עברית
Faith
Is there a Heaven and Hell?
Question
Hello honored Rabbi,
Recently my Bible teacher told us that it is not written in the Torah itself that we will merit the World to Come, only in later Jewish sources did it appear because it was during the time of the Hasmoneans/Romans (I don't remember exactly) and they said this so that the Jews wouldn't Hellenize and see that the righteous Jews deserve the hidden light in the World to Come, and then they wouldn't Hellenize. She also said that Hell is short for the Valley of Hinnom, where children were burnt as a sacrifice, and that is where the name of the place comes from.
I believe with a whole heart and I want to know if this is true, and if not, please elaborate on this because I do not want to enter into many doubts.
Thank you in advance.
Answer
Hello and blessings,
It is very distressing to read such lies. With God's help, you will merit to learn in a place of Torah.
In the meantime, it is commendable that you are asking and seeking to know your true Jewish identity, and are not tempted to believe such ugly lies.
This is one of the fundamental beliefs in Judaism, to believe that the righteous receive reward for their righteousness, and the wicked are punished for their wickedness. Everything is done with absolute justice. This concept is ancient in Judaism and of course appears in the Torah:
Deuteronomy (chapter 30, verse 15): "See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, which I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments."
Of Enoch it is said: "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." In describing Rachel's death, the departure of the soul is explicitly mentioned: "And it was as her soul departed, for she died."
The Torah also explicitly prohibits contacting the dead in the World to Come: "You shall not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations; there shall not be found among you... a master of a spirit or a wizard, or one who calls up the dead" (Deuteronomy 18:11).
The medium brought Samuel up from his grave, and he prophesied to Saul that he and his sons would fall into the hands of the Philistines: "And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me to bring me up?" Abigail says to David: "And may your soul be bound in the bond of life with the Lord your God, and the souls of your enemies He will cast away."
There are transgressions in the Torah for which one is not punished in this world, but it is said of one who intentionally sins: "That soul shall be cut off from its people" (for example: Exodus 12:19; Leviticus 7:27).
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, it is explicitly stated (chapter 12): "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth... for man goes to his eternal home, and mourners go about the streets... and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity..."
The end of the matter, all has been heard, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."
The prophets also tell us about the end of days and the resurrection of the dead: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2).
See also verses describing the reality of the soul in the Torah, and reward and punishment in the World to Come:
https://www.hidabroot.org/he/article/111165
The terms "Heaven" and "Hell" are later labels given to the place of reward and punishment in the World to Come. The name "Hell" is based on a place where the wicked used to burn children for idol worship, and therefore the place of punishment is called "Hell."
The place of reward in the World to Come is called "Heaven" after the Garden of Eden where the first man was found before the sin. Even though these are labels - the very idea of reward and punishment in the World to Come appears throughout the Torah.
Best regards,
Daniel Bals
