Jewish Folklore Puns

Hello,

I'm looking for some specific demonological info and appreciate any advice.

My goal is to identify demons/creatures in Jewish folklore and texts that are steeds, or related to horses in any way, or related to being animal companions of other demons.

Also, if you recommendations for sources for research, I would be grateful.

Thank you for your time.

She's also known as a "hot fiery female who first cohabited with man." She is the spirit in the tree in the Gilgamesh cycle and is sometimes called the Bird footed woman. I'm just beginning to read about her, but I already know I love her. She's considered a Satanic or demonic force in Jewish Folklore and it makes me love her even more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

I don't know if this is allowed on this subreddit , both because of the religious content and the fact that I've never seen an open prompt here before (if it isn't I'll delete my post but I didn't see it mentioned in the rules), but I wanted to ask because what I'm looking for doesn't exist and I'm not creative enough to imagine something like this.

I don't know if you've noticed, but jewish fantasy art more or less does not exist. You can look up jewish fantasy characters if you want, but unless it's a rabbi or a clay golem riffing off of one of three specific designs (the curly helmet hair, the one with triangular eyes or the one with a crack across its chest) it being judaism inspired is almost never going to be your first impression. I want to change this, but I don't know how so I'm asking here

Put simply, the prompt is to draw any fantasy character who is immediately identifiable as being jewish or judaism-inspired. Beyond that, go nuts. draw a witch, or a warrior, or a dragon, or a clown... anything as long as at the end of the day it's unmistakebly jewish

Hey guys, I'm trying my best to look up lost islands/cities from world folklores and mythologies as research for a project I am working on. I am trying to find something from almost all kinds of cultures, however I have not been able to find almost anything from Jewish sources. The only thing I can find is a small story relating to Yom Kippur about an enchanted island, however it remains unnamed and therefore can be completely interchangeable with any other island.

Source: https://blog.oup.com/2008/10/yom_kippur/

If anyone can give me any kind of help on finding a some myth or fable related to Judaism that references a lost island or even a lost city then could you please comment below.

Hey y'all!

So as the title states, I just had a quick question about golems from Jewish folklore and the Jewish community's views on golems being portrayed in media. I had a discussion recently with one of my friends about Dungeons and Dragons, and the things he wanted to change about the game. He brought up golems, thinking they should be removed entirely from the Dungeons and Dragons lore & world, because golems are from your folklore and religion.

He gave a few reasons for his thinking on wanting them to be removed. His main argument was because golems are from a religion that was and still is persecuted - so people should not be taking creatures or constructs from such a religion or practice, even for media not claiming to be religiously accurate.

Now I don't want to seem insensitive for putting something like this out there, but I was just interested in getting more opinions on this matter, create some discussions about this to see more sides of the discussion that may not have been there.

Thanks y'all!

Edit: I just wanted to point out that I am not of Jewish faith. I wasn't sure where to turn to have a discussion like this, but I ended up here. I was raised Protestant, and now follow a Pagan path. I hope I do not cause any trouble or offend anyone with this post.

x-post from r/HelpMeFind .

It includes these folktales:

• Why the monkeys live in trees
• Why the sun and moon live in sky
• I think why the leopard has spots
• I think why the brain is in charge of the body - the body parts fought for who could be in charge but can't work without brain

Thank you! Pointers to the folktales are also SUPER useful

I'd read that in the Old Testament, the Jewish word "דודאים" referred to "love-plants" and that when translated into the Greek this became "μανδραγόρας" (mandragoras / mandrake). Do we know if there is a Jewish mandrake tradition, or if this was something lost/gained in translation?

Yesterday I watched "A serious man", and there's a scene where in a Bar Mitzvah all the public start to sing some song just after the rabbi (is it the rabbi?) says 'amen'. I immediately recognized the melody as a traditional folkloric song local to Valencia, Spain. Supposedly, the song is original from Alicante in the XX century.

My guess is that the song might actually originate from the Spanish jews, before their expulsion from Spain in 1492, and the lyrics (containing extremely obscene language) might be an intentional mockery of the original jewish song. The melody is not 100% the same, but I think it's recognizable at the beginning.

Here is a youtube link from the Valencian song, maybe you can tell me the name of the original one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcKL_Q7uTYU

Thank you!

I’d also love some recommendations on where to read Jewish folklore

I remember reading this at the school library as a kid. Had a bunch of stories, one about a guy who goes to stay with some master craftsman as an apprentice and is told not to leave his room at night and one night he does and there’s like howling and wolves or something, a golem story, and one about a man marrying a girl who’s father turns out to be a demon

I've heard a lot of stories of things like Golems, Rabbi writing curses, and Jewish sorcerors. This confuses me, I thought the Jewish religion condemned sorcery, magic, etc. I don't mean any disrespect, I'm just very curious about how these things mesh with your beliefs, or if they're rejected entirely.

