What do Jews believe about Heaven and Hell? I remember in Hebrew School being taught about Heaven, but nothing about Hell. Something like, if you've been good you go to Heaven, and if you haven't been good you stay in purgatory. But I recently heard that Jews DO believe in hell.

So, what exactly do we believe about the existence of heaven and hell and how a person gets there? Thanks.

Briefly, the Jewish concept of hell is "Gehinnom." One may go there after death, but for a maximum of a year. It's for purification, not for everlasting torture!

The length of one's stay depends on his or her righteousness during life.

This is one of the reasons the Mourner's Kaddish is recited only for 11 months. Only a rasha would have to stay for the whole time, so one wouldn't want to assume the departed would be there that long.

Here is what the Ramchal wrote in the path of the Just.

There are some fools who seek only to lighten their burden. They say, "Why weary ourselves with so much Saintliness and Separation? Is it not enough for us that we will not be numbered among the wicked who are judged in Gehinnom? We will not force ourselves to enter all the way into Paradise. If we do not have a large portion, we will have a small one. It will be enough for us. We will not add to our burdens for the sake of greater acquisitions." There is one question that we will ask these people -could they so easily, in this transitory world, tolerate the sight of one of their friends being honored, and elevated above them, and coming to rule over them-or, more so, one of their servants or one of the paupers who are shameful and lowly in their eyes? Could they tolerate this without suffering and without their blood boiling in them? Is there any question that they could not? We witness with our own eyes all of the labors of a man to elevate himself above everyone he can and to establish his place among the exalted. This is a man's jealousy of his neighbor. If he sees his neighbor elevated while he remains low, what he tolerates will be what he is forced to tolerate because of his inability to alter the situation: but his heart will brood within him. If it is so difficult, then, for them to abide being on a lower level than others in respect to qualities whose desirability is illusive and deceitful, qualities in relation to which a man's being designated as lowly is but a surface judgment, and his being elevated, vanity and falsity, then how could they tolerate seeing themselves lower than those same persons who are now lower than they? And this in the place of true quality and everlasting worth, which, though they might not give heart to it now because of their failure to recognize it and its value, they will certainly recognize in its time for what it is, to their grief and shame. There is no question that their suffering will be terrible and interminable.

This tolerance, then, that they adopt in order to lighten their burden is nothing but a deceitful persuasion of their evil inclination, with no basis whatsoever in truth. If they saw the truth, there would be no room for such deception, but because they do not seek it, but walk and stray according to their desires, these persuasions will not leave them until such a time when it will no longer avail them, when it will no longer be in their hands to rebuild what they have destroyed. As was said by King Solomon, may Peace be upon him (Ecclesiastes 9:10), "Whatever your hand finds to do with your strength, do it, for there is no deed, nor account, nor knowledge..." That is, what a man does not do while he still has the power that His Creator has given him (the power of choice that is given to him to employ during his lifetime, when he can exercise free will and is commanded to do so) he will not again have the opportunity of doing in the grave and in the pit, for at that time he will no longer possess this power. For one who has not multiplied good deeds in his lifetime will not have the opportunity of performing them afterwards. And one who has not taken an accounting of his deeds will not have time to do so later. And one who has not become wise in this world will not become wise in the grave. This is the intent of (Ibid.) ". .. for there is no deed nor account nor knowledge nor wisdom in the pit to which you are going."

But the general populace will be motivated towards Watchfulness through a recognition of the depth of judgment in relation to reward and punishment. In truth, one should continuously tremble and shiver, for who will abide the Day of Judgment, and who will be deemed righteous before his Creator, whose scrutiny dissects all things, small and great. As our Sages of blessed memory have said (Chagigah 5b), " `And He relates to a man his conversation' (Amos 4:13). Even a casual conversation between a man and his wife is related to him at the time of judgment." And, similarly, (Yevamoth 121b), " `And around Him it storms violently' (Psalms 50: 3). This teaches us that the Holy One Blessed be He judges His saints to the degree of a hair's-breadth" [an inference derived from the structural relationship between "storms" and "hair" in the Hebrew].

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It SOUNDS like you are agreeing with my position on this (as stated under my "I Owe You" posts): G-d judges you on your deeds, good or bad. The commandments regarding keeping kosher, observing the Sabbath, etc., do not fall under "good or bad." They fall under "observant" or "unobservant." If a person is GOOD in that he does nothing to HURT people, and is fair and considerate in all his dealings, are you saying he WOULD go to heaven?

By the way, I don't think that being good is a "burden" at all. As far as the other commandments are concerned, they are a "burden" only if a person does not believe. When I used to believe in G-d and Judaism, following all the commandments was an act of love toward G-d, and I did not mind at all. My spirit felt LIGHTER rather than heavier, which does not imply a burden. However, if I would try to do such things without true love of G-d, they would seem like arbitrary tasks and would indeed seem a burden.