Jewish sources speak about the world to come, judgment, purification, reward, and closeness to G‑d in more than one way. The picture offered here is a mashal, not a complete doctrine of Heaven and Hell.
During life we experience our actions mostly from our own side. We can watch another person cry and still protect ourselves with an explanation. Imagine judgment as the removal of that protection: seeing the event clearly and feeling what our choice placed into another person's life.
That kind of truth would be painful without requiring a cartoon chamber of punishment. The pain would come from contact with reality — from finally knowing what we did without ego editing the record.
The same clarity would reveal the good. A kindness we barely remember may have steadied another person for years. A mitzvah may have opened consequences we never saw. Reward is not merely a prize attached from outside; it is closeness to the truth and goodness our actions served.
This model does not make every traditional description metaphorical. It offers one practical conclusion: our future encounter with truth is being built through the effects of our words and actions now.