The Origin of Gehinnom

Question

Was the idea of gehinnom built off of God’s word or is it entirely speculation? How much detail about what happens after death was explicitly within God’s word?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    The concept of Gehinnom is found in the Midrashic texts where it teaches that Gehinnom was created on the second day of the Creation – see Bereshit Rabbah and Midrash Tanchumah. The concept of Gehinnom is also found extensively throughout the Talmud.

    The Jewish concept of “hell,” called Gehinnom or purgatory, shares no resemblance to Christian hell. Jewish traditional Sources teach that Gehinnom is a place where Souls are sent – only if the Soul is in need of some form of spiritual correction. A Soul, depending on the need for correction, can spend up to a year in Gehinnom. However, the maximum time is “only” twelve months. There is no real concept of being in Gehinnom for an indefinite period of time, i.e. eternal damnation.

    Once a Soul has been through the necessary process of correction, the Soul is welcomed into the World to Come to join all the other Souls in the World of Truth.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team