The Talmud employs many terms when speaking about the female genitalia and reproductive system. As we know, in Judaism there is nothing shameful about the body or genitals.

But there is one euphamism used that’s especially curious. When referring to the uterus, there are a handful of times when it is called “kever”, which translates to grave or tomb.

At first read, this comparison is intensely off-putting. Graves house the dead and in Judaism, dead bodies are also considered impure (to touch) once the soul has departed. Is the Talmud projecting some of that “impurity” onto the uterus, because it’s a part of the female body/reproductive complex?

Upon second glance and a little benefit of the doubt, maybe it’s just alluding to the structural similarities. Both graves and the uterus are essentially deep, hollow holes that lay empty until they are filled to serve to their purpose.

But that still seems illogical. Even if their chamber-like shapes was the connection, these two things serve the absolute most contrasting purposes possible- the uterus provides for life’s beginning and a grave provides for life’s end.

So what could the Talmud possibly be expressing by connecting these two such incompatible entities with one word?

It is actually this one baffling word-share for uterus and grave that gives us deepest understanding of the cycle of life and death. Because we’ve got it all wrong. The uterus does not prepare for life and a grave does not mark its end.

The dual use of the word “kever” is to highlight their identical roles: as portals.

The uterus serves as the portal to life and a grave too is a portal, a gateway to the next life.

In life, death happens. Although it’s terrifying and unknown, in Judaism it is not the end. Our souls continue onto the next world and revel in Godliness until we are all reunited with Moshiach and the Era of Redemption. So, these two passages, the uterus and the grave are simply the crossings from one world into another.

Also these two things- the body (especially a woman’s) and graves- have traditionally been seen as lowly, unholy, and impure. In Judaism, these temporary “dwelling places” are paramount in holiness, so much so that the uterus plays an essential role in creation and we go to pray at graves of loved ones and Sages. So even though the womb and burial place seem to bookend the life experience, in reality both simply hold the body until the soul is ready to make its appearance in the world-  both this one and the next.