Thursday

Jewish vampires, ghosts, demon infestations and God's magic sword

Because it's Spooky Talmud Season, is why

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

Oct 30, 2025 • 9 min read

Remember this monster hunting post by Jack Zaientz?? Reminder, you can get his decks of Jewish monster trading cards (like the above) here. (Image: a painting of a white spectral figure with pointed ears and wings. It says in Hebrew and English: Agrat Bat Malhat and then, below: The Demons. Do not go out at night.)

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It's Secular Spooky Season!

And this year Scary Shabbat is happening on the actual day of the thing, so, Yidden, all the better to make your bat-shaped challah, severed finger cheese sticks and ghost meringues– or, even better, base your whole Scary Shabbos experience on the complete Jewish Monster experience:

Make a golem challah, put those chickenfooted demon tracks in the hummus, cast off the evil eye with protective cookies, do an edible Hebrew abracadabra amulet (even though it's probably absolutely narishkeit / stupidity that the word comes from Jewish sources), make biblically accurate angel soup, snack on the leviathan, the whole deal. Go hard.

Don't forget to go here for inspiration:

Next week we'll look at historical spirit possession, and it's never a bad time to get some more Spooky Talmud, eh?

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