May 23, 2024 6 min read

The Land Down Under(world)

Some Jewish Perspectives on the Afterlife

sinkhole near the dead sea
Does this look like a patch of land that just had a snack? Just wondering.

On Monday, we read Numbers 16:33, about how the Tribe of Reuven

went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them; the earth closed over them and they vanished from the midst of the congregation.

😬

So what is this Sheol, anyway? What happens after the maws of the earth open and slurp you down, exactly?

I thought it might be worthwhile to look at that, and other afterlife-related bits today. (At least: Some of them. There are a Lot Of Afterlife Thoughts in Judaism. Maybe I'll make this an occasional ongoing series?)

Anyway, let's look at some texts, shall we?

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