Rav Reuven shlita - What did Rav Avigdor Miller ztl say about Gehinnom

Published on September 26, 2024

אם ירצה ה׳

Shiur "What did Rav Avigdor Miller ztl say about Gehinnom" Audio

WARNING Parental Advisory! GEHINNOM The Movie (A BeEzrat HaShem Inc. Film) (bhtorah.org)

WARNING Parental Advisory! CHIBUT HaKEVER,THE BEATINGS OF THE GRAVE (THE MOVIE By BeEzrat HaShem Inc) (bhtorah.org)

Neither post nor transcript have been reviewed by R. Yaron Reuven shlita

Summary Briefing

The Reality of Reward and Punishment: Rav Avigdor Miller strongly emphasizes the existence of both Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) and Gehenna (Gehenna) as fundamental components of Jewish belief. He asserts that the concept of reward and punishment, particularly the reality of Gehenna, is crucial for maintaining a righteous path and strengthening Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven).
The Power of Imagery: Rav Avigdor Miller advocates for utilizing tangible experiences and imagery to grasp the abstract concepts of the afterlife. He encourages using the five senses to vividly imagine the suffering of Gehenna, making it a deterrent for sin and a motivator for righteous action.
The Importance of Teaching Children: Rav Avigdor Miller stresses the critical role of early education in instilling a proper understanding of reward and punishment, including Gehenna. He believes this foundation is essential for nurturing a genuine connection to Torah and Hashem, preventing materialism and other influences from taking hold.
The Unforgivable Sin of Bitul Torah (Neglecting Torah Study): Rav Avigdor Miller highlights the gravity of wasting time that could be dedicated to Torah learning. He considers bitul Torah an unforgivable sin, emphasizing the preciousness of time and the urgency of dedicating oneself to Torah study.
The Natural Human Inclination to Believe in Justice: Rav Avigdor Miller observes that even those who have never formally studied Torah can intuitively understand the concepts of reward and punishment when confronted with blatant injustice and suffering. He suggests that recent events, such as the horrific attacks on the Jewish people, have reawakened this natural inclination, prompting many to contemplate the reality of Gehenna.

Most Important Ideas/Facts:

Gehenna is Real and Significant: Rav Miller ztl emphasizes that belief in Gehenna is not optional for a Torah-observant Jew. It's a fundamental principle of faith, integral to understanding reward and punishment in the afterlife. He criticizes the trend of downplaying or ignoring Gehenna, especially within yeshivot (religious schools), arguing that this weakens Yirat Shamayim and leaves individuals vulnerable to sin.

"But today,” says Rav Avigdor Miller, “we don’t have that problem of disrespect towards Torah (Torah) scholars. I wish they'd speak about Gehenna (Gehenna) in all of the yeshivot (religious schools)."

Imagery is Key to Internalizing Gehenna: Abstract concepts are insufficient to evoke the necessary emotional response. Rav Miller ztl advocates for using vivid imagery, drawing parallels between everyday experiences of pain and suffering to illustrate the far greater intensity of Gehenna.

"Anything that you're able to see, hear, speak, smell, these are things that Hashem (G'd) is giving you, not only for their plain reason of what it seems like, but rather for you to serve Hashem (G'd) through it. As an example, says the Rav (Rabbi), fire. Fire shows you what happens in heaven, meaning in the, not in heaven, Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), but heaven meaning in Shamayim (heaven), in the future to the people who forsake the Torah (Torah)."

Suffering in this World Reflects Gehenna: Rav Miller ztl encourages individuals to view suffering – whether personal experiences, events like the Holocaust, or recent attacks in Israel – as a tangible reminder of the consequences of sin and the reality of Gehenna. These instances should serve as a stark wake-up call to strengthen one's commitment to Torah and mitzvot.

"And even when he sees, the Rav (Rabbi) continues, or hears about the suffering of other people, as all of us are hearing about what happened over the last couple of weeks when these murderous monsters, Palestinian terrorists, murdered a couple thousand of our people and did all types of heinous things to them, you hear about it, says Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller, 'Use that for the sake of serving HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, Blessed be He) by imagining Gehenna (Gehenna) in your mind.'"

Fear of G'd Precedes Love of G'd: Contrary to contemporary notions of a solely loving G'd, Rav Miller ztl stresses that true love of G'd stems from a place of awe and reverence, recognizing His power and justice. Without this foundational fear, any professed love is superficial and ultimately unsustainable.

"And without Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven), certainly there is no such thing as loving Hashem (G'd) because the yirah (fear) comes before the ahavah (love). There is no such thing as ahavah (love) before yirah (fear)."

The Importance of Teaching Children about Gehenna: Rav Miller ztl emphasizes the need to instill these concepts from a young age. Children must understand both reward and punishment, Gehenna and Gan Eden, to internalize the consequences of their actions and develop a strong moral compass.

"At a young age, it's very important to teach a child the foundation that there is Gan Eden(Garden of Eden), and there is Gehenna (Gehenna). There is a reward, and there is a punishment. That way, the foundation of Judaism will be engraved into his brain and turn into this basic opinion, or else something like Mickey Mouse or worse will end up getting into him because, Heaven forbid, if this gets there first, it will become much more difficult to clean that out of his mind and teach him about Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) and Mount Sinai."

Practical Torah Application:

Contemplate the Fire: Regularly reflect on the imagery of fire, using it as a mental representation of the suffering in Gehenna. When encountering fire in daily life, pause and contemplate the consequences of sin.
Give Tzedakah Generously: Embrace opportunities to give tzedakah, viewing it as a means to secure a personal angel who can protect you from the judgment of Gehenna. Strive to give with a genuine desire to help those in need, understanding the spiritual benefit you receive in return.
Prioritize Torah Study: Dedicate time each day to learning Torah, recognizing its immense value and the severe consequences of neglecting this fundamental obligation.
Teach Children about Reward and Punishment: Instill in children, from a young age, a clear understanding of the consequences of their actions, both in this world and the next. Use age-appropriate language and examples to convey the concepts of Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) and Gehenna (Gehenna).
Share the Teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller: Promote the teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller, particularly his emphasis on Gehenna, to help others understand the reality of reward and punishment. Encourage others to watch the film Gehenna by Rav Reuven for a deeper and more impactful understanding of this essential topic.

Introduction: The Importance of Spiritual Warfare and Rav Avigdor Miller's Teachings (Paragraphs 1-3)

Returning to Jerusalem amidst war and political uncertainty (Paragraph 1)
Focusing on learning Torah to win the spiritual war underlying all physical conflicts (Paragraph 2)
Introducing the teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller as a show of gratitude and a means to understand the core foundation of his Torah (Paragraph 3)

The Decline of Teachings about Reward and Punishment, Particularly Gehenna (Paragraphs 4-8)

Observing the increased yearning for spirituality following recent events (Paragraph 4)
Noting the ephemeral nature of false teachings compared to the lasting legacy of true Torah (Paragraph 5)
Recognizing the influence of the Enlightenment and the Yetzer Hara in obscuring teachings about reward and punishment (Paragraph 6)
Highlighting Rav Avigdor Miller's boldness in teaching the truth about Gehenna despite living in exile (Paragraph 7)
Emphasizing the importance of accessing the uncensored teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller to understand his true message (Paragraph 8)

Rav Avigdor Miller's Approach to Teaching about Gehenna through Imagery (Paragraphs 9-15)

Quoting Rav Avigdor Miller's book Sefer Olam to demonstrate his use of tangible experiences to teach about the afterlife (Paragraph 9)
Relating the experience of burning one's finger to the pain of Gehenna, emphasizing the intensity and duration of the suffering (Paragraphs 10-11)
Explaining how using the five senses to imagine Gehenna helps to diminish the allure of sin (Paragraphs 12-13)
Quoting from Sha'arei Orah to further emphasize the importance of using imagery when contemplating the fire of Gehenna (Paragraph 14)
Applying the imagery of Gehenna to the recent suffering endured by the Jewish people, encouraging reflection on the greater suffering of the wicked (Paragraph 15)

Understanding the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot 4:22 and its Implications for Judgment after Death (Paragraphs 16-23)

Explaining the significance of the Mishnah in combating the illusion that death ends all problems (Paragraph 16)
Highlighting the Mishnah's refutation of the heretical claim that G'd cannot judge individuals because they did not ask to be born (Paragraph 17)
Elaborating on the Gaon of Vilna's commentary on the Mishnah, emphasizing the false promises of the Yetzer Hara regarding peace after death (Paragraphs 18-19)
Recognizing the various messengers of the Yetzer Hara, including seemingly religious individuals, who promote a false sense of security regarding the afterlife (Paragraph 20)
Analyzing the Gaon of Vilna's argument against the claim that individuals cannot be held accountable for their actions because they were created against their will (Paragraph 21)
Sharing the Maggid of Mezritch's analogy of the blind and deaf sons-in-law to illustrate the inherent desire to live and the subsequent responsibility for one's actions (Paragraphs 22-23)

The Importance of Tzedakah and its Connection to Gehenna (Paragraphs 24-27)

