Sacred Monsters
Mysterious & Mythical Creatures of Scripture, Talmud & Midrash

 

By Natan Slifkin
August 2010
Zoo Torah
Distributed by Coronet Books
ISBN: 9781933143187
380 pages, Illustrated
$37.50 Hardcover

Dragons, 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 throughly revised and vastly expanded edition of the bestselling book Myasterious 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 comprehensive 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.

 

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