Judaism is a monotheistic religion that originated with a divine covenant between God and Abraham, leader of the Israelites, circa 2,000 BCE. It is a central principle of the Jewish faith that people of every religion are the children of one God, creator of all. Based on the belief that humans are born neither good nor bad, but rather possessing both pure and evil inclinations, Judaism holds that we have the moral strength to determine our actions -- to choose the good over sinful temptations. Judaism focuses on living life ethically in accordance with God's wishes.
A religion that emphasizes the good in the present life, with God the creator seen as inherently just, Judaism may have developed the concept of resurrection as a result of the influence of Zoroastrianism during the period when the Middle East was under Persian control.
Judaism came to view resurrection after death as a passage to a place where earthly injustices may be addressed. Gehenna was the name given by traditional Jewish thinkers to the place where the souls of those who had committed evil were punished after death. However, the Jewish view is not of a rewarding Heaven or eternal misery and torment in a punishing Hell, but rather of an afterlife where those who have suffered unfairly in life may find justice and even the wicked may seek redemption and the opportunity for closeness to God. The Jewish faith promotes the concept of a paradise after death, the attainment of justice and a spiritual existence in the presence of the omniscient and merciful God.
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