The heavy atmosphere and liturgy of Yom Kippur are designed to direct our thoughts towards weighty matters. Recognition of sin, the process of atonement and potential consequences of our actions all feature prominently in the prayers.
Taking a step back, there is one very surprising omission. For a day so strongly focused on sin, punishment and promoting repentance, there is barely any mention of the “eternal hell-fire” so ubiquitous in Christian texts. This prompts us to ask a series of questions: (i) What exactly is the Jewish concept of Hell? (ii) Why does it feature so rarely in Jewish texts? (iii) Does it have any deeper relevance to Yom Kippur?
Ramban addresses this problem by proposing an intermediate category – neither entirely physical nor spiritual – to which these concepts relate. He explains that 'hell-fire' does not consist of Earthly substances with which we are familiar, but rather is a special 'quasi-physical' creation by God which is therefore capable of inflicting suffering upon the quasi-physical souls of sinners.
This solution is not available to Rambam, however, who does not subscribe to the notion of a quasi-physical realm for the soul post-death. Twice in his Mishneh Torah, Rambam emphasises that, upon death, the only element of the soul that remains is the mind (sechel). One consequence of this is that the soul which remains after death is not equipped to experience any kind of physical pain which could be inflicted by a fiery Gehinnom.
A further challenge involves the notion of resurrection of the dead to a physical body. Since, in Rambam’s understanding, eternal reward is a spiritual pleasure experienced by the soul alone in the World to Come, it is not immediately clear what benefit such resurrection could provide. After exploring the significant debates which took place over Rambam’s beliefs over techiya, Judaism Reclaimed develops an approach of Rabbi Yosef Albo in Sefer Ha’Ikkarim. According to R’ Albo, resurrection within Rambam’s worldview plays an important role in levelling the playing field, offering opportunities for those who were religiously observant but lacked the resources to develop a strong connection to God and the Torah during their lives. Being temporarily resurrected in a messianic era in which men and women are surrounded by 'tidal waves of knowledge of God' will afford such people a deserved opportunity to maximise their standing in the World to Come.
It is possible that this notion of temporary resurrection in an era of perfection also offers us a way to explain Rambam’s concept of Gehinnom. In such an era of perfection, it is not hard to see how those witnessing these events but who are themselves deprived of such opportunities to participate and develop their connection to God will be consumed by shame and regret at having been personally responsible for their unfortunate situation.
This idea of the wicked being punished in the messianic era by witnessing the spiritual bounty of the righteous while being themselves deprived is supported by a passage in Yeshaya. Addressing the wicked in the Messianic era Yeshaya declares:
“Therefore thus said my Lord, God: Behold, My servants will eat and you will starve … My servants will rejoice and you will be ashamed”. [65:13-14]
Yeshaya’s metaphorical feast is interpreted by Tannaic sages (Shabbat 153a) as a depiction of the contrasting fate of the worthy and unworthy. The righteous will partake of the spiritual ‘feast’ and be satiated, while “ravenous” sinners will be made to “stand and watch”.
Such an approach allows us to decode a whole group of perplexing midrashic sources – for example a statement by Reish Lakish that: "In the future there will be no Gehinnom, rather God will remove the sun from its sheath; the righteous will be cured by it and the wicked will be judged by it".
To summarise, the fires of Gehinnom, are not understood to be literal flames (see also Radak and Metzudat to Yeshayah 31:33). Rather they represent a temporary state of deep shame and humiliation which sinners will feel when faced with the truth and the damage that they have inflicted on their own souls. Non-severe sinners, Rambam writes, will thereby “be judged for their sins and will receive Olam Haba” (Hilchot Teshuva 3:5).
Returning now to the question of Yom Kippur, is there any connection between the purification and atonement offered by Gehinnom and the purification and atonement of Yom Kippur? How is it that Yom Kippur can provide forgiveness for our sins?
The central feature of the Yom Kippur service is viduy – a verbal recitation of our sins before God. On this day we shunt aside our physical needs and desires, and stand before God with a certain spiritual clarity that informs our aspirations and ideals rather than the messy compromises that the realities of everyday life necessitate. In this context – as in the truth of the messianic era – recognising how we have fallen short during the year and lost our moral and religious compasses should lead us to a feeling of deep embarrassment. As we summarise at the end of the viduy “Behold I am before you like a vessel filled with embarrassment and shame” [harei ani lefanecha kichli malei busha uchlimah].
Perhaps going through this process mirrors, to an extent, the shame of Gehinnom. The result is “lifnei Hashem titharu” – that we become cleansed of our sins and thereby gain the opportunity to redefine and recreate our relationship with God in a more positive manner. It is the joy which arises from this whole process which shines through the traditional celebrations at the end of Yom Kippur – a joy which we seek to take with us in the next set of festivals.
First posted to Facebook 2 October 2022, here.
