Pet-owner’s guide to the galaxy: Mark Podwal’s ‘Jewish Bestiary’ is a pocket index of the animals of Jewish cosmology  

Every pet owner knows – and their loved ones have witnessed – the ungodly long index of silly and self-referential nicknames they have for the (other) animals with whom they share their lives. In my own family life, I’ve heard my sister’s dog lovingly called everything from a goblin to a chicken to a tumble of syllables only decipherable to the two of them. 

In honor of our pet issue and coming after a particularly heart-warming seder over Passover where animals reigned supreme as the most effective form of multigenerational communication, I raise your ungodly long list with a godly one. That is, Mark Podwal’s pocket guide to unlocking the powerful, spiritual role of animals in Jewish life: “The Jewish Bestiary” (University of Nebraska Press, 1984). 

Bestiaries, collections of descriptions and illustrations of animals both real and mythical, first gained popularity in medieval Europe, often within a religious context. Originating from earlier Greek and Roman natural histories, medieval bestiaries blended natural observation with moral and spiritual lessons. Podwal’s 1984 volume treats Jewish lore not only as the origin point for our relationship with the animal world, but as the very physical biosphere in which these creatures stretch, prowl, bask, fight and flee. The fox, who is one of my official submissions to this menagerie, “prowls through Jewish parables as a reminder that cunning often triumphs over strength.” As Podwal makes sure to emphasize, these creatures are active in our lives as messengers of spiritual wisdom – and sometimes, warning.  

Mark Podwal is an acclaimed American artist, author and physician whose work often explores Jewish history, legend and tradition. Best known for his illustrations in The New York Times and collaborations with Nobel laureate author Elie Wiesel, Podwal’s drawings have been exhibited around the world, including at New York City’s Jewish Museum and the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem. Podwal’s passing in 2024 marked the 40-year anniversary of the “Bestiary,” which continues to delight readers by transforming traditional legends into vivid, imaginative portraits, offering readers a fresh perspective on the animals and creatures that populate Jewish lore. 

While various books in the Torah dictate rules for the treatment of animals most often involved in labor – oxen, mules, camels – Jewish ethics is also undergirded with a deep respect for what Mark Podwal’s compendium calls “fur, feather and fang.” The phrase tz’ar ba’alei chayim, found in the Talmud, which loosely translates to compassion for animals (as an extension of preventing harm to all living things) is a core tenet in Jewish life, taught as early as childhood with books and resources specifically about the Jewish connection to animals.  

Animal impact exists far beyond their role in labor in early Jewish texts. “In Jewish lore,” writes Podwal in “The Jewish Bestiary,” “animals often reveal the hidden laws of heaven and earth, whispering lessons.” 

With an Aesop-like balance of stoicism and wit, Podwal’s “The Jewish Bestiary” offers a glimpse into how our bonds with animals could echo these ancient ideas: companionship, wonder and moral responsibility. Below are a few of my favorites – as someone who doesn’t own a pet, consider these my submission to the paper for this month. Podwal had a hard time picking, too: “From among the vast assemblage,” he notes in his introduction, “I have chosen to depict thirty-five creatures, culled from traditional Jewish sources [...] that exert a special force on the Jewish fancy.”  

Crab (sartan- holder, binder) 

The crab – or sartan in Hebrew, which means holder or binder – represents in Podwal’s “Bestiary” all the trappings of the abnormal. This strange, non-kosher bug who “lives in the sea but walks like a land animal” both embodies and challenges the human spirit in Jewish lore. According to the “Bestiary,” “The Talmud tells us that humans are like the crab, which first retreats to nooks and corners but eventually becomes brave as a lion.” The Hebrew calendar month of tammuz, which corresponds with the zodiac sign of the crab, signifies this lunge-and-retreat cycle, marking several tragedies in Jewish lore, including the desecration of key Jewish tenets: the Ten Commandments, Torahs and the practice of animal sacrifice, which it is said was suspended during a month of Tammuz in the First Temple Period. The Jewish people are no strangers to scuttling “abnormally,” shifting direction – serpentine on a dime – to seek out a new adaptation to meet the current Jewish moment.  

The Fox (shual) 

The fox might at first seem like a fickle addition to your furry brood, but the cunning and clever shual takes on several important roles throughout Jewish folklore. A key foil for the steadfast, righteous lion, the fox is crucial to warding off the evil eye and sleep-related ailments. Moreover, the fox operates as a sort of Podwal proxy – it is the one animal who is, at its core, “a teller of fables.” A herald of both good and evil, the fox is indiscriminate in its appetite for the present moment – keep an eye on your food, but also on the future! A fox joining your life heralds, according to Jewish lore, the beginning of a new prophecy being fulfilled.  

Raven (Orev) 

The raven, known in more modern writings for its striking black feathers, has (surprise, surprise!) a double meaning in Jewish telling. One of its most notable mentions is in the story of Noah’s ark, recounted briefly in the “Bestiary.” The raven, originally created with white feathers, has its feathers turned “pitch black” for refusing to leave the ark and send a message for Noah. The dove that has now become an icon of Jewish imagery, bearing the message of the flood’s end, was originally, so the story goes, supposed to be a raven. 

No label is ever as simple as it seems, and the raven works hard to complicate its black and white dichotomous origin story. While it has carried negative connotations in Jewish folklore, as in some other cultures, the raven is also crucial to the survival of humans in the Torah, as well as the transmission of key messages: “Whereas Jewish folklore depicts the raven as an omen of evil, the first book of Kings (17:1–7) recounts how twice a day ravens fed the prophet Elijah when he hid from Queen Jezebel and King Ahab,” writes Podwal. While some thinkers attributed this action to a human, eventual interpretation revealed that it was indeed a raven that Elijah watched for, a shock of dark in the sky with an unexpected delivery.  

I submit the raven as a willingness to go out on a limb for something unexpected and being rewarded by receiving exactly what you need (when you least expect it.) I’ll be checking my building’s bird policy.  

Bonus: the Brantius barnacle goose 

Doubly mythic for doubts about its existence even in its own lore, the barnacle goose was simply too good not to include. To those who might consider the crow an easy feat, this ornery, squawking Ferris wheel of religious myth might be for you. I say religious, not Jewish, because of this curious creature’s pervasiveness in myths across Christianity and Judaism. A confused hybrid of several real creatures—the (very real) barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) not to be confused with the (also real) goose barnacle (Pollicipes pollicipes) and the tundra-roosting Brant goose (Branta bernicla) who is also involved, per Wikipedia—the barnacle goose makes for a silly addition to any aviary. As Podwal puts it, any handwringing about the appropriate treatment or consumption of such a creature would necessitate, “of course, [finding] the tree that, instead of fruit, bears the barnacle goose.” Perhaps the goose is our slim-necked reminder to make sure our goals are feasible before we set ourselves to worrying about them? I’m not sure, but I hope this silly closer attests to Podwal’s whimsy and dedication to Jewish folk tradition in his accessible collection of animals. “The Jewish Bestiary” shows us that animals, real or imagined, can invite us into deeper compassion, curiosity or connection – and, even without speaking, invoke timeless Jewish values. 

EMMA NEWBERY (enewbery@jewishallianceri.org) is a staff writer and podcast host for Jewish Rhode Island.