Returning to Rav Avigdor Miller's teachings in Torah Tavigdor about the power of tzedakah to save one from the judgment of Gehenna (Paragraph 24)
Emphasizing the need to actively seek opportunities to give tzedakah, viewing the poor as angels sent to save us from a spiritual massacre (Paragraph 25)
Recognizing the internal struggle many individuals face when giving tzedakah and the justifications they create to avoid giving generously (Paragraph 26)
Highlighting the transformative power of understanding the true benefit the giver receives through tzedakah, seeing it as a means to secure a personal angel (Paragraph 27)

Further Examples of Rav Avigdor Miller's Teachings on Gehenna (Paragraphs 28-38)

Condemning the heresy of claiming that teachings about Gehenna are irrelevant in the modern age (Paragraph 28)
Discussing Rav Avigdor Miller's analysis of the fate of idolaters and hypocrites in his book L'aan (Paragraph 29)
Exploring the concept of teshuvah and the unforgivable sin of bitul Torah, as explained in Sefer Olam (Paragraph 30)
Clarifying the 12-month sentence in Gehenna for certain wicked individuals within Am Yisrael, as explained in Olam (Paragraph 31)
Examining the Ramban's teachings on the various chambers and punishments in Gehenna, as cited by Rav Avigdor Miller in Olam (Paragraph 32)
Highlighting the connection between anger and sin, leading to various punishments in Gehenna (Paragraph 33)
Describing the fire of Gehenna as burning within Hitler's heart, fueling his hatred towards the Jewish people (Paragraph 34)
Emphasizing the importance of teaching children about reward and punishment, including Gehenna, from a young age (Paragraph 35)
Illustrating the power of fear of punishment to motivate even an atheist to turn to G'd in his final moments (Paragraph 36)
Analyzing the story of Onkelos and Bilaam's insights into the enduring nature of wickedness even after suffering in Gehenna (Paragraph 37)
Discussing the different experiences of the righteous and the wicked in the Olam Haba, where the light of truth brings healing to the former and suffering to the latter (Paragraph 38)

The Significance of Recent Events in Awakening Awareness of Gehenna (Paragraphs 39-44)

Highlighting the natural human inclination to believe in reward and punishment when witnessing injustice and suffering (Paragraph 39)
Connecting the recent attacks on the Jewish people to a renewed awareness of Gehenna, as individuals grapple with the need for justice beyond this world (Paragraph 40)
Emphasizing the importance of publicizing and supporting the film Gehenna as a means to educate and awaken individuals to the reality of the afterlife (Paragraph 41)
Offering an alternative approach for those who are hesitant to confront the imagery of Gehenna: experiencing physical pain as a reminder of the greater suffering awaiting the wicked (Paragraph 42)
Reasserting the significance of Rav Avigdor Miller's teachings on Gehenna as a foundational element of his Torah and a vital component of true Yirat Shamayim (Paragraph 43)
Encouraging viewers to apply these teachings to their own lives, families, and communities, recognizing the urgent need for a global spiritual awakening (Paragraph 44)

Conclusion: A Call to Action and a Blessing for Success (Paragraph 45)

Summarizing the key takeaways from Rav Avigdor Miller's teachings on Gehenna (Paragraph 45)
Encouraging viewers to watch the film Gehenna for a deeper understanding of the topic (Paragraph 45)
Offering blessings for success in acquiring true Yirat Shamayim, building righteous families, and inspiring others to walk the path of Torah (Paragraph 45)

Transcript

We are here back in the holy city in Jerusalem, under the war that from one end seems to be intensifying as far as the opinions, but as far as what's going on out there, it seems like it's winding down after the visit by the president of the United States, Joe Biden. So, you know, some people are optimistic that Israel is going to continue the war until they finish the job, while others are very pessimistic now that there was a certain amount of money given to the Palestinians now, and all types of other things.

Anyway, we still have to do what we do, which is to learn Torah (Torah) in order to win the spiritual war because, at the end of the day, every war that's in this world, it's only after there's a spiritual war above from the malachim (angels) that oversee each nation, and this war was not something that just came out of nowhere. And one of the things that we'll discuss tonight as a chesed (kindness) and show of gratitude to one of the Gedolim (great ones) in the past generation of Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller is to enlighten you about the Torah (Torah) of Rav Avigdor Miller that perhaps you've never heard of.

And tonight's shiur (lesson) will be for the Refuah Shlema (complete recovery) and Hatzlacha Rabah (great success) for Moreno Ve'Rabbeinu HaRav Ephraim Kachlon, Rabbanit Levana Bat Sara, Rabbanit Sara Bat Anat, Avimori David Ben Esria, Yimimori Tidous Bat Jorah, and also for all of those that have been traumatized, injured, and hurt in any way, shape, or form by these evil monsters that call themselves Palestinians with different militant groups like Hamas.

And for anyone out there that believes that Hamas and Palestinians are two separate entities, you're simply fooling yourself. Israelis know very well who their enemy is, and no one can tell them otherwise.

Anyway, we are in a situation now that there has been an enormous amount of spiritual yearning over this last couple of weeks. As the sages say that Haman, Haman HaRasha (the evil one), who wanted to destroy Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel), still had merit because he caused Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel) to get so scared from being annihilated that Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel) as a whole did teshuvah (repentance). And because of that, the Gemara (Gemara) says that the descendants of Haman converted to Judaism and became big rabbis in Bnei Brak. And some Chachamim (wise ones) have actually, some of the sages in the Gemara (Gemara) discuss it and even mention one of the names. I believe it's Rabbi Simlai, that's actually a descendant of Haman.

The point being is that after you have such a spiritual awakening in the last couple of weeks, you have to take advantage of it because there's an enormous amount of people that are watching shiurim (lessons) of Torah (Torah) that we have, and I'm also finding out from our different language groups that it's catapulted in a positive way over these last couple of weeks in other languages. Our Russian channel is blowing up over 100,000 views just in the last 48 hours. And thousands of people are signing up to the channel to watch Rabbi Leib and his shiurim (lessons), watch some of my shiurim (lessons) that were translated to Russian.

So, Baruch Hashem (blessed be G'd), it's amazing how many people are watching Hebrew, English, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, all of these different languages where they're getting the truth. So, on that end, we're getting people to do teshuvah (repentance), we're getting people to keep Shabbat (Sabbath), we're getting people to do all types of very, very good things. But at the same token, a person has to be aware that the spiritual awakening is not going to wait for you, and you have to take advantage of certain things. And if you're not fighting the battle for the sake of Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel), then Satan already won because Satan has soldiers that are fighting for him every single time that they have an opportunity, which is pretty much 24 hours a day.

And one of the things that the Zohar Hakodesh (Holy Zohar) tells us is that at the end of days, many of the teachers out there are going to be part of the Erev Rav (mixed multitude). They're going to be part of the Erev Rav (mixed multitude) where they're going to change the truth. They're going to distort the truth, like some of the heretics that we've spoken about in the past.

But even if someone was a tzaddik (righteous person) that taught the truth, that did all the right things, it doesn't necessarily mean that his Torah (Torah) is going to continue flourishing after he dies, you know, because his students will do him justice because sometimes, you know, when the rabbi passes away, the students weaken. And even if they don't necessarily mean bad, the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) convinces them that perhaps the rabbi was great in his generation, but now we have to, you know, take things and match them to the current generation. And in so many words, sugarcoat the holy words of the Rav (Rabbi).

Now, as I've told you many times, if anyone reads some of the books of Gedolei Yisrael (great ones of Israel) from the previous generations, whether you're going to be looking at directly into the Mishnah (Mishnah) and the Gemara (Gemara), or you're going to look at the different parts of the Zohar (Zohar), you're not going to spend too much time looking for the truth because you'll see it right in every single page. The reward and judgment is constantly mentioned in one way or another.

But when you go into the world of the Rishonim (early commentators) 800-900 years ago, you're going to see clear truth of what reward and punishment is as the Ramban writes in Sha'ar HaGemul (Gate of Retribution) in the seventh section over there, talks about reward and punishment, and anyone that says that the maximum judgment is only 12 months is a heretic, and he speaks very, very zealously about what the truth is and what the falsehood is. And this continues for hundreds and hundreds of years.

But at some point, the combination of the Enlightenment movement and also the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) attacking even the world of the Yeshivot (religious schools) has somehow convinced people that the topic of reward and punishment, specifically referring to the topic of Gehenna (Gehenna), apparently doesn't leave the border of Israel, meaning you can learn about Gehenna (Gehenna) in Israel from the teachers in Israel, from the rabbis in Israel, but once you leave the border, you go to, you know, you leave Israel, you go to the UK, you go to America, you go to Canada, you go to all these different countries, apparently no teacher wants to speak about Gehenna (Gehenna) until you have great Chachamim (wise ones) like Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller who comes in and tells you, "No, no, even though I live in the exile, that doesn't mean that the Torah (Torah) is from the exile, it's the same Holy Torah (Torah)."

And he spoke the words of truth that woke up a lot of people, perhaps many more people after he passed away from this world than even while he was alive, but needless to say, he built an empire of Torah (Torah).

But despite this empire of Torah (Torah) where there are many, many books out there and newsletters that people get every day where they take different excerpts of the things that he said, the truth is that the core foundation of the teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller are not going to be something you're going to find easily, at least online, in a newsletter. And quite frankly, unless you study his books, you're going to miss it. You're going to miss it because the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) has convinced people that even the great Rav Avigdor Miller has to be censored in this generation if you're going to teach it to the people of the exile, as if people are spiritually retarded.

