Editing Christianity and Judaism (section)

===Heaven and Hell===
{{main|Eschatology|Heaven|Hell}}
There is little Jewish literature on heaven or hell as actual places, and there are few references to the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible. One is the ghostly apparition of Samuel, called up by the [[Witch of Endor]] at King Saul's command. Another is a mention by the [[Prophet Daniel]] of those who sleep in the earth rising to either everlasting life or everlasting abhorrence.<ref>Daniel 12:2</ref>

Early Hebrew views were more concerned with the fate of the nation of Israel as a whole, rather than with individual immortality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=233&letter=R&search=Resurrection|title=RESURRECTION - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> A stronger belief in an afterlife for each person developed during the Second Temple period but was contested by various Jewish sects. [[Pharisees]] believed that in death, people rest in their graves until they are physically resurrected with the coming of the Messiah, and within that resurrected body the soul would exist eternally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=252&letter=P|title=PHARISEES - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> Maimonides also included the concept of resurrection in his [[Jewish principles of faith|Thirteen Principles of Faith]].

Judaism's view is summed up by a biblical observation about the Torah: in the beginning God clothes the naked (Adam), and at the end God buries the dead (Moses). The Children of Israel mourned for 40&nbsp;days, then got on with their lives.

In Judaism, [[Heaven]] is sometimes described as a place where God debates [[Talmuds|Talmudic law]] with the angels, and where Jews spend eternity studying the Written and Oral Torah. Jews do not believe in "Hell" as a place of eternal torment. [[Gehenna]] is a place or condition of [[purgatory]] where Jews spend up to twelve months purifying to get into heaven,{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} depending on how sinful they have been, although some suggest that certain types of sinners can never be purified enough to go to heaven and rather than facing eternal torment, simply cease to exist. Therefore, some violations like suicide would be punished by separation from the community, such as not being buried in a Jewish cemetery (in practice, rabbis often rule suicides to be mentally incompetent and thus not responsible for their actions). Judaism also does not have a notion of hell as a place ruled by [[Satan]] since God's dominion is total and Satan is only one of God's angels.

Catholics also believe in a [[purgatory]] for those who are going to heaven, but Christians in general believe that Hell is a fiery place of torment that never ceases, called the [[Lake of Fire]]. A small minority believe this is not permanent, and that those who go there will eventually either be saved or cease to exist. Heaven for Christians is depicted in various ways. As the [[Kingdom of God]] described in the New Testament and particularly the [[Book of Revelation]], Heaven is a new or restored earth, a [[World to Come]], free of sin and death, with a [[New Jerusalem]] led by God, Jesus, and the most righteous of believers starting with 144,000 Israelites from every tribe, and all others who received salvation living peacefully and making [[pilgrimages]] to give glory to the city.<ref>Book of Revelation 20–22</ref>

In Christianity, promises of Heaven and Hell as rewards and punishments are often used to motivate good and bad behavior, as threats of disaster were used by prophets like [[Jeremiah]] to motivate the Israelites. Modern Judaism generally rejects this form of motivation, instead teaching to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. As Maimonides wrote:
<blockquote>
"A man should not say: I shall carry out the precepts of the Torah and study her wisdom in order to receive all the blessings written therein or in order to merit the life of the World to Come and I shall keep away from the sins forbidden by the Torah in order to be spared the curses mentioned in the Torah or in order not to be cut off from the life of the World to Come. It is not proper to serve God in this fashion. For one who serves thus serves out of fear. Such a way is not that of the prophets and sages. Only the ignorant, and the women and children serve God in this way. These are trained to serve out of fear until they obtain sufficient knowledge to serve out of love. One who serves God out of love studies the Torah and practices the precepts and walks in the way of wisdom for no ulterior motive at all, neither out of fear of evil nor in order to acquire the good, but follows the truth because it is true and the good will follow the merit of attaining to it. It is the stage of Abraham our father whom the Holy One, blessed be God, called "My friend" (Isaiah 41:8 – ''ohavi'' = the one who loves me) because he served out of love alone. It is regarding this stage that the Holy One, Blessed be God, commanded us through Moses, as it is said: "You shall love the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 6:5). When man loves God with a love that is fitting he automatically carries out all the precepts of love.
(Maimonides ''Yad'' Chapter 10, quoted in Jacobs 1973: 159)</blockquote>