Is there a concept of "Hell" in Judaism?

[Canuckguy]

I believed in the past that there's no concept of "Hell" in Judaism, unlike Christianity and Islam. But here at JTF I read often about "warm places" for the non righteous in afterlife. Now I'm confused. Can you please help me?

[muman613]

Yes indeed there is a concept similar to Hell in Judaism.

It is called Gehinnom, and a normal Jew can spend upward to 12 months in this purgatory.... The fully wicked unrepentant sinner can be doomed to gehinnom for eternity though..


http://www.torah.org/qanda/seequanda.php?id=680

What is Gehinnom?

Gehinnom is the name given to Hell in the Rabbinic literature. The name was borrowed from that of a real valley (see Joshua 15:2,8 and 18:16; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron.28:3 and 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31-32 and 19:2,6; Nehemiah 11:30) where burnings took place. See also Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 19:11-13; Job 17:6. Punishment in Gehinnom lasts only for up to 12 months, except for certain major sinners. Isaiah 66:24 must be referring to it when he speaks of the fire that is not extinguished.

http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/10797/jewish/Gehinnom.htm

http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/breslevpedia/gehinnom.aspx?id=1215&language=english

Gehinnom
 
Gehinnom refers, generally, to a limited-time experience (Edyos 2:10) in the afterlife where the soul is purged of its blemishes. The name "Gehinnom" comes from the valley to the south of Jerusalem, known as the Valley (Gei) of the son of Hinnom, where children were at one time sacrificed to the idolatrous cult, Molech. For this reason the valley was deemed accursed, and Gehinnom thus became a synonym for Purgatory.

http://www.judaism.org/index.php?p=994

Hell and Its Purpose

Do we as Jews believe in Hell? If so what would someone do to deserve a place in hell?

Hell, yes.

Well, sort of…

...you see, it’s nothing like the images we probably have of it, fashioned from TV evangelists and B horror movies. There’s no devil, and perhaps even no recognizable physical existence.

Rather, it is a place (called “Gehinnom” in Hebrew) where the soul is exposed to the reality of everything that it did in this world, while simultaneously being shown the potential that it possessed to achieve. All the facts are laid on the table in a manner which is irrefutable and undeniable. The principal punishment of Gehinnom is the inescapable pain of regret for wasting or even abusing one’s potential and thus not achieving what one could have achieved.

Gehinnom is a cleansing process for the soul to enable it to eventually enter the World To Come. Some souls are able to enter the World To Come without experiencing Gehinnom, either because of their lofty achievements in this world or because they already experienced all their suffering there (or a combination of both). For those who have to go to Gehinnom, the cleansing process is usually completed in eleven or twelve months. On rare occasion, for people who did terrible evil in their lifetimes, causing many to suffer, Gehinnom can take much longer. For example, the Talmud states that Titus Andronicus, the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem and the second Temple in 70 ACE, is still in Gehinnom .

Only G-d, with His infinite knowledge and wisdom, can judge who does or does not deserve Gehinnom and how long their stay there must last. But it is obvious, from our human perspective, that by studying and fulfilling the Torah as much as we can, we move ourselves away from the judgment of Gehinnom.

http://www.aish.com/sp/ph/48929597.html

http://torah.org/learning/perceptions/5761/reeh.html

Jews who transgress with their bodies and non-Jews who sin with their bodies go down to Gehinnom for 12 months, after which time their bodies are destroyed and their souls burnt, and the winds scatter and turn their ashes under the souls of the righteous ... But as for minim, mesoros, and epikorsim who deny Torah or resurrection, who separate themselves from the community, or those who terrorize the living, or who transgress and cause others to transgress, as did Yeravam son of Nevat and his "friends"-they descend to Gehinnom and are judged there from generation to generation, as it says, "They shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." (Yeshayahu 66:24). Even after Gehinnom is destroyed, they will not be consumed ... (Rosh Hashanah 17a) and, The fire that The Holy One, Blessed is He, created on the second day [of creation] will never be extinguished, as it says, "They shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." (Yeshayahu 66:24). (Pesachim 54a)