after death, as there is almost no mention of what happens in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) and we just don't know for sure. Also, Judaism focuses on the world we live in with the goal of making it the best place possible. We do have some loose theories about what might happen though.

Essentially, the righteous of all religions return to HaShem (The Creator) to wait for the world to come. Those who have made mistakes in life go through a period of soul cleansing before returning to HaShem. Some souls are reincarnated to improve further and become closer to HaShem.

There is also the thought that the souls of those who do true evil in life cease to exist.

Answer 3

Non-traditional answer:

Jews don't believe in the existence of either. What happens after death is barely discussed in Judaism as the focus of Judaism is how to live this life and improve the world to the best of our ability. In fact, there's little mention of this subject in the Tanach (Jewish Bible).

There are some loose theories of what might happen though:

* When we die, our souls are cleansed of any wrongdoings. This is done by our accounting of every action done in life. It's believed that this process takes no longer than 12 months but most people don't do enough bad in life to warrant it taking a full 12 months.

* Our souls may return to HaShem to wait for the world to come.

* Our souls may be reincarnated into different people so that we have additional chances to work to become closer to HaShem.

* There is also the theory that the souls of those that choose to be truly evil in life cannot survive the process of cleansing and cease to exist.

• Jewish answer:

We hold it to be evident that an infinitely wise Creator, whose wisdom is vastly manifest (for example) in the wonders of our bodies, would not be so unwise as to neglect unfinished business. If a tyrant "escapes judgment" by swallowing a painless poison, to our mind it is axiomatic that his tribulations have just begun. God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4).

One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as stated in the Talmud (Mishna, Sanhedrin 11:1) and codified by Maimonides (1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he or she was alive. This applies to all people, whatever their religion.
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife; and nor does Judaism spend a lot of time speculating on its details. However, that is not meant to diminish its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways in this world, with our feet firmly planted on Earth, while nonetheless not losing awareness of our beliefs.
Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-hall before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).
All outstanding accounts are settled after this life. Some cases illustrate this point, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.
The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in Torah verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.
The prophets are more explicit with such references (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is spoken of at length in the Talmud. More than 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110, Rosh Hashanah 16-18, and other passages) are given to this subject.

Answer 4

Gentile answer:

Jews believe in heaven, and purgatory, not hell. Prior to the Babylonian Exile, there was no heaven as a place of reward, and Jewish belief held that all souls went to sheol, which can be described as a state of semi-consciousness in the afterlife.

Jewish answer:

It would be strange for Gentiles to tell Jews what the Jews believe.

One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as stated in the Talmud (Mishna, Sanhedrin 11:1) and codified by Maimonides (1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he or she was alive. This applies to all people, whatever their religion.
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife; and nor does Judaism spend a lot of time speculating on its details. However, that is not meant to diminish its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways in this world, with our feet firmly planted on Earth, while nonetheless not losing awareness of our beliefs.
Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-hall before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).
All outstanding accounts are settled after this life. Some cases illustrate this point, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.
The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in Torah verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.
The prophets are more explicit with such references (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is spoken of at length in the Talmud. More than 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110, Rosh Hashanah 16-18, and other passages) are given to this subject.

Answer 5

In Judaism, the afterlife is referred to as "The World to Come", but there are only vague references to this concept.

There are many Jewish beliefs, depending on the region of the world, ranging from reincarnation and resurrection of the dead, to Heaven, but Judaism is a religion of life, and is generally not concerned with discussions about the afterlife.

The Christian idea of a heaven and a hell are not widely held among Jews.

Answer 6

Answer 1

No, they believe that neither exist.

Answer 2

It's a little more complicated than that. While there is no heaven or hell (as Christian would understand those terms), Judaism has an afterlife. In Judaism, there is no eternal delineation between good souls and evil souls as is common in Christianity and Islam. Judaism holds that the Satan is still in heaven, which further means that there is no King of the Damned or any form of Eternal Damnation. During the Afterlife period, there are different mechanisms by which the soul must come to spiritual fitness in order to be a part of the eventual resurrection of the dead. Some Kabbalists say that this comes by way of reincarnation, but the dominant opinion in Judaism is that souls must exert themselves painfully to open up new levels of holiness.

Answer 7

Yes, though we use different names for them and the concepts are not exactly the same as described by non-Jews.

AnswerNo, Jews don't believe in the existence of either heaven or hell. Judaism barely spends any time discussing what may or may not happen when we die, in fact, there's barely any mention of this subject in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) at all. This is because the focus of Judaism is on our current lives.

There are some loose theories of what might happen when we die though:

* When we die, our souls are cleansed of any wrongdoings. This is done by our accounting of every action done in life. It's believed that this process takes no longer than 12 months but most people don't do enough bad in life to warrant it taking a full 12 months.

* Our souls return to HaShem to wait for the world to come.

* Our souls may be reincarnated into different people so that we have additional chances to work to become closer to HaShem.

* Those souls that choose to be truly evil in life, cannot survive the process of cleansing and cease to exist.

Answer:The soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. This is one of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by the Rambam (Maimonides).

The afterlife is detailed at length in the Talmud, including reward and punishment (unlike what the above comment says). A full 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110) are given to this subject. The afterlife is also referred to briefly in Torah (Bible) verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good (ripe; full) old age". This does not mean merely to be buried with one's forefathers, since Abraham was not buried with them. Such verses are stated many times.

The prophets are more explicit with such references (such as Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:13).

Answer:We don't call Heaven or Hell by those exact names, but those general traditions are well-rooted in Judaism. It stands to reason (and morality) that, for example, a Hitler would not be able to escape God by swallowing a poison.

Answer 8

The concept of heaven in the Western world has its source in Judaism, though some details may be different. Belief in life after death, when the soul is treated in accordance with its actions when it was alive, is one of the most basic Jewish beliefs.

However, Christian concepts such as the "Pearly Gates" and "sitting on a cloud" are not based in Judaism.

Answer 9

In Judaism, there is no eternal delineation between good souls and evil souls as is common in Christianity and Islam. Judaism holds that the Satan is still in heaven, which further means that there is no King of the Damned or any form of Eternal Damnation. During the Afterlife period, there are different mechanisms by which the soul must come to spiritual fitness in order to be a part of the eventual resurrection of the dead. Some Kabbalists say that this comes by way of reincarnation, but the dominant opinion in Judaism is that souls must exert themselves painfully to open up new levels of holiness. This is similar to the Christian concept of Purgatory.

Answer 10

The name and details are probably different than in other religions, but the short answer is yes. One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist after death and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. All outstanding accounts are settled after this life. Some cases illustrate this point, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler.
The afterlife is discussed at length in the Talmud, though the exact nature of the rewards and punishments is generally not given since it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth. See for example the Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 17a, for a few details.
It is important to note that Judaism is a rare case in that it does not condemn non-adherents to eternal damnation. Worthy non-Jews are able to merit the rewards in the afterlife without conversion.
Another important point is the efficacy of repentance, which can change one's spiritual "balance" relatively easily. See for example Deuteronomy 30:1-10 for one of the Tanakh's many passages on this topic.