The Ashes Of Sinners

Our Rabbis taught in the Mishnah: The judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom lasts twelve months. And afterward the righteous will stand before the Holy One, blessed be He, and will say before Him: Master of the universe, when we were in that world, these people would rise early and stay late at the synagogue, and they would recite the Shema and perform the other commandments. And the Holy One, blessed be He, will say to them: If they did so, heal them. Immediately the righteous go and stand over the dust of the wicked and seek mercy for them, and the Holy One, blessed be He, raises them up from the dust beneath their feet, as it is said: "And you shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet" (Malachi 3:21). In what case is this said? When he did not repent. But if he repented and died, behold he is like a righteous one of the world in all respects. For all the commandments that a person performs in this world have no power to give light except like the light of a candle alone, but the Torah gives light from one end of the world to the other, as it is said: "For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light" (Proverbs 6:23).