Kabbalah Library

192. There are seven names to the evil inclination: Evil, Impure, Satan, Enemy, Obstacle, Uncircumcised, and Northern. And there are seven names to Hell: Pit, Grave, Duma, Miry Clay, Sheol, Shadow of Death, Netherworld.” There are also seven doors to Hell, corresponding to its seven names. They are seven sections in Hell, one atop the other, and all the sections are meant for the wicked, to be sentenced in them. Their body is extinguished in the grave, and their soul is burned, and the fire consumes them.

193. The first section, Pit, is the top section. There are several sects of sabotaging angels there. It is like the pit that had no water in it, but did have snakes and scorpions in it. Similarly, that section called Pit has several sects of sabotaging angels, like the place of the Seraph serpents that has no whisper.

194. Three appointees govern Hell under the hands of Duma: Destroyer, Ire, Wrath. All the other appointees are under them, and all those appointees run and return, and sentence the souls of the wicked.

195. All those sects of sabotaging angels rattle Hell, and their voice is heard in the firmament, as well as the voice of the wicked in Hell, and there is no one to have mercy on them.

196. It is written about all those three appointees with the rest of the sects of sabotaging angels who rattle Hell, “a voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, who repays His enemies.”

197. Opposite those three saboteurs who govern all the days of the week, from the time of the evening prayer, throughout the night, those whose deeds are in the darkness are sentenced, and reflect reflections on their beds. It is written about them, “whose deeds are in the darkness,” Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds.”

And once they have begun, they finish everyone during the day, but the beginning of the judgment in the wicked in Hell is once the night grows dark. This is why they are called “nights,” as it is written, “because of fear in the night,” the fear of Hell.

198. For this reason, they established in the evening prayer, on all the days of the week, “And He is merciful, will forgive iniquity,” since from the time when it is dark, the wicked are sentenced in Hell by the destroyers, who are Destroyer, Ire, and Wrath.

199. For this reason, they have established to say “And He is merciful” on weekdays but not on Shabbat [Sabbath], for when Shabbat begins, the judgment departs from the world, and the wicked in Hell have rest, and sabotaging angels do not govern them from the time when the day is sanctified.

200. This is why on the eve of Shabbat, we do not say, “And He is merciful,” so as not to awaken sabotaging angels. And therefore, it is forbidden due to the glory of the king, who protects the wicked on Shabbat, indicating that the judgment has already departed from the world and the saboteurs no longer have permission to sabotage.

201. This is similar to a guard who was beating the wicked. The king came to protect them and placed them in front of him. Since he is standing before the king, if he frightens any of them with beating, is it not contemptuous toward the king? Likewise, Shabbat is the king who took all the wicked in Hell before him and protects them, and all the guards, the accusers, pass before the king. One who takes a leash before the king and frightens them, is it not contemptuous toward the king? This is the law that on Shabbat, we do not say, “who guards His people Israel forever.”

202. In that section, those who pick the leaves of the saltbush are sentenced, who stop words that were given in the tablets, meaning words of Torah, over idle words, and those who do not treat disciples of the wise with respect. The one who degrades a disciple of the wise is not judged in this place, for he is judged in the miry clay.

203. Those who degrade disciples of the wise in their hearts although they respect them in front of others are lowered to the first section and sentenced in it, as well as one who curses in a whisper, and the like, and one who passes behind the house of assembly when the public prays, and one who praises one’s friend before those who hate him, to harm. All those and the likes of them are sentenced in the first section.

204. The second section is called Grave. It is green fire, and there is nothing there but darkness, and there is no mercy there at all. All those who tell after the demise of disciples of the wise are sentenced there, and one who shames one’s neighbor in public. Even laws must not be learned from him. And also, one who takes pride not for the sake of the Creator, and one who gloats at his neighbor’s downfall.

Also, one who knows about his neighbor that he will fail in matters or in one of the laws, and they are in the same city, and does not alert him prior to his failing, and he or others glee, and one who has a synagogue in his city but he does not come into it in order to pray, and one who is unpleasant toward his neighbor in laws.

And one who eats from a meal that is not satisfactory for its participants, and one who raises one’s hand against one’s neighbor although he did not strike him, and one who curses his friend jokingly on a matter that will shame him. All those are sentenced there, in that section, and all who are like them.

205. The third section is called Duma. All the crass ones are sentenced there, who take pride in their hearts in rules before the people not for the sake of the Creator. And those who slander, and who are loathsome toward teaching, and sentence their neighbors to the side of fault. And one who lends to one’s neighbor with interest, and one who reveals matters in the Torah inappropriately, and one who does not answer “Amen!” after the saying of a blessing.

And one who makes his prayer intermittent, such as one who speaks during his prayer and then returns and says something else, and stops once more; this is called intermittently. And one who jokes at the expense of his neighbor, and about the old man who forgot what he had learned, and one who sees nakedness in his neighbor and does not tell him in private. All those are sentenced there, and all who are like them.

206. The fourth section is called Miry Clay, and all the crass ones are sentenced there, all those who are audacious toward the poor and the oppressed, who see a poor one in distress and does not lend him until he asks him his joy, and all those who witnessed a poor one and did not notify.

One who robs a hired man, who ejaculates without cause, who has intercourse with a gentile, or during menstruation. One who takes a poor man’s pawn and does not return to him his pawns when he has nothing else, one who is biased at giving sentence, who takes bribe, all those are sentenced in that section.

207. The fifth section is called Sheol. There, the thieves are sentenced, the informers, the heretics and those who deny the Torah, and the deniers of the revival of the dead. It is written about them, “As the cloud disappears and goes away, so he who goes down to Sheol will not come up.” And about the rest of the sinners, it is written, “The Lord puts to death and brings to life; brings down to Sheol and lifts up.”

208. The sixth section is called “Shadow of Death.” There, all those who slept with their mothers or with [a woman in] menstruation are sentenced.

The seventh section is called Netherworld, and one who goes down there never rises again. It is written about them, “And you shall crush the wicked.”

209. All those sections, consuming fire burns night and day for the souls of the wicked. There is one who is called wicked, and who is sentenced in Hell for twelve months. A complete wicked who has no thought of repentance is hopeless, and he is sentenced to Hell forever. Sages have said, “A wicked one is sentenced in Hell for six months; a complete wicked, twelve months.”

These matters pertain to when they contemplate repentance and die. But if they did not contemplate repentance and did not repent, the verse “And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me,” is written about them.