Now, the truth is, Rabotai Kareem (my dear friends), anyone that wants the truth can have it very easily, and anyone that wants falsehood can also have it easily. And this shiur (lesson) is for those people that want the truth. If you want the truth, if you want to understand what one of the Gedolim (great ones) of Yisrael (Israel) actually said, what he built his empire of Torah (Torah) upon, then tune in and you'll understand and you'll see sources and page numbers as Baruch Hashem (blessed be G'd), Be'er Gilenu BaKodesh (our well is in the Holy), and our holy work.

We always want to give you guys word for word what the sages said without necessarily confusing it with our opinion. Anytime that we're going to add something from ourselves or Rav Ephraim, certainly you're going to be notified of it. But the key is to understand is that sometimes when a person reads a book, sometimes when a person reads an article, they don't realize that the key point is being missed if you don't pay close attention to it.

And this is why, despite the fact that the Anglo-Judaism or American Judaism or whatever you want to call it cooled down already at the time of Rav Avigdor Miller, he himself was a fire burning of Holy Torah (Torah), and he did not allow himself to be censored in any way, shape, or form. And for that, he merited to build the empire that he did.

And if you notice the heretics that went against the truth, no one even knows who they are in this generation. Once they leave this world, the memory of them leaves, whereas the holy people, whether it's the Chafetz Chaim (desirer of life) or Rav (Rabbi) Elchanan Wasserman or Rav (Rabbi) Nissim Yagen or all of the Chachamim (wise ones), Rav (Rabbi) Ovadia, all of these giants, it's not just people remember them and their pictures and a couple of stories, but their Torah (Torah) is still alive and well, as if they're publishing books today, as if they're publishing books today.

And the important thing to know is that when one wants to have a Rav (Rabbi) that they say, "This is my Rav (Rabbi)," they have to understand that that means that you listen to everything that that rabbi says. So that means that if you consider Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller your Rav (Rabbi), that means that you not only have to learn, read, watch everything that he said, but even more so you have to do it. You have to do everything possible to publicize it, and you can't censor anything, and you can't say, "No, you know what, this article is a little too strong, I'm not going to send it to my friend. This one is not..." You can't do any of that stuff. Once the rabbi says, that's it. It's like Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) said it at Mount Sinai.

But again, it's sad that there is a lot of censoring today, whether intentional or unintentional is irrelevant. We certainly know that the intentional and the unintentional are still the censoring of Torah (Torah), still the works of the Satan. And that's why, as hakarat hatov (gratitude) for what we've learned from Rav Avigdor Miller and hakarat hatov (gratitude) for putting us in the world of Torah (Torah), we have to make sure that the truth is out there and understand where people really are versus where people really think they are.

Now, Rav Avigdor Miller wrote, Baruch Hashem (blessed be G'd), had many speeches, many of them turned into many books. And as a side note, the first book that I got from Rav Ephraim to read when I first started doing teshuvah (repentance) was Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller's book. And at that time, it was a very, very dense, very heavy book, even though it was a heavy reader for other material, you know, business and the likes, philosophy and all types of things I studied throughout all my life.

Once I was introduced to the world of Torah (Torah), the first book I got was Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller's book. And for me, it was very difficult because I didn't realize that this is not just intellectual, this is also a spiritual war. And this is one of the things that Rav Avigdor Miller knew very, very well. Hence the reason why he fought against this censoring, this political correctness, tooth and nail and wrote about it extensively throughout practically every one of his books.

And we're going to mention just again a tidbit of it. We're not going to mention all of it because that literally will take days, but I mentioned a tidbit of it. I may take a while, but that that tidbit is still going to be significant so you know exactly what Rav Avigdor Miller taught about Gehenna (Gehenna), so you know that even if you read a few motivating write-ups by him or that were, you know, transcribed from his lectures or something that focused on perhaps Zionism, or anti-Zionism, I should say, or something that focused on having emunah (faith), or something that focused on being a decent person, it's all good. It's all fantastic. But it's not the foundation of what Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller taught. These articles are good, but they're not the reason why Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller was a Torah (Torah) powerhouse in this world and the next.

So we'll start off with letting you know that these books, when we're quoting them, we're quoting the Hebrew version, meaning that if you open the same exact book in English, it may not be the same page number, maybe off by a few pages. It won't be significantly off, it won't be like a hundred pages difference, it may be a couple of pages off.

In Sefer Olam (World Book), fourth chapter, page 170, Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller gives us the basic foundation of all of his teachings where he constantly used as a ba'al mussar (ethical teacher). He used things that a person can see and feel in order for them to understand the word of G'd. And he says, "Anything that you encounter by using your five senses is something good for helping your Avodat Hashem (service of G'd)."

Anything that you're able to see, hear, speak, smell, these are things that Hashem (G'd) is giving you, not only for their plain reason of what it seems like, but rather for you to serve Hashem (G'd) through it. As an example, says the Rav (Rabbi), fire. Fire shows you what happens in heaven, meaning in the, not in heaven, Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), but heaven meaning in Shamayim (heaven), in the future to the people who forsake the Torah (Torah).

And one can imagine if the burning pain of this fire that you're seeing, of this fire that you perhaps felt if you burned your finger, and one can imagine if this burning pain that he had, by let's say if he burned his finger, it hurts a lot, he says. Imagine if that burning in the finger lasted one hour or one week or years or forever. Imagine a person got burned, either he touched a hot pot or his finger went into a, instead of him grabbing the hot dog, he grabbed the fire and the barbecue, but that burn didn't just burn quickly and you pulled away, rather that burn continued for an hour. Can somebody imagine that? A week? Months? Years? Forever?

Says Rav Avigdor Miller, "Each burn here is only one-sixtieth of the pain of the burning Gehenna (Gehenna). For example, for lashon hara (evil speech), one can imagine putting his tongue on a burning pot for many long years because that's what will happen."

Here, the Rav (Rabbi) is telling you don't just read about reward and punishment, don't just listen to it, but rather create an image, but an image that you can relate to, an image that you can understand because that will help you.

In the book Lev Avigdor (Heart of Avigdor), in a section called the Gate of Choice or Bechira (choice), page 167, the Rav (Rabbi) brings the Gemara (Gemara) in Masechet Eruvin (Tractate Eruvin), page 19a, which asks why is Gehenna (Gehenna) called Gehenna (Gehenna)? Because it's a place, gai (valley), that people go for chinam (free), for worthless endeavors, because the desires are never as great as the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) makes them out to be, and there are one big lie, all of these desires.

Somebody is chasing women, somebody is chasing money, somebody is chasing all of these different things and forsaking the word of Hashem (G'd) in the process. All of it is one big lie because once a person actually has that desire that he wanted, he realizes that it's never what he thought it was going to be, never, absolutely never.

And even the natural desires are exaggerated much more than reality. And Rav Ephraim adds, "Think of a wicked person going down to Gehenna (Gehenna), and one of the people managing Gehenna (Gehenna) over there says, 'Why are you going to Gehenna (Gehenna)?' His response is, 'For nothing worthwhile, going to Gehenna (Gehenna) because he cheated on his wife.'

'That's why you're going to Gehenna (Gehenna)?' 'He had a girlfriend on the side. Wasting seed, immorality, adultery, all types of horrible things. So he's going to Gehenna (Gehenna).' 'What do you have now that you're here? Do you have any good memories from this adulterous relationship?' 'No.' 'Did it work out? Did you end up getting married with her?' 'No. She ended up cheating on me.' 'And what happened with your wife?' 'Oh, she also left me.' 'Meaning I ended up losing in both worlds.' 'Why are you going to Gehenna (Gehenna)?' 'Oh, because I cheated in business. I took people, and I convinced them to borrow money at a very, very high interest without really explaining to them that it's really a predatory loan. And I'm going to Gehenna (Gehenna) for it.' 'Is any of the money that you made, the millions that you made, came with you here? Are you going to benefit from it?' 'No.' 'Did you at least benefit from it in the regular world?' 'Eventually I lost everything. I gambled everything, snorted a bunch of drugs, ended up destroying my life, ended up doing all types of horrible things, became an evil person. So this is really just my first sentence, just for the business itself. I'm not done with the rest of the stuff.' 'So you're going to Gehenna (Gehenna) for nothing? Like nothing? Like it wasn't even like something that you could say, you know what, I did it, and I could take it with me somewhere...'

And all of the sins are like this. And that's what Rav Avigdor Miller says when I say that Gehenna (Gehenna) is called the place that people go for worthless endeavors, for nothing, he says this word is because the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) convinces you to do all types of things, but you realize at one point that it's all one big lie. And therefore, Rav Ephraim adds and says that your greatest desire loses value after you imagine if you had to get your finger burned for only five minutes. And therefore, the more one will use his five senses to imagine Gehenna (Gehenna), like Rav Avigdor Miller says, the more success he'll have in staying away from sins.

Here Rav Ephraim is clarifying how to implement the first point that Rav Avigdor Miller said. He said, "Have an image, picture yourself burning your finger. I'm sure it's happened to some of you. You burned your finger, got electrocuted, something. Everybody understands pain to a certain extent, some of us more than others, but usually the pain is an instant, it's gone. And even if there's more pain after it, it's not the same as the original pain."

