Only truly righteous souls ascend directly to the Garden of Eden, say the sages. The average person descends to a place of punishment and/or purification, generally referred to as
Gehinnom.
The name is taken from a valley (
Gei Hinnom) just south of Jerusalem, once used for child sacrifice by the pagan nations of Canaan (
II Kings 23:10). Some view Gehinnom as a place of torture and punishment, fire and brimstone. Others imagine it less harshly, as a place where one reviews the actions of his/her life and repents for past misdeeds.
The soul's sentence in Gehinnom is usually limited to a 12-month period of purgation before it takes its place in Olam Ha-Ba (
MishnahEduyot2:9,
Shabbat33a). This 12-month limit is reflected in the yearlong mourning cycle and the recitation of the
Kaddish (the memorial prayer for the dead).
Only the utterly wicked do not ascend to the Garden of Eden at the end of this year. Sources differ on what happens to these souls at the end of their initial time of purgation. Some say that the wicked are utterly destroyed and cease to exist, while others believe in eternal damnation (
Maimonides,
Mishneh Torah, Law of Repentance, 3:5-6).
Heaven and Hell in Judaism. Jewish Life After Death. Jewish Afterlife and Eschatology. Jewish View on Next Life. Jewish Ideas and Beliefs
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