About This Project

A free open library of Jewish mythic tradition

We've gathered over 25,000 ancient passages from Midrash, Kabbalah, Apocrypha, and classical Jewish literature into one searchable Source Library with no ads and no paywalls. The library pairs readable retellings, source records, and, where available, close English translations with original scholarly citations. Start with What Is Jewish Mythology? or browse the full library below.

25,000+
Passages
214
Source Collections
4,987
Myths
310+
Themes
3,000+
Years of Tradition
Our Approach

How we build this collection

Texts in this collection are adapted from public-domain translations, open Sefaria texts, Creative Commons sources, and named scholarly collections. We draw from the published work of Louis Ginzberg, R.H. Charles, Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and other recognized translators, editors, and scholars. Original citations are preserved on every page, and inline references link directly to Sefaria for readers who want to consult the primary sources in Hebrew and Aramaic.

Arthur sets the source scope, provenance rules, licenses, and Jewish-only framing. Maggid is the house editorial voice used for readable retellings, summaries, and anthology stories. Reader pages keep the lanes clear: retelling for flow, close English translation where available, and source text or source-edition metadata for checking.

The Collection

What you'll find here

Jewish mythology stretches from the earliest rabbinic commentaries through medieval mysticism to the Hasidic masters. Our collection draws from the most important compilations ever published, spanning the full breadth of this tradition.

Midrash Rabbah
3,279 passages
Classical rabbinic commentaries on Torah and the Five Megillot
Legends of the Jews
2,672 passages
Ginzberg's seven-volume compilation of Jewish legends
Kabbalah
3,602 passages
Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah, Ramchal, and Lurianic mysticism
Midrash Aggadah
9,322 passages
Sifrei, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Yalkut Shimoni, and narrative midrash
Apocrypha
1,653 passages
Book of Enoch, Jubilees, and pseudepigraphical writings
Philo of Alexandria
423 passages
Hellenistic Jewish philosophy from first-century Alexandria
Josephus
200 passages
The Jewish-Roman historian of the Second Temple period
Mekhilta
1,877 passages
Tannaitic midrash on Exodus from the school of Rabbi Ishmael
Midrash Tanchuma
738 passages
Homiletical midrash on the Torah attributed to Rabbi Tanchuma

Browse all 214 source collections →

Features

Built for exploration

Every passage is searchable, categorized by theme, and linked to its original source on Sefaria. Biblical references show verse previews on hover.

Full-Text Search

Search across all 25,000+ passages instantly

Smart Filtering

Browse by Source Family, Source Work, or 310+ themes

Verse Previews

Hover any biblical reference to see the verse

Shareable Pages

Every passage has its own URL to share

Weekly Parsha

Related passages for each week's Torah portion

Sefaria Integration

Links to original Hebrew texts on Sefaria

Editorial Stewardship

Who shapes the library

Arthur chooses what belongs in the collection, checks provenance and license boundaries, and keeps the source records usable. Maggid is the editorial voice that turns cited Jewish source material into readable retellings, summaries, and anthology myths.

Editorial Voice

Maggid

The house voice used for reader-friendly retellings, anthology stories, and citation-grounded summaries.

Founder and Editor

Arthur Sabintsev

The founder and editor who sets scope, source standards, provenance rules, and the open-access mission.

Attribution

Standing on the shoulders of giants

This project builds on the extraordinary work of Sefaria.org, the free, open-source library of Jewish texts. We also draw from Louis Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, and numerous public domain translations.

Every text preserves its original citation, and biblical references link directly to Sefaria for the Hebrew and Aramaic originals. We are deeply grateful to the scholars, translators, and institutions whose work makes this living library possible.

Source translations include:

Copyright & Licensing

What you can (and can't) reuse

The ancient source texts on this site (the Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, and other classical works) are in the public domain or openly licensed under Creative Commons terms. We keep the public reading experience free, ad-free, and paywall-free.

Our adaptations are original creative works. The rewritten text content, stories, video scripts, editorial commentary, and site design are © 2026 JewishMythology.com. All rights reserved, with one exception: our adaptations of the 16 Sippurei Maasiyot texts are licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0, in compliance with the ShareAlike requirement of their source translation.

You may quote individual texts with attribution to JewishMythology.com. We encourage sharing and discussion.

You may not bulk-reproduce, scrape, or republish our adapted texts without written permission. For licensing inquiries, contact hello@jewishmythology.com.

For full details, see our Terms of Service.

Questions, corrections, or ideas for new sources?

hello@jewishmythology.com