Demons were an important part of Babylonian rabbinic life. The Babylonian Talmud is full of stories about demons, statements from demons, and laws relating to demons. In this talk, Sara Ronis will explore how the rabbis thought about demons, and how the rabbis thought “with” demons to create a particular kind of rabbinic life and rabbinic theology in Sasanian Babylonia. Ronis will also examine when and why demons stopped being a meaningful part of Jewish life.

Sara Ronis is an assistant professor of theology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. She received her BA from Brandeis University, MA from Columbia University, and PhD from Yale University, and has been a Harry Starr Fellow at Harvard University. Her first book, Demons in the Details: Demonic Discourse and Rabbinic Culture in the Babylonian Talmud, is currently under review.