Between This World and the Next: Rabbinic Visions of Purgatory
Date: Feb 06, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Sponsor: Online Learning | Public Lectures and Events
Location: Online
Category: Online Learning Public Lectures & Events
Between This World and the Next: Rabbinic Visions of Purgatory
Part of our spring learning series, The Space In Between: Thresholds and Borders in Jewish Life and Thought
Monday, February 6, 2023
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Online
With Dr. Rachel Rosenthal, adjunct assistant professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS
Gehenom is often thought of as the Jewish version of hell, but an examination of the places it appears in the Talmud presents something more nuanced. Part purgatory, part hell, part passageway, Gehenom becomes a place for punishment and redemption. Through a close reading of the texts concerning Gehonom, we will gain a clearer understanding of what, exactly, its purpose might be, and what it might tell us about rabbinic views of what happens after we die.
If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like.
Note: The Zoom link for this session will be in the confirmation email that you will receive after you register.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Space In Between: Thresholds and Borders in Jewish Life and Thought
We are living in an undefined time: our daily existence is no longer dominated by the pandemic, yet neither have we settled into a new normal. This sense of being in transition—neither here nor there—can feel destabilizing; but is the time in between really temporary, or are we always living in between moments, identities, and phases of life?
In this series, JTS scholars will delve into the idea of liminality—the time or space in between—which we encounter often in Jewish ritual, identity, law, and life. Join us to consider what these many manifestations of “in-between-ness” can teach us about ourselves and about Judaism, and to explore how we might find strength and meaning in an orientation not of “either/or” but of “both/and.”