Sea

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Myths, legends, and mystical writings about Sea from across Jewish tradition.

Rabba Bar Bar Hana Wakes the Island Whale

Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends Midrash Aggadah

Rabba bar bar Hana landed on an island that was not an island. That is the old Talmudic terror at the heart of Landa's 1919 retelling. The travelers see dry land in the middle of t...

Related Myths

Benjamin Jumped Into the Sea Before It Parted, and Won Eternal Honor

Every tribe wanted credit for the miracle at the sea, but only one tribe acted before the miracle happened. Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 114 records the...

Rahab Refused the Sea and Sank Beneath It

Ginzberg preserves Rahab, the sea angel who refused Gods command at creation and later pleaded for Egypt at the crossing.

Samael the Accuser and the Crossing of the Sea

When Israel stood trapped at the sea, a second threat loomed in heaven. Samael the Accuser was charging them before God, and God's answer was Job.

Zebulun Complained About Getting the Sea and Found Treasure in It

Zebulun protested that his brothers received land while he received rivers and sea. God's answer was a creature no other tribe could provide.

The Sea Speaks to Sheol, and Something in the Deep Answers

Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 104 makes a startling claim: the great ocean is in direct communication with Sheol, the realm of the dead. The ships on the...

Rabba Bar Bar Hana Landed on a Living Island

Rabba bar bar Hana stepped onto an island that was actually a sea creature. The Talmud turns that terror into a map of scale, exile, and wonder.

Rahav, the Sea Angel God Crushed

Rahav is the sea's defiant angel in rabbinic myth, crushed when the primordial waters refused to make room for creation.

Alexander Flew to Heaven and Sank Under the Sea

Gaster preserves a Jewish Alexander legend where the conqueror rides eagles toward heaven, then descends in glass beneath the sea.