8 Fascinating Jewish Myths

Jewish mythology is one of the few world mythologies to remain largely unexplored by the public. But this is not because of any lack—Jewish mythology is as fascinating and rich as any set of stories in the world. Jews were very literate from an early date, putting their stories down into written texts, even while other cultures were still transmitting them orally, so we have vast body of well-preserved work to discover!

This is a mythology of many voices, sourced from the Midrash and Talmud, Kabbalistic literature, Hasidic texts, medieval folklore, and oral tales, and it covers mythological subject matter as varied as famous Biblical figures, vampires, golems, and giants. Many of your favorite movie monsters, in fact, might just find their roots in Jewish mythology.

Jewish mythology is so diverse because it reflects the struggle between the monotheistic Hebrew prophets, and the paganism of the ancient Hebrews, who often worshiped other gods alongside Yahweh. Thus, this is a mythology that includes elements one might not expect to be associated with Judaism. It is also a mythology of everyday life, as many of myths are simply tales told in an attempt to explain how the world worked for the ancient Hebrews.

Let's explore these fascinating stories by taking a look at 8 tales from Jewish myth and legend.

The Golem of Prague

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In the year 1580, when the Jewish community of Prague was accused of the blood libel—the murder of Christians to use their blood for ritualistic purposes—Rabbi Judah Loew prayed for protection.

He received an answer in the form of a dream. In this dream, God gave him the secret of how to create a golem out of clay, and that this golem would protect the Jews against their would-be attackers.

Gathering together a small team of assistants, whom he swore to secrecy, Loew led them out of the city in the middle of the night. They journeyed down to the river Moldau, where they dug clay from the banks and used it to sculpt a human form.

Each of the men walked around this form seven times, reciting a spell until the golem slowly began to glow, his body becoming covered in hair, nails growing upon its hands and feet.

At this point, they recited the verse, “And God breathed in to his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living creature.”

At this, the golem opened its eyes and looked upon its creators in wonder. Loew commanded the creature to rise, and they dressed it to look like a human being.

The creature went on to defend the Jewish community in Prague until the accusations of blood libel were over—at this point, Loew undid the spell while the golem slept, reducing it to a mass of clay that is said to still lie in the loft of the Alt-Neu synagogue in Prague, which can be reached by ladder.

The Unfinished Corner of Creation

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Because of the bitterly cold winds which arise from the area, the ancient Hebrews considered the north to be the home of all evil spirits.

In this myth, when God had almost finished all of creation, he stopped short at the north corner of the world. He began to create it, but decided to leave it unfinished, saying “Whoever declares himself to be God, let him come and finish this corner, and then all shall know he is a god.”

It is in this unfinished corner that earthquakes, demons, winds, and all manner of evil spirits are said to dwell, venturing forth into the world from their wintry abode. These evil spirits are drawn to this one remaining corner of primordial darkness out of arrogance—they wish to meet God’s challenge—and the simple desire to hide from the light.

Other versions of this myth include God leaving a corner of creation unfinished so that humankind may finish it, themselves, completing creation.

The Darkness

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This myth asks a fascinating question: what happened to the darkness that existed before the creation of the world?

According to this story, it is sealed away and hidden in the seventh compartment of Gehenna, another name for hell, where the wicked are sent upon death.

This compartment is said to contain six nations whose denizens live in this perpetual darkness. Indeed, darkness seems one of the principal punishments in the Jewish view of the afterlife.

But what is truly interesting about this myth is the way it deals with Genesis 1:2, which says “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

This myth seizes upon the fact that the darkness seems to have been present before God began working. What was its nature? How did it get there? These are fascinating questions.

This myth expresses the natural curiosity of humankind, and attempts to make sense of a very mysterious Biblical passage.

Og, the Giant

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In this myth, the King of Bashan, who happened to be a giant named Og, promised to swear fealty to Noah if he would allow the giant onto the ark during the Biblical flood.

Noah conceded, and Og rode atop the ark’s roof, becoming the only giant to survive the flood.

Og, however, would later become a bitter enemy of Israel, and is said to have uprooted a mountain in preparation for throwing it and obliterating the entire country.

