Reb lectured us briefly through "Worship in Ancient Israel" covering the places of worship (altars, the Tabernacle, the Temple) and the various festivals (Feast od Tabernacle, Passover, Pentecost, Yom Kippur).
One of the things I have never thought of before was the development of Jewish beliefs. I had not known that the concept of resurrection only occurred in the Old Testament two times: once in Daniel and once in the Psalms. Moreover, the concept of death was usually with Sheol - when they die, they believed that they will descend into Sheol. It had never occurred to me that the Jews may not have had the concept of heaven or of resurrection, which of course explains why the Sadducees did not believe in it in Jesus' time.
I cannot say more because I know now that I don't know anything about it. It is a good thing Reb informed us that his supervisor Philip S. Johnston had written a book on death in the Old Testament. I must get hold of a copy from SUFES soon.
Philip S. Johnston, Shades of Sheol, Death and Afterlife in the Old Testament, Apollos: 2002.
pearlie
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