I'm Jewish and lately have been kind of disappointed with how Jewish magic isn't explored much in fantasy. There's a lot more to it than the Tree of Life, you know? I happen to own Howard Schwartz's collection of short stories called Lilith's Cave. In that book alone there are stories about mirrors (portals to the demonic realm), talking heads, dybbuks (which are not the same as demons), and so on.

So I thought it would be interesting to make a world/story where the focus is on Jewish characters in a (mostly) non-Jewish setting. Magic in the Middle Ages was practiced by people of many religions, and I'm trying to accommodate the fact that traditions differ from each other. So for the purposes of this world magic isn't really invented or innovated; it consists of specific formulas (i.e., gematria) that have always existed in some form or another. Even when invoking a spirit (something that requires a preexisting contract, like the summons in Naruto), they can only do very specific tasks, usually within their domains or explicitly outlined in the contract. However, these maneuvers can be applied creatively.

Right now my historical premise is that "learned magic" in Middle-Age Europe is somewhat acceptable among certain Christians, but legally prohibited to Jews and barely tolerated among the lower classes. A Jewish sorcerer who creates a golem could end up having his community killed, forcibly converted, or expelled if it is discovered. Although holy texts containing names of God are usually kept in a geniza before they can be properly buried, there is debate among the rabbis if this is a justifiable practice in the case of magical documents, given that the discovery of a bunch of magic books in one place would endanger the lives of Jews.

I don't know much about incorporating worldbuilding stuff into already-existing worlds, but does this sound like a good premise?

Also, what kind of relations existed between Arabs and Jews during the Kingdom of Israel era? Did any Arabs live within or immediately around Israel/Canaan at this time?

I know that folklore can spread across linguistic and social barriers, and the basics of dybbuk legends that I know about (someone has some unfinished business in life and possesses someone else) seem similar to some modern ghost stories from pop cultures that don't seem to have a connection to Jews or Jewishness. So what, besides the name, is the difference between Jewish dybbuk stories and non-Jewish ghost stories?

I know that Hebrew is a Semitic language rather than an Indo-European one, so it's probably a coincidence, but it's similar enough that I'm curious.

>Before that, we granted Abraham his guidance and understanding, for we were fully aware of him. He said to his father and his people, "What are these statues to which you are devoting yourselves?" They said, "We found our parents worshipping them." He said, "Indeed, you and your parents have gone totally astray." They said, "Are you telling us the truth, or are you playing?" He said, "Your only Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who created them. This is the testimony to which I bear witness. "I swear by GOD, I have a plan to deal with your statues, as soon as you leave." He broke them into pieces, except for a big one, that they may refer to it. They said, "Whoever did this to our gods is really a transgressor." They said, "We heard a youth threaten them; he is called Abraham." They said, "Bring him before the eyes of all the people, that they may bear witness." They said, "Did you do this to our gods, O Abraham?" He said, "It is that big one who did it. Go ask them, if they can speak." They were taken aback, and said to themselves, "Indeed, you are the ones who have been transgressing." Yet, they reverted to their old ideas: "You know full well that these cannot speak." He said, "Do you then worship beside GOD what possesses no power to benefit you or harm you? "You have incurred shame by worshipping idols beside GOD. Do you not understand?" They said, "Burn him and support your gods, if this is what you decide to do." We said, "O fire, be cool and safe for Abraham." Thus, they schemed against him, but we made them the losers. Quran 21:51-70

Here is the story in the Jewish Midrash that it was cribbed from (the part that Muhammad retells with very little detail starts on page 15.)

Because only Allah knows the details, right?

I just binged my way through "Magi: Kingdom of Magic" on Netflix and I'm not sure if I am reading too much into the similarities/subtext I think I see.

The Magicians (Jewish People) create Magnostadt (Israel) to be a haven from the rest of the world. All people who are not Magicians are called gois (gentiles or goys) and though tolerated if useful they are considered inferior to the Magicians. The city of Magnostadt is highly segregated with gates that only allow access to certain parts of society (Checkpoints along Palestinian border). When Magnostadt comes under attack they summon the Medium, a clay monster (Golem) who then goes on a indiscriminate rampage (like Rabbi Loew's creation in Prague).

It seems like there are too many parallels to be coincidence, but I wonder if they wouldn't be as apparent to the original Japanese audience as they are to a Western viewer like myself? I could see how the references would be much more subtle to an audience that has less contact with Jewish culture, and if you don't make those baseline connections you likely wouldn't make some of the more obscure connections that pop up down the line.

My question may be a bit vague, so let me rephrase it:

Is there any indication at all of Paul's vision on the road to Damascus being a literary device or motif already existing in his cultural context? I'm trying to find some sort of explanation besides the usual divine or psychological ones for the account of his radical conversion to Christianity. What is the general consensus of biblical academia on Paul's conversion narrative?

It is certainly a stirring story with incredible implications, regardless of whether or not it is true; which makes me want to find out more about it.