Fortunately, God sent a swarm of rock-eating ants against Og, which ate a hole in the stone, causing it to fall atop Og’s head and get stuck there. Moses arrived and struck Og in the ankle with a hammer, causing him to fall and perish beneath the weight of the mountain on his head.

However, the mountain fell off and began rolling toward Israel, and God had to intervene once again, suspending the enormous rock between heaven and earth.

Later, Og’s skeleton was found by a man who accidentally found himself inside the giant’s thigh bone, inside of which he chased a deer for three miles

That's a big guy.

The City of Luz

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The legendary city of Luz is a mythological refuge from the woes of the world.

Whoever lives within the walls of Luz is protected from the results of the fall—none of its natives suffer strife, war, or cataclysm, and not even the grandest, largest armies can assail Luz.

Even the very Angel of Death is turned away from its gates, for in Luz, none die.

Luz is made so safe because it was constructed in a place that is connected to heaven—the spot where Jacob had the dream of the ladder reaching from earth into heaven. According to another legend, Luz is deathless because God set it aside after the fall of mankind so that the world would have one place the Angel of Death could not enter.

Similar to the legend of Shangri-La, those who leave Luz immediately age and die at the hands of the waiting Angel of Death. Yet, despite this, it always happened that those who had lived for centuries inevitably made their way outside the city in order to give themselves up to Death.

It seems that even eternal life can wear on one after too long.

Demonic Doubles

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In this fascinating and frightening bit of Jewish mythology from the Testament of Solomon, the kingdom of Satan is the reflection of the kingdom of man. Everyone, when they are born, has a demon born in their exact image in hell.

Forty days before a person is born, a voice from the heavens proclaims who that person is destined to marry. While this voice is heard by the angels, it is also heard by the demons, who fly up to the firmament of heaven to hear God’s decrees concerning the future of each individual. The demons make use of this information to arrange for the human to marry the demonic double of their soul-mate instead of the real thing.

If this happens, and someone is tricked into marrying a demon, they are carried off to a place where “no man’s feet should ever enter.”

This particular myth may be a fascinating attempt to explain the many strange –and sometimes terrible—marriages in the world.

Lilith

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Lilith is one of the most feared figures in all of Jewish mythology, and has a decidedly surprising origin.

When God saw that Adam was alone, he created a woman from the dust to accompany him. Adam and this woman, however, immediately began to fight. When Lilith saw that they would never get along, she uttered the true name of God—a word that can grant powers—and flew into the air.

Lilith fled to a cave, where she began to take demons for lovers, spawning ever more demonic progeny. When three angels of God caught up to her and demanded she come back to Adam, lest they slay 100 of her offspring a day, she refused.

Lilith, in Jewish mythology is Adam’s first wife, a demoness, a killer of children, and the personification of lust. She is said to continually stalk the night, looking for men to seduce so that she might produce more demonic children.

According to legend, the only way to rid yourself of her, should she appear, is to recite, “Out Lilith. Lilith, in the name God, and in the names of the three angels sent after you, Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, to remember the vow you made, that when you find their names you will cause no harm.”

Solomon's Vampire

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A vampire is the last thing you’d expect to find in Jewish tradition, but this exactly what stars in this myth from the Testament of Solomon.

Demons did not wish for the Biblical King Solomon to build the Temple. They were unable to harm Solomon or his chief builder, so a vampire demon attacked the builder’s son, sucking blood from his thumb.

He did this over and over, until the boy was very weak. When Solomon noticed the boy’s condition, the boy told Solomon of the attacks, and the supernaturally wise king immediately knew what to do.

He gave the boy his royal ring, with instructions to throw it at the demon when next it approached. This would make the demon the boy’s prisoner, and the creature could be brought back to Solomon.

The demon, called Ornasis, was successfully captured and questioned intensely about other demons, and what their names were—knowing something’s true name, after all, gives you power over it within Jewish myth.

And learn these names Solomon did, giving him power over all demons. They could not harm him in the years he spent having the Temple built, and so because of the vampire demon, Solomon was successful in protecting his people and finishing the Temple.

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