Reviews for Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural

The average rating for Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-04-12 00:00:00 Marcus Hicks I read this voraciously when I was a teen, but rereading it now, I'm less enamored. What I liked about it originally was how the supernatural was interwoven with the everyday: the locked cellar door or garden gate might be a portal to hell; the bedroom mirror might be a source of enchantment. Rereading it as an adult, though, the book feels problematic on several levels. Each tale is told three times: once in a brief, spoilery summary for no reason in the introduction, once in the book itself, in better prose, and then a third recap with annotations and commentary in the notes section--I think the book would have been stronger with little or no introduction. I would also have loved some clearer arrangement of stories: Hungarian tales from one century are interspersed with Tunisian stories from another. It would have been interesting to see stories from the same region and era together and see patterns, get a sense of the fears and tensions of each distinct culture. It feels like a missed opportunity. In terms of content, most of the stories chosen focus on men's strengths and flaws, with women mainly present as victims and temptresses, with very few exceptions. My sense that this was Schwartz's choice rather than purely an issue of source material is strengthened by the illustrations, which mainly feature men bundled in traditional coats and furs confronting naked women. It makes me wonder what fascinating women's tales were left out of this eclectic collection.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-07-23 00:00:00 Terje G. Simonsen Asmodeus and Lilith are the crown regent of the sitra achra or the other side. They rule over all the demon. Both King an Queen are spoken of quite frequently in Jewish literature. Asmodeus threw King Solomon out of his palace and too, his place for a number of years. Lilith rebelled against Adams superiority trip and fled the Garden of Eden. She gives birth to demons. I legend she seduces men and kills children unless they are protected with a certain amulet. This book is a collection of 50 stories regarding the supernatural, collected from the Jews in Europe and from Jewish communes in the Middle East . In these stories Rabbis serve as powerful magicians doing battle against demons, supernatural creatures and other sorcerers . These Rabbis cast circle on the ground , see into the future, raise the dead and caste spell. A good number of stories include Asmodeus and Lilith. In one story a gold smith is about to die in the forest and in order to survive he makes a deal with Asmodeus. He marries his daughter and she lives in the cellar of the goldsmiths shop. He frequent her there and they even have kids. After The affair is discovered. The demon goddess lives there with the offspring until generations later rabbis compel then to leave. In another story Lilith or Queen Sheba seduces a man and lives in siniliar circumstance . I enjoyed reading this collection and finished it in two days. Th stories pull motifs from Jewish sources like the bible, Talmud and Kabbalah . Yet they also draw from Faery lore. You have women marrying demons and then living with them at the bottom of the ocean. Lots of Faery kings have seduced many a human in so a fashion. In one story two friend are reunited after one dies. They study Torah for a few hours, but the passes quickly and 150 years go by. In the Faery world time moves in such a fashion.