Hell Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Judaism=== {{See also|Gehenna|Qlippoth|Sheol}} [[Judaism]] does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, but it does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing [[Gehinnom]]. Gehinnom is not hell, but originally a grave and in later times a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on one's life's deeds, or rather, where one becomes fully aware of one's own shortcomings and negative actions during one's life. The [[Kabbalah]] explains it as a "waiting room" (commonly translated as an "entry way") for all souls (not just the wicked). The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehinnom forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months, however, there has been the occasional noted exception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to [[Jewish eschatology#World to come|Olam Habah]] (''heb.'' עולם הבא; ''lit.'' "The world to come", often viewed as analogous to heaven). This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the "unfinished" piece being reborn. According to Jewish teachings, hell is not entirely physical; rather, it can be compared to a very intense feeling of shame. People are ashamed of their misdeeds and this constitutes suffering which makes up for the bad deeds. When one has so deviated from the will of [[God in Judaism|God]], one is said to be in Gehinnom. This is not meant to refer to some point in the future, but to the very present moment. The gates of [[teshuva]] (return) are said to be always open, and so one can align his will with that of God at any moment. Being out of alignment with God's will is itself a punishment according to the [[Torah]]. Many scholars of Jewish mysticism, particularly of the [[Kabbalah]], describe seven "compartments" or "habitations" of hell, just as they describe seven divisions of heaven. These divisions go by many different names, and the most frequently mentioned are as follows:<ref>(edit.) Boustan, Ra'anan S. Reed, Annette Yoshiko. ''Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions''. Cambridge University Press, 2004.</ref> *'''[[Sheol]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: שְׁאוֹל – "[[underworld]]", "[[Hades]]"; "grave") *'''[[Abaddon]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: אֲבַדּוֹן – "doom", "perdition") *'''Be'er Shachat''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בְּאֵר שַׁחַת, ''Be'er Shachath'' – "pit of corruption") *'''Tit ha-Yaven''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: טִיט הַיָוֵן – "clinging mud") *'''Sha'are Mavet''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת, ''Sha'arei Maveth'' – "gates of death") *'''[[Shade (mythology)|Tzalmavet]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: צַלמָוֶת, ''Tsalmaveth'' – "shadow of death") *'''[[Gehenna|Gehinnom]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: גֵיהִנוֹם, ''Gehinnom'' – "valley of [[Hinnom]]"; "[[Tartarus]]", "[[Purgatory]]") Besides those mentioned above, there also exist additional terms that have been often used to either refer to hell in general or to some region of the underworld: *'''[[Azazel]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: עֲזָאזֵל, compd. of ''ez'' עֵז: "goat" + ''azal'' אָזַל: "to go away" – "goat of departure", "scapegoat"; "entire removal", "damnation") *'''[[Dudael]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: דּוּדָאֵל – lit. "cauldron of God") *'''[[Tehom]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: תְהוֹם – "[[Abyss (religion)|abyss]]"; "sea", "deep ocean")<ref>Palmer, Abram Smythe. ''Studies on Biblical Studies, No. I.'' "Babylonian Influence on the Bible and Popular Beliefs: "Tĕhôm and Tiâmat", "Hades and Satan" – A Comparative Study of Genesis I. 2" London, 1897; pg. 53.</ref> *'''[[Tophet]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: תֹּפֶת or תוֹפֶת, ''Topheth'' – "fire-place", "place of burning", "place to be spit upon"; "inferno")<ref>Rev. Clarence Larkin. ''The Spirit World''. "Chapter VI: The Underworld". Philadelphia, PA. 1921. Moyer & Lotter</ref><ref>Wright, Charles Henry Hamilton. ''The Fatherhood of God: And Its Relation to the Person and Work of Christ, and the Operations of the Holy Spirit''. Edinburgh, Scotland. 1867. T. and T. Clark; pg. 88.</ref> *'''[[Tzoah Rotachat]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: צוֹאָה רוֹתֵחַת, ''Tsoah Rothachath'' – "boiling excrement")<ref>Rev. Edward Bouverie Pusey. ''What is of Faith as to Everlasting Punishment: In Reply to Dr. Farrar's Challenge in His ʻEternal Hope,' 1879''. James Parker & Co., 1881; pg. 102, spelled "zoa rothachath".</ref> *'''[[Destroying angel (Bible)|Mashchit]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: מַשְׁחִית, ''Mashchith'' – "destruction", "ruin") *'''[[Dumah (angel)|Dumah]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: דוּמָה – "silence") *'''Neshiyyah''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: נְשִׁיָּה – "oblivion", "[[Limbo]]") *'''Bor Shaon''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בּוֹר שָׁאוֹן – "cistern of sound") *'''Eretz Tachtit''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית, ''Erets Tachtith'' – "lowest earth").<ref>Mew, James. ''Traditional Aspects of Hell: (Ancient and Modern)''. S. Sonnenschein & Company Lim., 1903.</ref><ref>Rev. A. Lowy. ''Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 10'', "Old Jewish Legends of Biblical Topics: Legendary Description of Hell". 1888. pg. 339</ref> *'''Masak Mavdil''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: מָסָך מַבְדִּ֔יל, ''Masak Mabdil'' – "dividing curtain") *'''Haguel''' ([[Ge'ez language|Ethiopic]]: ሀጉለ – "(place of) destruction", "loss", "waste")<ref>Charles, Robert Henry. ''The Ascension of Isaiah''. London. A. & C. Black, 1900. pg. 70.; synonymous with Abaddon, Sheol and Gehinnom in the sense of being the final abode of the damned.</ref> *'''[[Ikisat]]''' ([[Ge'ez language|Ethiopic]]: አክይስት – "serpents", "[[dragon]]s"; "place of future punishment")<ref>Sola, David Aaron. ''Signification of the Proper Names, Etc., Occurring in the Book of Enoch: From the Hebrew and Chaldee Languages'' London, 1852.</ref><ref>Rev. X.Y.Z. ''Merry England, Volume 22'', "The Story of a Conversion" 1894. pg. 151</ref> [[Maimonides]] declares in [[Jewish principles of faith#Maimonides' 13 principles of faith|his 13 principles of faith]] that the hells of the rabbinic literature were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the [[Torah]] commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.<ref name="perek-helek-d">Maimonides' Introduction to Perek Helek, ed. and transl. by [[Maimonides Heritage Center]], p. 3–4.</ref> Instead of being sent to hell, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.<ref name="perek-helek-c">Maimonides' Introduction to Perek Helek, ed. and transl. by [[Maimonides Heritage Center]], p. 22-23.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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