Am I Going to Burn in Hell?

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:

I've committed a number of sins over the years; am I going to burn in Hell?

Answer:

If you think about it a lot, you might...

The Baal Shem Tov taught that the way G-d treats each person is a reflection of that person's relation with G-d. So if someone relates to G-d as the Big Ogre in the Sky that's out to get him, he could well end up with a self-fulfilling prophecy.

How about a friendly partnership as an alternative? Or maybe even some intimate communion?

24 Comments Posted

By Tzvi Freeman More articles... |

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman heads Chabad.org's Ask The Rabbi team, and is a senior member of the Chabad.org editorial team. He is the author of a number of highly original renditions of Kabbalah and Chassidic teaching, including the universally acclaimed "Bringing Heaven Down to Earth." To order Tzvi's books click here.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:

Posted: Oct 6, 2007

Right on, Manuel

Amen!

Posted By Yosef, Oakland, CA

Posted: Oct 3, 2007

Lake of Fire?

I have asked over the years this question to those who speak of a hell as a sentence to those that have not "lived right in this world", Would you as a father/mother think of such cruelty as a lake of fire to throw your child into because he/she was disobedient?

In the world to come meaning we must come in and out of the physical world over several lifetimes until we have balanced out tikkun.

May H'shem bless us to do it in one lifetime.

Posted By Manuel, Miami, Fl

Posted: Oct 2, 2007

Lake of fire???

Where is it written that the proper punishment is a lake of fire?

And how much pain has a person caused to the good and godly?

If they have been sufficiently wicked, then when their year in Gehinnom is done, they cease to exist. They have no more soul. They are gone. That is what Akiva said. But most people are not that wicked.

Are you hoping that the person who asked whether he personally was going to burn in hell--are you hoping he will?

Rather, hope that he has returned to the path of righteousness and that all his sins have been transmuted into mitzvos. Pray that he has done tshuvah and that Yom Kippur has operated to absolve him so that he may now be connected to Gd and do His Will with a perfect heart.

Posted By Yosef, Oakland, Calif