We get glimpses, whispers, from our tradition. And some of them are pretty wild. Take this one, about the skin of the Leviathan...
So, picture this: the World to Come, Olam Ha-Ba. It's a place of unimaginable reward for the righteous. But what does that mean, practically speaking? What will it look like?
Well, according to one fascinating idea, God will take the skin of the Leviathan – that mythical sea monster of immense power – and fashion it into a tabernacle, a kind of dwelling place, for the righteous. It's right there in the Book of Job: "Can you fill his skin with tabernacles?" (Job 40:31).
But here’s the twist. Not everyone gets the Leviathan treatment.
The level of your reward, it seems, depends on your worthiness. If you’re truly righteous, you get the full Leviathan-skin tabernacle. But if you're… less so… you get a simpler shelter, a mere covering of fish skin. Job hints at this too: "And his head with a fish covering" (Job 41:7).
Think of it like this: ultimate glamping, but with divine architecture.
And there's more! The rest of the Leviathan's magnificent skin? God will spread it across the walls of Jerusalem and the roof of the sanctuary, so its splendor shines from one end of the world to the other. Imagine that: an eternal city bathed in the light of a mythical creature.
Now, in this radiant setting, the righteous will sit, eat, drink, and be fruitful. They’ll multiply and enjoy the splendor of the Shekhinah — the divine presence.
This whole image is often linked to the idea of the Messianic Banquet. Just like the banquet promises extravagant food, this myth promises extravagant shelter. Both address our basic human needs: sustenance and safety.
The Babylonian Talmud, in Bava Batra 75a, offers further examples of this tiered reward system. God will provide a necklace for the righteous, it says. But if they aren't worthy of that, they'll receive a simpler amulet instead. It seems even in paradise, there are upgrades!
What’s so striking about these myths?
It's the suggestion that we retain our individuality and even our desire for privacy in the World to Come. God, in this vision, caters to those individual needs. Even the desire to "be fruitful and multiply" will be fulfilled, according to Seder Gan Eden. That text even goes so far as to say, “Every woman among the Israelites will give birth to children every day!” (Beit ha-Midrash 3:131-140).
So, what are we to make of all this? Maybe it's not about literal fish skin and daily childbirth. Maybe it’s about the promise that our deepest needs and desires – for connection, for individuality, for fulfillment – will be met in the World to Come. It is a comforting thought that we will be provided for, each in our own way.