Women in the world to come - united or separated?

Question

1. The Gemmorah in Taanit 33a says:

"אמר עולא ביראה אמר רבי אלעזר עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות מחול לצדיקים והוא יושב ביניהם בגן עדן וכל אחד ואחד מראה באצבעו וכו'"

Ulla of the city of Bira’a said that Rabbi Elazar said: In the future, at the end of days, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will arrange a dance of the righteous (masculine plural), and He will be sitting among them in the Garden of Eden, and each and every one of the righteous (masculine) will point to God with his finger...

This passage could be read in plural masculine and feminine (in Hebrew), but the singular reference is in masculine only (אחד ואחד and not אחד ואחת).

2. On the other hand, we do differentiate between righteous men and women in different texts, for example הזכרת נשמות:

"יִזְכּור אֱלהִים נִשְׁמַת אִמִּי מורָתִי...עִם נִשְׁמות אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקב שרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה וְעִם שְׁאָר צַדִּיקִים וְצִדְקָנִיּות שֶׁבְּגַן עֵדֶן.

3. We have found that not only that G-d is referred to as masculine throughout the scriptures, but some interactions with women are seen as disrespectful for Him (based on Miriam's death)

4. The Gemmorah in Succah (51-52) discusses the issue of separation of men and women. It brings an interesting statement:

"אמר רב קרא אשכחו ודרוש:
"וספדה הארץ משפחות משפחות לבד" משפחת בית דוד לבד ונשיהם לבד. אמרו והלא דברים ק"ו ומה לעתיד לבא שעוסקין בהספד ואין יצר הרע שולט בהם אמרה תורה אנשים לבד ונשים לבד עכשיו שעסוקין בשמחה ויצה"ר שולט בהם על אחת כמה וכמה

Rav said: They found a verse, and interpreted it homiletically and acted accordingly:
It is stated: “The land will eulogize, each family separately; the family of the house of David separately, and their women separately, the family of the house of Nathan separately, and their women separately” (Zechariah 12:12). This indicates that at the end of days a great eulogy will be organized during which men and women will be separate. They said: And are these matters not inferred a fortiori? If in the future, at the end of days referred to in this prophecy, when people are involved in a great eulogy and consequently the evil inclination does not dominate them, as typically during mourning inappropriate thoughts and conduct are less likely, and nevertheless the Torah says: Men separately and women separately;

From this discussion, we can infer that even in the world to come, there's a separation between men and women.

While the details about the world to come are very unclear (as Rambam says we will not know until it happens, end of Melachim), the Gemmorah mentions Rabbis arriving in different places in the Gan Eden, interacting with one another, with Eliyahoo etc, but I don't recall where the sources mention what happens to women.

I was wondering if anything is said about the future of women in the world to come in general or specifically related to the saying of Ulah.

• Do they coexist with their husbands?

• Do all women stay in a different place (עזרת נשים)?

• Do they unite with the souls of their husbands (even multiple)?

• Do they enjoy Shechina in a similar way to what Ulah describes?

Answer 1

The correct citation is Ta'anit 31a, which is discussing the subject of finding a spouse.

The quotation from Ulla in the name of Rabbi Elazar is not addressing men or women explictly, but only speaking in the plural of the righteous.

עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות מחול לצדיקים

Grammatically, this can mean either a group of men or a group of men and women together.

It is worth pointing out that this quotation from Isaiah 25:9 is mentioned explicitly by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in various talks with the emphasis that it is to be understood as occurring literally and physically in the future. The Rebbe says this is the distinction of being able to point with ones finger to identify what is being observed.

In that context, eloheinu is to be understood as an allegorical reference because, in keeping with the 13 principles of faith, G-d is not grasped so to speak by the material and physical.

And so in context, the righteous men at the dance, who are looking for their future spouses, will point at the righteous woman Bnot Yisrael that they choose with their finger. This is in keeping with the allegorical idea that ones wife is compared to the Shechinah, meaning eloheinu like is said brought in the words of Rabbi Moshe Cordevero from Tomer Devorah in the attached article from Mordechai Lewis discussing the uniqueness of husband and wife, which says:

On a deeper level, Rav Moshe Cordovero zt”l[71] says that a man’s primary attachment to the Shechinah is through his wife. Therefore, our Sages teach that when there is peace and harmony between a man and his wife the Divine Presence dwells with them.[72]