Sacred Monsters: Mysterious and Mythical Creatures of Scripture, Talmud and MidrashDragons, unicorns, mermaids ... all the famous creatures of myth and legend are to be found in the Torah, Talmud and Midrash. But what are we to make of them? Do they really exist? Did the Torah scholars of old believe in their existence? And if not, why did they describe these creatures? Sacred Monsters is a thoroughly revised and vastly expanded edition of the bestselling book Mysterious Creatures. Rabbi Natan Slifkin, the famous "Zoo Rabbi," revisits all the creatures of that work as well as a host of new ones, including werewolves, giants, dwarfs, two-headed mutants, and the enigmatic shamir-worm. Sacred Monsters explores these cases in detail and discusses a range of different approaches for understanding them. Aside from the fascinating insights into these cryptic creatures, Sacred Monsters also presents a framework within which to approach any conflict between classical Jewish texts and the modern scientific worldview. Complete with extraordinary photographs and fascinating ancient illustrations, Sacred Monsters is a scholarly yet stimulating work that will be a treasured addition to your bookshelf |
Contents
Preface | 11 |
Unicorns of Different Colors | 41 |
Mermaids Krakens Wild Men | 81 |
Gigantic Giants | 111 |
Diminutive Dwarfs | 145 |
Sea Monsters Leviathan | 161 |
Behold the Behemoth | 179 |
The Fabulous Shamir | 193 |
Royal Griffins | 239 |
The Remarkable Roc | 253 |
Dragons Fiery Flying Serpents | 269 |
The Secret of the Salamander | 283 |
VegetableMen TreeGeese | 305 |
The Marvelous MudMouse | 325 |
The Spontaneous SweatLouse | 341 |
Bibliography | 369 |
Other editions - View all
Sacred Monsters: Mysterious and Mythical Creatures of Scripture, Talmud and ... Nosson Slifkin No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
according adnei ha-sadeh Akhenaten approach Ashmodai Avraham behemoth believe bird century Chaim Chasam Sofer chol Chullin cited commentary creature Ctesias cubits cubits tall described dinosaurs discussion dolfin dolphins dragon dugongs dwarfs eggs Egypt existence explain feet fiery flying serpent fire fish flying gammadim giants griffin halachah halachic height hippopotamus human Isaiah Israel Jewish keresh king kosher kosher animal legend leviathan lice lion literally lives Maharal Malbim mean mermaid metaphor Metzudas Midrash Mishnah Moses mouse natural nesher nest ostrich parsangs person Pharaoh phoenix physical possess Rabbah Rabbeinu Rabbi Rabbi Moshe Rabbi Yehudah Rabbi Yitzchak Rabbi Yosef Radak Rambam Rashba Rashi re’em refers rhinoceros Saadiah Gaon Sages salamander Scripture Sefer serpent Shabbos shamir Sifra single horn siren skin snake Sofer spiritual impurity spontaneously Tabernacle tachash Talmud Yerushalmi tanin taninim Torah scholars Tosafos translation unicorn verse wild word Yaakov