A punishment for lashon hara

Hi,

"Rabbi Levi said: In the future, Gd will place idolaters into Gehennom, challenging them, 'Why did you persecute My children?'

"The idolaters will reply: It came from them! They would come to us and speak harmfully [lashon hara] about each other!

"At which point Gd will place both in Gehennom."

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 20:1)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Creator of Heaven and Hell?

Hi,

"In truth, Olam HaBa [The reward in the Next World] is the work of one's own hands, in that a person broadened, added or repaired a part for himself, with his deeds... And Gehennom [Hell] is likewise, for the sin is its own punishment."

(Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, Nefesh haChaim 1:12)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

The Deep and the Hidden, Part 1 of 3

Hi,

Daniel 2:22 says Gd "reveals deep and hidden things". What does this mean?

"R' Yehudah bar Simon began: "He reveals deep and hidden things" –

""He reveals deep" is Gehennom, as in Proverbs 9:18, "[The fool] does not know that spirits are there [in the depths]; those she called are in the depths of the grave," and Isaiah 30:33, "For tifteh was arranged from yesterday; it is even prepared for the king, deep and broad, its pile is fire and a great amount of wood, the breath of Gd is like a stream of sulphur burning there."

""And hidden" is the Garden of Eden, as in Isaiah 4:6, "And [on Mount Zion] there will be shelter for shade by day from dryness, for protection, a hidden place, from storms and rain," and Psalms 31:21, "You hide them in the hidden area of Your presence.""

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 1:6)

To be continued...

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The entrances of Gehennom

Hi,

I'm not certain what to draw from this, but I think it's interesting to contemplate:

"R’ Yirmiyah ben Elazar said: Gehennom [Hell] has three entrances – in the wilderness, in the sea, and in Jerusalem. In the wilderness as it is written, ‘And they, and all they had, descended alive in She’ol.’ In the sea as it is written, ‘I cried out from the belly of She’ol, and You heard my voice.’ In Jerusalem as it is written, ‘The word of Gd, who has light in Zion and an oven in Jerusalem.’ It was taught in the yeshiva of R’ Yishmael – The light is Gehennom, and the oven is the entrance to Gehennom."

(Talmud, Eruvin 19a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The pain of anger

Hi,

"One who grows angry is subject to all manner of Gehennom (Hell), as it is written (Kohelet 11), 'Remove anger from your heart, and you will remove evil from your flesh.'"

(Talmud, Nedarim 22a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Three unforgiveable sins

Hi,

"All who descend to Gehennom [Hell] also ascend, except three: One who lives with another’s wife, one who embarrasses another in public, and one who creates a negative nickname for another."

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 58b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai