Do Judaisms believe in heaven or hell?

Answer 1

We 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.

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 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 2

We don't believe in the existence of either. What happens after death is actually barely discussed in Judaism and there are some theories, primarily that after death our souls are cleansed and we either return to HaShem (The Creator) to wait for the world to come or we are reincarnated as a person to work to become closer to HaShem. There is also a theory that the soul of a person who does great evil throughout their life ceases to exist.

Answer:While we may call them by other names, and though our descriptions of them might differ from Christian descriptions of the afterlife, there is no question that belief in Divine reward and punishment in this life and the next is a fundamental Jewish belief. And by the way, we hold it to be immoral to believe that a Hitler, for example, could get away scot-free by simply killing himself.

The Jewish Bible doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife, only because its belief was universal. No ancient society ever existed that did not believe in some form of afterlife.

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 Rambam (Maimonides).

The afterlife is detailed at length in the Talmud. 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).

The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous, because other religions could compete with even more poetic promises. See the Kli Yakar commentary to Leviticus ch. 26 for a fuller discussion.

Answer 3

Answer 1

Torah-beliefs reject the Christian view of hell. Meaning that there is no such thing as an infinite punishment. No transgression by a finite being can be infinite, therefore infinite punishment is not only unjust, it is sadistic and petty.

There is, however, a period after death, in which many souls need to be purified from sins committed in life. This is an unpleasant experience, but it is finite. After this period the soul is able to experience and appreciate the purity of existence close to the Creator.

Answer 2

Certainly there is infinite punishment in special cases such as Hitler. Anyone thinking otherwise is unfamiliar with relevant sources ('ראה לדוגמא מסכת ראש השנה דף יז).

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

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).

The existence of a spiritual place or places in which the souls of the dead are treated in accordance with their behavior when alive (reward or punishment), is a tradition of mankind, which finds expression (in differing details) in various religions. It cannot be conclusively proven as long as we're alive; and that's the whole point: God tests us as to whether we will live in a way that demonstrates that we're aware of His presence, even though His presence is not readily visible.
See also the Related Links.

Link: The afterlife in Judaism

Link: God exists