Do Jews Believe in Hell? Reading a Medieval Jewish Ghost Story with David Shyovitz

The Jewish tradition does not contain a doctrine of Hell--or so many modern Jews believe. But has this always been the case? In this class, we will examine the profound impact that beliefs about the afterlife (both Heaven and Hell) have had on the ways Judaism is practiced to this day. In particular, we will analyze a twelfth century Jewish "ghost story" and use it as a jumping off point for exploring the interplay between Jewish and non-Jewish conceptions of the next world. David Shyovitz is Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Northwestern University, where he also directs the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies. He is the author of A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017).

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