>>53239015
Oops, my bad, but that does raise another question. How can the Garden of Eden be heaven under Judaism? As I recall, heaven is never mentioned in the OT, and many Jews were not even convinced there was an afterlife.
>>53239066
For actions to have meaning, the actor must have free will. For free will to be meaningful, there must be consequences to one's actions. God gives free will that humans might enact a meaningful love for him, but of course with that free will comes the opportunity to sin. Because he loves humans and respects their free will, he also respects the results of our freely chosen actions; he won't force you to love Him, and he won't force you to go to heaven. Thus, the existence of hell.
As I read it, hell is essentially being forever removed from God's presence; it's an eternal disconnect from the Creator, a painful solitude. It's not a literal torture chamber with cackling demons (indeed, the demons suffer in hell as well). It's simply the result of rejecting God; if you reject him, he rejects you, and you get to be alone forever.