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Apr 18, 2026
Dybbuks, Golems, S. An-ski, and Jewish Legends in Times of Fear
Summary
S. An-ski’s play The Dybbuk, a story of possession set in a shtetl (think The Exorcist meets Fiddler on the Roof), is the foundation of modern Jewish drama. This talk by scholar Gabriella Safran explores its roots: in Jewish folklore, the scandalous blood libel trial in Kiev in 1913, and the political passions of Russian-Jewish revolutionaries. In composing the play, An-ski was torn between two Jewish myths, each still modern: the tragic ambivalence of the dybbuk, a lost, wandering soul, and the technological triumphalism of the golem, a robot set in motion by practical kabbalah and capable of defending the Jews from every harm.
This lecture originally took place on June 3, 2020.
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A podcast from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research featuring talks, lectures, and cultural programming on Jewish history, language, and culture. Learn more at www.yivo.org
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