But Rav Avigdor Miller says, "No, no, no, remember the original pain. Think of that, of how it continues, not for a second and you have a reflex and you pull away, but rather for five minutes, just five minutes. We don't want to talk about it even forever, five minutes, five minutes of that pain for any particular sin that you're making. Immediately, the desire that you have for the forbidden woman, for wasting seed, for stealing, for eating non-kosher, for lying, for saying lashon hara (evil speech), for wearing immodest clothes, for anything that the Torah (Torah) says it's forbidden, the second you think of your finger, just your finger being burned for five minutes, immediately the desire dissipates and turns to nearly nothing until you forget about that thought, and then the desire tries to attack again."

And therefore, in the book Sha'arei Orah (Gates of Light), Rav Avigdor Miller says in page number 87, in a section called Avodat Atziut (Service through Imagery), the Rav (Rabbi) says, "The holy sages taught us different types of images to learn from for the sake of learning about Gehenna (Gehenna) and at all stages of death."

As the Gemara (Gemara) in Masechet Berakhot (Tractate Blessings), page 57b, says that the fire of Gehenna (Gehenna) is 60 times greater than the fire here, so you'd have an imagery to learn that when you see fire, you should use it to think about the punishment of Gehenna (Gehenna).

And Rav (Rabbi) Saadia Gaon in his Sefer Emunot VeDeot (Book of Beliefs and Opinions) in Chelek Dalet (fourth section), Ot Bet (second sign), fourth chapter, second section, says that all images of sorrow in this world are measured against the images of greater sorrow in Gehenna (Gehenna).

And therefore, says Rav Avigdor Miller, "It's an obligation for us to use this strategy of imagery regularly. If one suffered burning by touching something hot, like a hot pot, or burning his finger, or another type of suffering on a small body part, he should use this image and imagine that if this is the suffering for just a small body part that's limited, how much more awful is the suffering of the fire of Gehenna (Gehenna) that's burning the entire body, Shem Yishmor G'atzid (G'd forbid in the future)."

And even when he sees, the Rav (Rabbi) continues, or hears about the suffering of other people, as all of us are hearing about what happened over the last couple of weeks when these murderous monsters, Palestinian terrorists, murdered a couple thousand of our people and did all types of heinous things to them, you hear about it, says Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller, "Use that for the sake of serving HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, Blessed be He) by imagining Gehenna (Gehenna) in your mind."

And Rav Ephraim adds, "You see the suffering that happened to those poor people last week, you see the suffering that's happening now, whatever type of suffering, whether it's in a hospice or it's a murder..." all these things, my friend," says Rabbi Ephraim, "you see that suffering? Think of it, imagine it, but just know, it's going to be worse than that. Gehenna (Gehenna) is worse than whatever you're seeing, but at the very least, you'll have some type of imagery. It's going to be worse than that for the sinners."

And Rav Avigdor Miller continues and says that Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein, the Mashgiach (spiritual mentor) of Yeshivat Mir, also went in this direction of thinking and teaching. And when Hitler, yimach shmo (may his name be blotted out), was put in power, Rav (Rabbi) Levenstein said that due to the people forgetting of Gehenna (Gehenna) that's in the next world, the Creator, the Borei Olam (Creator of the World), brought Gehenna (Gehenna) into this world. Hashem yishmor v'yatzil (May G'd protect and save). This is all in Sha'arei Orah (Gates of Light), page 87.

Next, we're going to go to the sefer (book) called Tovat Avigdor (Goodness of Avigdor), first chapter, page 47. The Rav (Rabbi) says regarding the fire of Gehenna (Gehenna) being 60 times the fire here, it is so critical for our understanding and imagery of what Gehenna (Gehenna) is because the knowledge of what Gehenna (Gehenna) is keeps a person on a straight path.

The yesod (foundation), meaning the foundation of Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven), is knowledge of Gehenna (Gehenna). As the sages teach us in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), in the Mishnah (Mishnah) in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), chapter 4, Mishnah (Mishnah) number 22, "Don't let the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) convince you that the grave shall be a refuge for you. Know that there will be a judgment for your actions. There is Gehenna (Gehenna) after death."

And one must have an image of what is Gehenna (Gehenna). If you could make a drawing of it, a video of it, a movie of it, whatever you can do to help you understand what Gehenna (Gehenna) is and have an image of it, it's fantastic. Meaning if Rav Avigdor Miller was with us right now, he would be the number one promoter of the Gehenna (Gehenna) film, more than even us. Because that's his shita (opinion). That's what he learned from Rabbi Levenstein. That's what he learned from everything that he knew.

Because otherwise, says Rav Avigdor Miller, how could one feel that there is Gehenna (Gehenna) if you don't have an image of it? And therefore, fire gives us an image of what is Gehenna (Gehenna).

Now, before we continue this point of what he writes, we have to go back to the Mishnah (Mishnah) that the Rav (Rabbi) brought. The Mishnah (Mishnah) in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), chapter 4, verse number, Mishnah (Mishnah) number 22, is one of the foundational Mishnayot (Mishnahs) that every person really should remember by heart. But the section that the Rav (Rabbi) brings is a section that not only teaches us about not to live in illusion and think that once you finish this life, death, which is inevitable for all of us, but death will end your problems.

That's what suicidal people think. They think that once they die, that's it, their problems are over. They don't realize that their problems will grow exponentially if they kill themselves. And needless to say, a person that is not Torah (Torah) observant thinks that, okay, once they die, they die, that's it, it's the end. Wrong. Don't think that death will bring you a refuge.

But furthermore, the Rav (Rabbi) quotes this Mishnah (Mishnah) because he's also fighting against the heretics, the heretics that will tell you that G'd needs you or G'd can't judge you. As the Mishnah (Mishnah) itself says, literally, the Mishnah (Mishnah) reads, "Do not let your evil inclination convince you that the grave shall be a refuge for you, for you were created against your will, and you were born against your will, and you will remain alive against your will, and you shall die against your will, and in the future, against your will, you will give an accounting and a reckoning before the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He."

That's only the second half of the Mishnah (Mishnah), but that's the point that we're focusing on, meaning if somebody tells you, "Listen, I just read a book by some heretic," and they don't call him a heretic, but we know it's a heretic because he calls the book, "I didn't ask to be born, and therefore G'd can't judge me."

The Mishnah (Mishnah) in Masechet Avot (Tractate Fathers), the foundation of our Oral Torah (Torah), says, "Don't ever think like that." Why not? Because although you're saying you didn't ask to be here, you want to be here once you're here. And that's what the Gaon (genius) of Vilna comments on this Mishnah (Mishnah) and says that the evil inclination promises that a person after his departure from this world will rest in peace.

You know how people put R.I.P., "Oh, rest in peace," as if he's sleeping, he's having a nap, nice sleep, maybe nice dreams, he's flying with the angels over the clouds, eating sugar candy, talking to the moon and the sun, you know, like some type of Care Bears, Care Bear. That's what the evil inclination wants you to think.

But the Gaon (genius) says, the Gaon (genius) says what? The Gaon (genius) says, the Gaon (genius) says that the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) is going to tell you that the grave shall be a refuge for you and that you don't need to give a reckoning for your deeds before the heavenly court.

One second, we see that we have a little bit of an issue on the online...

So the Gaon (genius) says, the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination), the evil inclination is going to convince you that once you pass away, you don't have to worry about anything. There's no judgment. There's no day of reckoning for all of the things you did. You finished your life. You had a good time. Didn't have a good time. Doesn't make a difference. It's done. The Holy Spirit says that's what the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) is going to try to make you think.

And sometimes the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) is going to have soldiers that have beards longer than mine, hats, and different positions, popularity, invitations from major organizations and synagogues. The Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) has many, many messengers. They try to convince you that if you died, you're going to heaven. Why? Because you're a Jew.

What about the fact that you didn't practice Judaism? What about the fact that you are a wicked Jew? What about the fact that you didn't do what Judaism actually says to do, and the only thing that was Jewish about you was the perhaps the cemetery that you were buried in? What about that?

"No, no, he's a Jew, therefore he goes to heaven." The Yetzer Hara (evil inclination), the evil inclinations are going to try to convince you that you're going to become a Care Bear, fly in the clouds, eating sugar candy, talking to the moon and the sun, riding the clouds. Don't believe it.

What's the argument, says the Gaon (genius) of Vilna? The argument that they're saying is that because you were created against your will and born against your will and remained alive against your will, everything was done against your will, so you can't be held accountable for what you did in your lifetime.

Meaning, "I didn't ask to be born," says the heretic. "I didn't ask to live. Since I didn't ask for this, therefore you can't hold me accountable for doing whatever I wanted."

And therefore, the Mishnah (Mishnah) says, says the Gaon (genius) of Vilna, and warns us, "Do not let your evil inclination convince you that the grave shall be a refuge for you, for you are created against your will, and you will die against your will. But if you should become sick and bedridden, G'd forbid, you show your fear of death," meaning you want to live, "and you call upon the best doctors, and you would give them all of your money to save your life, and you do so because you wish to enjoy a long life, demonstrating that your will truly is to remain alive, and therefore you will be judged and have no choice but to give an accounting for all your deeds before the King of Kings."

Meaning even though you were created against your will, once you were created, you wanted to live.

