Beastly Jews: Jews, Animals, and Jewish Animals in the Middle Ages
Professor David Shyovitz (Northwestern; Spring 2023 Fishman Visiting Professor) on how medieval European Jews wrote about which biblical figures had secretly been werewolves, which species of fish observed the Sabbath, and whether animals would be resurrected from the dead.
In the high Middle Ages, European Jews wrote voluminously about which biblical figures had secretly been werewolves, which species of fish scrupulously observed the Sabbath, and whether animals would be resurrected from the dead and rewarded in heaven for their good deeds. They used these thought experiments to interrogate, and even eliminate, the boundaries between humanity and animality — at the very historical moment when Jews were being “dehumanized” by their Christian rivals in unprecedented ways. This talk sheds light on this counterintuitive dynamic, and explores the ways in which Jews shaped and reshaped their core identities in dialogue with their surrounding Christian culture.
About the speaker
Professor Shyovitz is Associate Professor of History at Northwestern University and Director of NU’s Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies. He is the author of the award-winning book A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz. In Spring 2023, he served as Fishman Visiting Professor at Vassar College.
Sponsored by the Program of Jewish Studies.