Writing in this week’s Jewish Press, Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss (“Investing in ‘Hell Insurance’”) writes:
Every month, we pray when
we bentch Rosh Chodesh that Hashem should grant us “Yiras
Shamayim v’yiras cheit – Fear of Heaven and fear of sin.” Practically
speaking, fear of sin includes fear of punishment which results from our sins.
Sometimes, that punishment translates into retribution in this world, primarily
for sins between us and our fellow man. For sins against Hashem, we fear the
frightening retribution of Gehinnom, “hell.” Since the Mishna
in Pirkei Avos informs us that the fires of Gehinnom are
60 times hotter than the fires in this world, that means they are 60 times
hotter than the oven in the matzah bakery. That’s very hot indeed! [emphasis
added]
Gehinnom does get a mention in Avot. Thus in Avot 1:5 the
chachamim in the mishnah of Yose ben Yochanan Ish Yerushalayim teach that
כָּל
הַמַּרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה, גּוֹרֵם רָעָה לְעַצְמוֹ, וּבוֹטֵל מִדִּבְרֵי
תוֹרָה, וְסוֹפוֹ יוֹרֵשׁ גֵּיהִנֹּם
“…everyone who talks too much
with his wife causes evil to himself, neglects his Torah learning, and his end
is that he will inherit Gehinnom.”
This mishnah certainly does not refer to sins between man
and God, and offers no indication as to the temperature of the netherworld.
Two further mishnayot in the fifth perek make reference to
Gehinnom. The anonymous mishnah at Avot 5:22 concludes with a warning to the
disciples of Balaam:
אֲבָל
תַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע יוֹרְשִׁין גֵּיהִנֹּם וְיוֹרְדִין לִבְאֵר
שַֽׁחַת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְאַתָּה אֱלֹהִים תּוֹרִידֵם לִבְאֵר שַֽׁחַת, אַנְשֵׁי
דָמִים וּמִרְמָה לֹא יֶחֱצוּ יְמֵיהֶם, וַאֲנִי אֶבְטַח בָּךְ
“…but the disciples of the wicked Balaam inherit Gehinnom and descend into
the well of destruction, as it states: “And You, God, let them go down into the
well of destruction—men of bloodshed and deceit, they will not live half their
days. And, for my part, I will trust in you”.
This mishnah doesn’t even specify any transgressions that
will condemn a person to Gehinnom; rather, it discusses bad attitudes.
A nearby mishnah, in the name of Yehudah ben Teyma ( Avot
5:24) also addresses bad attitudes, which is not surprising if one remembers
that this tractate is about behaviour and attitudes rather than commandments
and transgressions. It teaches:
עַז פָּנִים
לְגֵיהִנֹּם, וּבֽוֹשֶׁת פָּנִים לְגַן עֵֽדֶן. יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ, יְיָ
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ, שֶׁיִּבָּנֶה בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ בִּמְהֵרָה
בְיָמֵֽינוּ, וְתֵן חֶלְקֵֽנוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶֽךָ
“The brazen [go] to Gehinnom; the
bashful, to paradise. May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our fathers,
that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days; and grant us our portion
in Your Torah”.
Neither of these two mishnayot amplify
on the nature of Gehinnom. The source upon which Rabbi Weiss might wish to rely
is a passage of aggadata in the Babylonian Talmud, at Berachot 567b. It reads
there:
“Five things are a sixtieth part
of something else: namely, fire, honey, Sabbath, sleep and a dream. Fire is
one-sixtieth part of Gehinnom. Honey is one-sixtieth part of manna. Sabbath is
one-sixtieth part of the world to come. Sleep is one-sixtieth part of death. A
dream is one-sixtieth part of prophecy”.
The reference to Gehinnom is not picked up elsewhere in this
sugya, which is located in the middle of a fascinating stream of consciousness
passage on the substance, quality and meaning of dreams.
Without in any sense wishing to minimise the seriousness of
offences against Hashem, I do feel that embellishing the message with
non-existent references to Avot is not the best way to go about getting the
message across.
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