Now, one of the amazing relationships that we read about different times is the relationship between the Gaon (genius) of Vilna and the Maggid of Mezritch, both of them were Torah (Torah) giants, but of course the Maggid of Mezritch, where the Maggid, he was a kiruv (outreach) rabbi, going from community to community, literally waking up, waking up sleeping souls, and people crying in his lectures.

And the Maggid of Mezritch and the Gaon (genius) of Vilna were close. So when the Maggid heard the Rav (Rabbi) say this, he says, "Do I have the permission to elaborate on your words with an analogy?"

"You always have an analogy for something. You had a gift, a gift from Heaven, that literally everything you can put into perspective, that's the easiest thing in the world to understand."

And he says the following, and this is brought in the Sefer Anaf Etz Avodah (Branches of the Tree of Service) by Rabbi Yosef, the son of the Maggid of Mezritch. He says, "Imagine that there was a wealthy man, and he had two daughters, two daughters. One of them was really, really ugly, horrible, something like she had no body, or the image of a body, and no face, and you're not even sure what creature she was. And the other one was just a nasty, nasty person. Literally, people were scared to just even stand next to her because of the vile mouth that she had."

"But this wealthy man wanted to get them both married. But no one wanted to marry them. So until he found this shadchan (matchmaker) that had some expertise and liked money, and he said, 'I found the perfect match for both of your daughters.' 'Oh, great, fantastic.' 'The one that's really ugly, I found her the perfect mate. He's a good guy, decent family, but the best thing about him is he's blind. He's blind, so he won't be able to see how hideous she is.' 'The one that people don't like so much, I found her the best match. Nice guy, decent family, but the best thing about him is he's deaf. So he won't hear any of the vile things that come out of her mouth and complaints and cursing and... Ugh! Perfect matches. We should do a double wedding!'"

"And so this is what happens. They have the wedding, and everybody's happy, fantastic, tons and tons of money is spent, and then they get married, and everyone lives happily. The one that's blind doesn't know how ugly his wife is, so he's happy with her. The one that is deaf doesn't know what is coming out of his wife's mouth and how she's cursing him every two seconds, so he's happy also."

"Until one day they both hear about a world-renowned doctor that's coming to town and has the ability to cure both of their illnesses. And since, of course, they're both the sons-in-law of a wealthy man, they can pay whatever price he's asking for. The doctor says, 'I can cure both of you in one day.' So both go to the doctor, and lo and behold, they get out of the anesthesia, and the blind man can see, the deaf man can hear, and they're both excited, and they both go home."

"And once they go home, tragedy strikes. The blind man sees how ugly and hideous his wife is, he's not sure whether to cry or to vomit, he doesn't know what to do. 'Ah! What's going on here? This is it! Oh, man!' The guy that's deaf, he's happy to go see his wife until she starts cursing him and yelling at him, and he hears her voice, and it's so annoying, and it never stops, and she won't let him study, and she won't let him sleep, she won't let him eat, and she just doesn't stop yapping like a machine. If she was a machine gun, it would actually be some mercy because it would end at some point."

"And both of them literally cannot wait to go the next day to the doctor and complain to him, 'What did you do to us? You ruined our life!' The doctor said, 'What are you talking about? I cured both of you. You guys have to pay me.' They're like, 'We're not paying you.' 'Oh, come on, what do you mean we're not paying you? I'm going to take you to court.' He goes, 'Take us to court.' So they go to the court. The judge hears the case, and he says, he was a wise judge, and he says, 'Well, doctor, you caused damage to both of your patients, and therefore I conclude that you have to undo the process. You have to make the blind man, the one that sees, blind, and the one that, the one that's deaf, or used to be deaf, you have to make him deaf again. And they won't have to pay you.'"

"Initially, the two guys heard, 'I don't have to pay.' 'Sure.' But then when they heard, 'Wait, wait, wait. You're going to make me blind again? You're going to make me deaf again?' They started protesting. 'No, no, no, no, no. What are you doing? No, no, no, no. What are you talking about? I want to see. I want to hear. I want to see.' 'Ah,' says the judge. 'Oh, so now you want to see, now you want to hear, you just said you don't want to because you're unhappy because your wife because of this, so this shows that in reality now that you have the vision, now that you have the ears, you want it, and therefore you have to pay the full price. The fact that your wife's a problem, that has nothing to do with the doctor.'"

And that's what the Maggid of Mezritch says to his, to his rabbi, he says that's the analogy of everything that he said. A person can say all he wants, "I didn't ask to be here, I didn't want to be here, I didn't this and in that." It doesn't make a difference. Once you're here, you want to be here. And don't let the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) convince you that you won't have to pay a judgment after you die.

And that's what Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller brings in his Sefer Tora Tavigdor (The Torah is pleasant) on page 47, where a person must have an image of what is in Gehenna (Gehenna) because otherwise, how could he feel that Gehenna (Gehenna), what Gehenna (Gehenna) is? And therefore, the fire gives a person an image of what it is.

"Now, in the past," says Rav Avigdor Miller, "yeshivot (religious schools) didn't speak about Gehenna (Gehenna), only about Gan Eden (Garden of Eden)." He's talking about the previous generation before him. Why? "Because the respect towards the generation's Torah (Torah) scholars was in a terrible shape. There was a lot of disrespect towards anybody that was learning Torah (Torah). They would literally make fun of them and torment them. Anyone that would learn Torah (Torah), they caused them a lot of damage. So to recruit new students to the yeshiva (religious school) was much more difficult. It wasn't a matter of money. It wasn't a matter of location. It was a matter of simply convincing people to continue learning Torah (Torah) because once you learn Torah (Torah), you're going to be disrespected by everybody because they were viewed as losers and as this and as that."

"So in order to convince the bachurim (young men) in the yeshiva (religious school) to learn Torah (Torah), the rabbis would teach them about Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) in order to encourage them."

"But today," says Rav Avigdor Miller, "we don't have that problem of disrespect towards Torah (Torah) scholars. I wish they'd speak about Gehenna (Gehenna) in all of the yeshivot (religious schools)."

I wish, he says, "When a person sees a fire," this is all the words of, this is word for word what he said. Anytime that I'm adding, I tell you exactly what I'm adding. "When a person sees a fire, he must think of the fire of Gehenna (Gehenna) that's 60 times hotter. If he touches something hot and burns himself, he must think that in Gehenna (Gehenna), it's much hotter. And this is the real purpose and intention of the creation of fire by Hashem (G'd). Why did Hashem (G'd) create fire? It's not for the purpose of warming things up or bringing light, but rather to teach you what Gehenna (Gehenna) is after you see it or after you get burnt."

Meaning after you see fire or you get burnt by fire, you'll now know what Gehenna (Gehenna) is. But since Hashem (G'd) created it for that purpose, He also enabled us to use it for other beneficial purposes, like cooking and a barbecue and other things. But really, the main purpose of fire is to teach us Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven).

Up to here, Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller. Now, Rav Ephraim, Rav Ephraim, when a person says, "I'm the talmid (student) of Avigdor Miller," or he says, "I'm learning most of my Torah (Torah) from Avigdor Miller," you have to understand what you're saying.

First, the Mishnah (Mishnah) in Masechet Avot (Tractate Fathers) says, first chapter, "Make yourself a Rav (Rabbi) in order to eliminate doubt." Anyone who does not have a Rabbi, they have a very, very serious problem. So you have to have a Rabbi. But whoever the Rabbi is that you have, that you're learning from, you must follow everything he says, and not just pick and choose, "Oh, wait, I like these shiurim (lessons) about Gehenna (Gehenna). I like his shiurim (lessons) about, you know, about bitachon (trust in G'd). I like his shiurim (lessons) about this, but his shiurim (lessons) about Shabbat (Sabbath) where he says you have to keep it, not so much. His shiurim (lessons) about how you have to have shalosh seudos (third Sabbath meal), not so much."

You can't pick and choose. Why? Because the Mishnah (Mishnah) in Masechet, in the Gemara (Gemara) in Masechet Rosh Hashanah (Tractate Rosh Hashanah), page 14a on the bottom over there, says, "Someone that's looking for the leniencies of Beit Shammai on the same topic and he's also looking for the leniency of Beit Hillel," meaning he's not picking sides, he doesn't want to be just Beit Shammai, just have this Rabbi, he doesn't want to have just that Rabbi, he wants to have whatever fits him.

Today he listens to someone that says the truth, but as soon as he talks about punishment, he changes the channel, and he goes to somebody else that talks nice. He goes to synagogue, he asks the rabbi all the questions. As long as the rabbi gives him the answers that he wants, "He's my rabbi."

The second the rabbi says that, "By the way, the wig that your wife wears, you know, it comes from idolatry. You have to convince her somehow with love and affection and attention that she has to put a real kisui rosh (hair covering), like Sarah Imenu (our mother). Sarah Imenu (our mother) didn't wear a wig, not a short one, not a long one. You have to convince her, your wife has to be modest. You have to learn Torah (Torah)."

He comes home, he says, "Ani (I)... Today he wasn't my rabbi. I'm going to start listening to the rabbi you watch online."

"What did he say? What did he say last week? It's a little weird." "Oh, he said to smoke drugs because that's how you're getting close to G'd." "Yeah, yeah, that sounds okay. I'm not going to do the drug part, but I like that kind of rabbi. He's open-minded."

