What is hell like according to Jews?

Answer 1

Daniel 12:2 proclaims "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Judaism describes Gehenna as a purgatory in which one is judged based on his or her life's deeds. The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are generally not in Gehenna forever: except for exceptional cases, the longest that one can be there is said to be 11 months. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam HaBa (heb. עולם הבא; lit. "The world to come," which is analogous to heaven).

Answer:

There is really no Jewish doctrine about Hell, and no Hebrew word for Hell.

Answer:

The above (second) answer is non-traditional.

Hell is called Gehinnom in Late (Misnaic) Hebrew and is not specifically named in Early Hebrew.

Answer 2

Jews do not believe in Hell. There is a place for the wicked called Gehinom wherein the wicked are tortured in such a way that forces them to overcome their spiritual impurities and become righteous. The pain also serves as penance for their Earthly misdeeds. However, Gehinom is individualized torture and is nothing like the fire and brimstone vision the Christianity and Islam declare Hell to be.

Does Judaism believe in the existence of hell? The name and details are probably different than in other religions, but the short answer is yes. "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist after death and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. 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.
The afterlife is discussed at length in the Talmud, though the exact nature of the rewards and punishments is generally not given since it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth. See for example the Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 17a, for a few details.
It is important to note that Judaism is a rare case in that it does not condemn non-adherents to eternal damnation. Worthy non-Jews are able to merit the rewards in the afterlife without conversion.
Another important point is the efficacy of repentance, which can change one's spiritual "balance" relatively easily. See for example Deuteronomy 30:1-10 for one of the Tanakh's many passages on this topic.

Answer 3

Jews do not believe in Hell. There is a place for the wicked called Gehinom wherein the wicked are tortured in such a way that forces them to overcome their spiritual impurities and become righteous. The pain also serves as penance for their Earthly misdeeds. However, Gehinom is individualized torture and is nothing like the fire and brimstone vision the Christianity and Islam declare Hell to be.

Answer 4

Does Judaism believe in the existence of hell? The name and details are probably different than in other religions, but the short answer is yes. "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist after death and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. 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.
The afterlife is discussed at length in the Talmud, though the exact nature of the rewards and punishments is generally not given since it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth. See for example the Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 17a, for a few details.
It is important to note that Judaism is a rare case in that it does not condemn non-adherents to eternal damnation. Worthy non-Jews are able to merit the rewards in the afterlife without conversion.
Another important point is the efficacy of repentance, which can change one's spiritual "balance" relatively easily. See for example Deuteronomy 30:1-10 for one of the Tanakh's many passages on this topic.

Answer 5

Gehinnom.
One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as stated in the Talmud (Mishna, Sanhedrin 11:1) and codified by Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist and is rewarded or punished in accordance with the person's actions while he or she was alive.
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 from its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways and commands 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 other religions could compete with even 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.

See also:

The key beliefs of Judaism

How do you know there are a heaven and hell?