A Jewish Bestiary: Fabulous Creatures from Hebraic Legend and Lore

“Ask the beast and it will teach thee, and the birds of heaven and they will tell thee.” —Job 12:7

In the Middle Ages, the bestiary achieved a popularity second only to that of the Bible. In addition to being a kind of encyclopedia of the animal kingdom, the bestiary also served as a book of moral and religious instruction, teaching human virtues through a portrayal of an animal’s true or imagined behavior. In A Jewish Bestiary, Mark Podwal revisits animals, both real and mythical, that have...