The Gemara (Gemara) says, "Wicked." Why? He's only looking for leniencies. He's looking for leniencies. Can't look for leniencies. Sometimes the rabbi is going to be lenient, but sometimes he's going to be strict. Either way, he's your rabbi. That's what you go with. You can't pick and choose.

Same concept with people that say, "Oh, yeah, I love Rav Avigdor Miller. I never knew he talked about Gehenna (Gehenna) so much. I never knew all these horrible things you have to actually work on imagining Gehenna (Gehenna)." Well, now you know. And if you are going to continue calling yourself a student of Rav Avigdor Miller, this is something you have to do to get yourself to have really, you let your mind and not just read his holy Torah (Torah) like it's a newspaper or some comic book.

Furthermore, in a sefer (book) called Torah Tavigdor (The Torah is pleasant), in the second chapter, page 38, the Rav (Rabbi) brings the Gemara (Gemara) in Masechet Bava Batra (Tractate Bava Batra), page 10, where it says that when you give tzedakah (charity) to a poor, needy person, it saves you from the judgment of Gehenna (Gehenna).

And the Rav (Rabbi) says, "Our holy sages taught us proper hashkafa (outlook), proper ideology, that when we see a poor person, there's no such thing as running away from him, Heaven forbid, but rather chase him as he is like an angel that will save you from a massacre."

Meaning when you have somebody coming to ask for charity, the needy person, poor person, there's a charitable cause that you know is a legitimate cause and not one of these scams that's out there, instead of saying, "Oh, come on, I just made this, I already donated, I already this... Oh, this guy came with the money..." Never do such a thing, says Rav Avigdor Miller. Why? If you realize what Torah (Torah) says and you believe in Torah (Torah), you'll know that this charitable opportunity for you to give money to, that's going to save you from Gehenna (Gehenna), that's like Hashem (G'd) sent you an angel to save you from a massacre, and you say, "Ah, man, this angel again?"

And to clarify further, he says, "Without such an imagery of understanding who really is the one that receives here the benefit, being the giver is the one that receives the benefit, a person really can never justify wanting to give. He may give, but he doesn't want to give."

You know, many times people give because they feel like peer pressure. They saw other people in the community give. They know that it's a mitzvah (commandment) to give. They read something about it to give. But in reality, it hurts them. They don't really want to give.

"I worked so hard for the money. I have to give 10%? Oof, come on. Maybe I... What about if groceries? Can I use my groceries as part of that 10%? What about the air conditioning bill? No, it's phonic Shabbat (mock Sabbath). Can I use that for... for ma'aser (tithe)?"

When they start creating all types of nonsense in order to justify not giving more, they don't really like to give. Even if they give, they don't really like to give. Sometimes they give, but they give like, not so much. They try to do the minimum requirement.

Rav Ephraim says, "When a person understands," Rav Avigdor Miller here said, "that Hashem (G'd) sent you an angel that could save you from a massacre, no different than a massacre that happened less than two weeks ago to our brothers and sisters. That tzedakah (charity) that you gave can save you from that massacre. It's like Hashem (G'd) sent you an angel to save you. And you say, 'Ah!'"

So when a person realizes this, he wants to give. Who doesn't want a private angel? And it's a mistake to say that such teachings about Gehenna (Gehenna) are not for this generation.

Mistake of all mistakes. It's heretical. Why? Because one of the 13 principles of faith is that our Torah (Torah) will never change. It's not only heretical against the entire Torah (Torah), it's heretical against Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller himself. This is the foundation of his teachings. It's literally in every book.

Even the next book, that really was known as something that the Rav (Rabbi) went and delved into science and really opened up the reader's mind, show him how a Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) is not just a Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) which is the meat dish and which is the dairy dish and how to bring a sacrifice to the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) that we're still waiting for. No, no, no. A Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) knows a lot about a lot.

In a sefer (book) called L'aan (Whither), in page 161, question 509, the Rav (Rabbi) talks about Christians being idolaters and hypocrites. And then he summarizes the section. He says, "What will be their end?" And he says, "They are cursed to inherit Gehenna (Gehenna) several times, and that will be their end. Even if you see that they benefit from this world, and they have positions of power in this world, in the end, they are cursed to go to Gehenna (Gehenna)." Why? Because of how they serve idols, how they are hypocrites, and so on and so forth.

Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller mentions Gehenna (Gehenna). It's a complete factual without hesitation. And next in the Sefer Olam (World Book), sixth chapter, page 50, talks about regarding a sinner who does teshuvah (repentance), and he says it's not so simple to do teshuvah (repentance) as this person will have to suffer in this world and even have some time spent in Gehenna (Gehenna) for some of his sins. But in the end, he'll be cleansed of his sins, except the one sin that will never be forgiven. And that is the sin of bitul Torah (neglecting Torah study).

Bitul Torah (neglecting Torah study) is wasting time instead of learning Torah (Torah), doing things that are not necessary, not needy. It's not like you're working or you're spending time with your wife that you need to, or kids. No, you're just watching all types of nonsense on YouTube or on TikTok or doing all types of things that instead of learning Torah (Torah). Bitul Torah (neglecting Torah study).

The Rav (Rabbi) says that's an unforgivable sin, and teshuvah (repentance) doesn't help that sin. And he's basing it on the Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud) in Masechet Chagigah (Tractate Chagigah), in chapter 1, halacha (Jewish law) number 7, that says, "Hashem (G'd) forgave idolatry, immorality, and murder, but He did not forgive bitul Torah (neglecting Torah study)."

So here Rav Avigdor Miller simply tells a person, "Yeah, listen, you do teshuvah (repentance), it's good. Depends on the level of teshuvah (repentance). Average teshuvah (repentance), you're still going to have to suffer in Gehenna (Gehenna) a little bit, but eventually you're going to go, and you're going to be in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), you're going to be good, unless you made the sin of bitul Torah (neglecting Torah study), then you have a problem. You have a very serious problem. Don't waste time. Time is a very, very valuable asset."

Furthermore, in page 215, same book, Olam (World), the Rav (Rabbi) says, "Even the punishment of Gehenna (Gehenna) has a role as the sentence of the wicked among Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel) is 12 months, as it's their opportunity to be cleansed and be purified through their suffering."

Just to clarify for anyone that hasn't watched the film we made called Gehenna (Gehenna), where we clarify what does it mean the wicked among Israel that suffered 12 months. Number one, the 12 months is referring to a place rather than a timeframe. That's what the Maharal (Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel) says.

But also, the 12 months is that he's referring to people that are wicked, but they're still considered part of Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel). Meaning we're not talking about a mechallel Shabbat (Sabbath desecrator) or a person that wastes seed or people that have din karet (divine punishment of excision) that removes them from Klal Yisrael (the community of Israel), like idolaters or mechallel Shabbat (Sabbath desecrators), and so on.

We're talking about a person that, you know, made some sins, it's considered has more sins than mitzvot (commandments), but it's not outside of the category of Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel). He's still considered Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel). So their sentence can be the 12 months, but anyone that has made these bigger sins, their sentence is much longer. Needless to say, in some cases, it's forever.

So the Ramban, the, says that here we see even among those people, the punishment in Gehenna (Gehenna) has a positive purpose that is being used to cleanse those people so they can go and be cleansed altogether.

But then he elaborates on the following page, on 216, and he brings the Ramban, and he says that the Ramban writes that he sent to his son that anyone that expresses anger, all types of Gehenna (Gehenna) take over him, which means that there are several different types of Gehenna (Gehenna). Meaning there are several different types of chambers and sentences. There, not everybody gets the same sentence or same chamber.

And he gives examples, such as the Gehenna (Gehenna) for someone who does not pray or doesn't pray appropriately or speaks during the prayer, or someone that's a scorner. You know, these people like to make jokes about everything, including the Torah (Torah). And there's even a special Gehenna (Gehenna) for those people who cheat people. They cheat in business, cheat on their wives, people that cheat.

"And all types of Gehenna (Gehenna) take over the angry person." Why? Because through his anger, he makes many, many sins which connect him to all of these different chambers. Through anger, he ends up cheating somebody. Through anger, he ends up not praying. Through anger, he ends up making fun of people, embarrassing people, and so on and so forth. Anger brings a person to many sins.

And therefore, the Ramban says to his son, "Control your anger."

And Rav Avigdor Miller says, "Not just control your anger, remove from your heart..."

Like the name of the book, in the next section, same book, page 239, the Rav (Rabbi) says, "The fire of Gehenna (Gehenna) was lit inside the heart of Hitler, yimach shmo (may his name be blotted out), to influence his actions against the Jewish people." Meaning he literally had like a fire of evil inside his heart, causing him to have unbearable hatred towards the Jews.

Anyone that wants to know more details about that can see a shiur (lesson) by Rav (Rabbi) Yosef Ben Porat, who brings many, many different proofs of how Hitler was possessed. He sold his soul to the Satan. But anyway, Rav Avigdor Miller says, "This Hitler, yimach shmo (may his name be blotted out), would sit there drunk with his head in his hands, murmuring all types of curses against a person who employed a Jew." Like he hated the Jews so much that literally there was a fire of Gehenna (Gehenna) burning inside him. This is, of course, figuratively speaking.

In page 130 in the same book, he says again that tzedakah (charity) to the needy saves you from Gehenna (Gehenna). In page 178 in Olam (World), he tells us some critical instructions for chinuch (education).

Many parents contact me and say, "Listen, some of your shiurim (lessons) are scary. Should my kids watch them?" Now the truth is, the answer is always yes. Why? Because look at what Rav Avigdor Miller says. Regardless of what shiur (lesson) it is, whether it's a shiur (lesson) about Gehenna (Gehenna), wasting seed, or it's bitachon (trust in G'd), and nice, beautiful things, stories, regardless, the shiur (lesson) is for everybody. Why? Because it's fundamental teachings.

And says Rav Avigdor Miller in Or Olam (Light of the World), page 178, "At a young age, it's very important to teach a child the foundation that there is Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), and there is Gehenna (Gehenna). There is a reward, and there is a punishment. That way, the foundation of Judaism will be engraved into his brain and turn into this basic opinion, or else something like Mickey Mouse or worse will end up getting into him because, Heaven forbid, if this gets there first, it will become much more difficult to clean that out of his mind and teach him about Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) and Mount Sinai."

In so many words, teach your children about reward and punishment, including Gehenna (Gehenna). Of course, everyone in their level, everyone is going to understand, their neshama (soul) is going to be able to absorb certain information. You don't need to go into the details of the chambers and what happens to people, but certainly the fire, certainly punishment is more than enough for most little kids.

And Rav Avigdor Miller says it's necessary for you to do so if you want your kids to be connected to the Torah (Torah), connected to Hashem (G'd), or else Mickey Mouse and materialism is going to control their life. And here he's talking about children, young, young children, because he's talking about, he's not saying either you teach your kids about Gehenna (Gehenna) or basketball will take over. No, no, he's talking about little kids like as soon as they're able to communicate, they're three, they're four, they're five, they're six. They're at a time where they're starting to become a person. At that time, you already have to teach them there's reward and punishment. And as they grow up, more details are added.

And the Rav (Rabbi) says in the next page, 179, that even an atheist that's laying down and is literally about to die can get to a point where he thinks about, "Who knows, maybe there is a Gehenna (Gehenna)," and just to make sure he says the Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel) because he argues to himself, "Where even if there isn't an Olam Haba (World to Come), I won't lose out by saying the Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel), which he never said during his life, so why should I take the risk and not say?"

Meaning that he thinks that at least I'll benefit if I say Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel), even though he was an atheist his whole life. But what gets him to even think like that? The potential punishment that's about to confront him.

In a sefer (book) called Lev Avigdor (Heart of Avigdor), page 21, where it's referring to what the Gemara (Gemara) brings in Masechet Gittin (Tractate Gittin), where Onkelos made a séance before he converted to Judaism, and he brought three wicked people, one of them being Bilaam. And Bilaam, when Onkelos asked him, "Who are the important people in Heaven?" and he says, "The Jewish people, they're the important ones, they're the leaders there, the world of truth."

He says, "Where are you?" He says, "I'm in Gehenna (Gehenna)," and he gives him the details of his horrible suffering that he has. So Onkelos asked him, "Should I convert to Judaism?" And Bilaam says, "No, don't convert, but rather go and torment the Jewish people because if you torment them, and you'll be their enemy, you'll at least benefit from this world, even though you'll end up in the same place as me, as in Gehenna (Gehenna)."

Now, this doesn't make any sense until what Rav Avigdor Miller clarifies, and he says, "Even after 1,300 years of suffering in Gehenna (Gehenna) and in knowing that Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel) is the important nation in Heaven, Bilaam still could not be separated from his evil wickedness and hatred of Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel). And this is actually part of the punishment of Gehenna (Gehenna), as the sin gets mixed into the soul."

And in regards to the Gemara (Gemara) in Masechet Nedarim (Tractate Nedarim), in page 8b, where it says there's no Gehenna (Gehenna) in the Olam Haba (World to Come), which is referring to really the resurrection because there Hashem (G'd) will take the sun out of its shell. Once there's the resurrection after Mashiach (Messiah) comes, Hashem (G'd) will take the sun out of its shell, and the tzaddikim (righteous people), the righteous people, will be healed by it, while the reshaim (wicked people), the wicked, will be burned.

It says the Rav (Rabbi), "And the weak-minded," meaning the wicked people, "will have suffering from this light of truth. When this light of truth shines on them, it will create suffering that's the same type of suffering as Gehenna (Gehenna), but the healthy-minded people, the ones that have learned Torah (Torah) and fixed themselves, will benefit greatly from the same exact big light."

And in page 136 of the book of Lev Avigdor (Heart of Avigdor), the Rav (Rabbi) says that if people would be allowed to see what happens to a wicked person, a sinner, after he dies, who would even sin? And regarding the reward of Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) or the suffering of Gehenna (Gehenna), who's foolish enough to forsake the word of Hashem (G'd)?

Because Hashem (G'd) allowed free choice, people are permitted to be skeptical, but they're not allowed to stay that way. You're in this world in order to find the truth, to have Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven). But the reason why people don't have this inclination of the truth naturally is because of the freedom of choice because if they really knew the truth, and he elaborates further, actually says that if they knew even the significance of their soul, they would never desire anything of this world.

Furthermore, in the book L'aan (Whither), in question 731, which is on page 224, the Rav (Rabbi) says that when people, when do people begin believing in Gehenna (Gehenna)? "Even without a Shabbat Shalom (peaceful Sabbath), even without watching the Gehenna (Gehenna) film, when do people believe about Gehenna (Gehenna)? When they see evil people torment the weak and the innocent righteous people and get away with it."

So even if this person never learned Torah (Torah), never believed Torah (Torah), never nothing, but as soon as he sees the Hamas terrorists torment the Jewish people, do all the things that they did, immediately every normal human being thinks, "There must be a reward for this person that was killed, that was tormented, that was tortured. There must be a reward. There must be a G'd that's going to reward him for this, and there must be a punishment unlike anything of this world for these murderers."

Here Rav Avigdor Miller tells us something literally like as if he's telling us today, after discovering what happened to us two weeks ago, in the last couple of weeks, every normal human being started believing in Gehenna (Gehenna). Why? There must be a punishment for these people. Forget about they're going to die, the army, that's not enough of a punishment for what they did. Anyone that saw the pictures, anyone that saw those things, it's not enough of a punishment. Blowing up is not enough. There must be something worse.

And that's what Rav Avigdor Miller says, the natural brain understands that there is a reward for the righteous and a punishment for the wicked. And therefore, we learn here that on one end, we have a horrible thing that happened to us a couple of weeks ago, but at the same token, it created a spiritual awakening that also got many people to the point of thinking about Gehenna (Gehenna), which Rav Avigdor Miller mentioned literally in every one of his books as a foundational teaching.

You must teach yourself to the point of imagery at all times. Use your five senses to constantly, constantly serve HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, Blessed be He), including thinking about fire as this is Gehenna (Gehenna). Teach your kids this and work on yourself because without this, nothing will stop you from being a sinner. Nothing will stop you from abandoning the straight path.

So when you're thinking about what happened, we got attacked a couple of weeks ago, on one end you're thinking about good, create a spiritual awakening. Furthermore, it's supposed to create a spiritual awakening in you. How could it create a spiritual awakening in you? Look at what happened to those victims and know that Gehenna (Gehenna) is much, much worse.

And therefore, we'll finalize this by the words of Rav Ephraim Kachlon. He summarizes everything of what Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller taught us here that if you are a talmid (student) of Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller, either do what he says by publicizing and supporting the film that we made called Gehenna (Gehenna), that has 172 Torah (Torah) sources from all spectrums of the Torah (Torah), from the Tanach (Hebrew Bible), from the Zohar Hakodesh (Holy Zohar), from the Gemara (Gemara), from the Mishnah (Mishnah), from the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), from the Rishonim (early commentators), from the Acharonim (later commentators), from Chassidut (Hasidic thought). All aspects of Judaism are mentioned in the 172 Torah (Torah) sources.

It's not simply a scary movie, but rather exactly what Raboteinu HaKedoshim (our holy Rabbis), like Rav Avigdor Miller, taught us to do. Not only to learn the topic, not only to learn the sources, but literally have an imagery so we can stay on the right path.

So one that says, "I want to be a talmid (student) of Rav Avigdor Miller. I am a talmid (student) of Rav Avigdor Miller." What are they going to do? They're going to watch, they're going to publicize, they're going to support, they're going to do everything possible to take advantage of the current spiritual awakening that we have in the world today and try to make sure that everyone has an idea of what Gehenna (Gehenna) is because right now they're thinking about it.

"How could it be that these monsters are not punished? How could it be that Israel is considering stopping the war? How could it be that these people went back, they took hostages? How could it be?"

Once you know about Gehenna (Gehenna), you know, okay, I have nothing to worry about. G'd will take care of it. The G'd of vengeance is Hashem (G'd). The G'd of vengeance has arrived.

So if one wants to publicize, support the Gehenna (Gehenna) movie to get people to watch it, you're doing what Avigdor Miller would have done. Or on the other hand, it's a different suggestion. You don't want to publicize the Gehenna (Gehenna) movie because you're scared to hurt people, little weak hearts, people, you don't want to help people do teshuvah (repentance). No problem. Put your hand in fire and just imagine that lasting for five minutes because that's the other suggestion Rav Avigdor Miller says. Either way, you have to have an imagery. Either way, you have to do something with this information and with this five senses in order for you to understand the very basic foundation of our holy Torah (Torah).

With that being said, this is just again a small tidbit of what Rav (Rabbi) Avigdor Miller taught about the topic of Gehenna (Gehenna). It's mentioned countless other places in his sefarim (books), in his lectures. But needless to say, this shows a person that perhaps has been reading or watching or hearing some of the words of the Rav (Rabbi) and never really heard the foundation of everything that he built his Torah (Torah) on. Now you know.

Now you know that Gedolei Yisrael (great ones of Israel), this is the way they taught because Gehenna (Gehenna) is not only good to believe, it's part of the foundation of Judaism. It's part of the 13 principles of faith. It's part of anyone's life that actually has real Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven). Without it, there is no Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven). Whatever you think is Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven), it simply doesn't exist. And without Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven), certainly there is no such thing as loving Hashem (G'd) because the yirah (fear) comes before the ahavah (love). There is no such thing as ahavah (love) before yirah (fear).

So may it be as well that each and every single person, whether they are the talmid (student) of Avigdor Miller or the talmid (student) of anyone that teaches real Torah (Torah), I'm going to take this information to heart and understand this is necessary, not just for you, but for your family, and more importantly than any other time in history, for the world today.

For anyone that hasn't watched the film, it'll be good for you to watch it because you'll understand a lot more about what is being said here. And although I've told some people, "Listen, if you can't handle the imagery, just listen to it. It's information you need to hear, just like a lecturer..." Apparently, Rav Avigdor Miller would not agree with that suggestion that I've made, as far as just listen to it, because apparently we need the imagery.

And Baruch Shekivanu (blessed is He who has given us life), thank you again for learning with me. May Hashem (G'd) bless each and every single one of you with extraordinary success in acquiring real Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven), knowing the foundation and therefore staying on the right path, building a family that all stays and wants to be on the right path, and merits having success in getting the rest of Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel) to get on that same right path.

Shabbat Shalom (peaceful Sabbath) and b'hatzlacha (with success) to everyone. Kol Tuv (all the best). Thank you. Thank you.

Key Terms

Hebrew	Transliteration	Explanation
גיהנום	Gehenna	A spiritual realm of purification and rectification for souls who have transgressed in their earthly life. Chazal (our Sages) teach that the experience in Gehenna is not eternal for most Jews, serving as a temporary process of refinement before ascending to Gan Eden (Garden of Eden). This process is compared to a fiery furnace that purges impurities. The severity and duration of the experience are determined by the nature and severity of one's transgressions.
גן עדן	Gan Eden	A spiritual realm of eternal bliss and closeness to Hashem (G'd), reserved for those who have merited it through righteous living and adherence to Torah (Torah). Chazal teach that Gan Eden is a state of unimaginable joy and spiritual fulfillment, where the soul experiences the full revelation of G'd's presence.
יראת שמים	Yirat Shamayim	A profound awe and reverence for Hashem (G'd), based on recognizing His infinite power, wisdom, and justice. Chazal teach that Yirat Shamayim is the foundation of all wisdom and the starting point for a life of meaning and purpose. It motivates us to fulfill mitzvot (commandments) with devotion and avoid sin out of respect for G'd's sovereignty.
תורה	Torah	The Divine will revealed to humanity, encompassing both the Written Torah (Five Books of Moses) and the Oral Torah (rabbinic interpretations and legal rulings). Chazal teach that Torah is the blueprint for a meaningful and purposeful life, providing guidance for every aspect of human existence and revealing the path to spiritual perfection.
מצוה	Mitzvah	A Divine commandment or precept, given by Hashem (G'd) to the Jewish people. Chazal teach that each mitzvah has a specific spiritual purpose, whether it is to refine our character, connect us to G'd, or bring holiness into the world. Fulfilling mitzvot with intention and understanding draws us closer to G'd and brings blessings into our lives.
תשובה	Teshuvah	The process of genuine repentance, involving sincere remorse for past transgressions, commitment to change one's behavior, and seeking forgiveness from both G'd and those who have been wronged. Chazal teach that teshuvah is always available and has the power to completely erase past sins, restoring the individual to a state of purity and closeness to G'd.
צדקה	Tzedakah	The act of giving charity and performing acts of loving-kindness, fulfilling a fundamental obligation in Judaism to care for those in need. Chazal teach that tzedakah is not merely a charitable act but a righteous obligation, reflecting the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings created in the image of G'd. It has the power to atone for sins and draw down Divine blessings.
עולם הבא	Olam Haba	The spiritual realm that exists beyond the physical world and time, where souls experience the ultimate consequences of their actions in this life. Chazal teach that Olam Haba is a state of pure spiritual existence, where the soul experiences the full revelation of G'd's truth and the rewards of righteous living.
משיח	Mashiach	A future descendant of King David who will usher in an era of universal peace, justice, and spiritual enlightenment. Chazal teach that the Mashiach will rebuild the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem, gather the Jewish people from exile, and establish a world governed by Torah principles.
בית המקדש	Beit HaMikdash	The Holy Temple, once located in Jerusalem, served as the central sanctuary of ancient Israel and the focal point for Jewish worship and sacrifice. Chazal teach that the Beit HaMikdash represented the Divine presence dwelling among the Jewish people and that its destruction was a consequence of sin and exile. They anticipate its rebuilding in the Messianic era.
תלמיד חכם	Talmid Chacham	A Torah scholar, an individual who has dedicated their life to the study and mastery of Torah and Jewish law. Chazal teach that talmidei chachamim possess deep understanding of G'd's will and play a vital role in guiding the Jewish community, interpreting Torah, and transmitting its wisdom across generations.
ביטול תורה	Bitul Torah	The act of neglecting Torah study, a serious transgression in Judaism. Chazal teach that every moment spent studying Torah is precious and connects us to G'd's wisdom. Wasting time that could be dedicated to learning Torah is a grave sin, hindering spiritual growth and causing a disconnect from G'd's will.
עמישראל	Am Yisrael	The Jewish people, bound together by a shared covenant with G'd, a common history, and a unique destiny. Chazal teach that Am Yisrael was chosen by G'd to receive and uphold the Torah, acting as a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" by bringing G'd's light into the world.
רמב"ן	Ramban	Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270), a leading Torah scholar, philosopher, and Kabbalist. The Ramban's writings are highly respected in Orthodox Judaism, offering profound insights into the meaning of Torah and Jewish law, as well as mystical interpretations of Jewish texts.
זוהר הקדוש	Zohar Hakodesh	A foundational text of Kabbalah, attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The Zohar offers esoteric interpretations of the Torah, revealing hidden mystical dimensions and exploring the spiritual aspects of creation and the relationship between G'd, humanity, and the universe.
שולחן ערוך	Shulchan Aruch	A comprehensive code of Jewish law, authored by Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575), based on earlier legal works and widely accepted as an authoritative guide for Jewish practice in Orthodox communities.
חסידות	Chassidut	A Jewish spiritual movement that emphasizes joy, devotion, and emotional connection to G'd. Chassidut seeks to awaken the inner spark of divinity within each individual and foster a personal relationship with G'd through prayer, study, and acts of loving-kindness.
עבירה	Averah	A transgression or violation of Jewish law. Chazal teach that every averah creates a spiritual blemish on the soul and distances us from G'd. They emphasize the importance of recognizing and repenting for our transgressions through teshuvah (repentance).
צדיק	Tzaddik	A righteous individual who consistently strives to fulfill G'd's will and live a life of Torah and mitzvot. Chazal teach that tzaddikim serve as role models and sources of inspiration, embodying the highest ideals of Jewish living.
רשע	Rasha	A wicked individual who persistently disregards G'd's will and violates Torah principles. Chazal teach that rashaim bring harm to themselves and others and ultimately face Divine judgment.
נשמה	Neshama	The soul, the spiritual essence of a human being, believed to be a spark of G'dliness. Chazal teach that the neshama is eternal and yearns to connect with its Creator. The choices we make in this life impact the state of our neshama in the World to Come.
עולם הזה	Olam Hazeh	This World, the physical realm in which we currently live. Chazal teach that Olam Hazeh is a temporary abode, a testing ground for our souls, where we have the opportunity to choose between good and evil, and refine our character through Torah and mitzvot.
שכינה	Shechinah	The Divine Presence, a manifestation of G'd's immanence in the world. Chazal teach that the Shechinah dwells among the Jewish people, particularly in places of Torah study and prayer.
תיקון	Tikkun	Spiritual rectification or repair, the process of healing the damage caused by sin and restoring our connection to G'd. Chazal teach that tikkun can be achieved through teshuvah, performing mitzvot, and engaging in acts of kindness.
קידוש השם	Kiddush Hashem	Sanctification of G'd's name, a concept that emphasizes the importance of living a life that brings honor and glory to G'd. Chazal teach that Kiddush Hashem can be achieved through righteous behavior, acts of courage and self-sacrifice, and by demonstrating the beauty and wisdom of Torah to the world.
חילול השם	Chilul Hashem	Desecration of G'd's name, a concept that emphasizes the negative impact of actions that bring shame or dishonor to G'd. Chazal teach that Chilul Hashem occurs when Jews behave in ways that contradict Torah values, causing others to view Judaism and G'd in a negative light.

Addendum

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Rav Reuven shlita - What did Rav Avigdor Miller ztl say about Gehinnom

Summary Briefing

Table Of Contents

Transcript

Key Terms

Addendum