In partnership with Americans for Ben-Gurion University
Presented by Gal Sofer
Senior Lecturer, Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Rosen Family Career Development Chair in Judaic Studies
Learned books of magic circulated widely in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Practitioners studied magic in many forms and avidly collected recipes, instructions, and formulas for putting it into practice. But what happens when the very people who use and refine these rituals begin to suspect that their books don’t actually work?
In this lecture, we will follow moments of doubt like these through surviving books of magic and inquisitorial investigation records. We will see how skepticism did not end learned magic, but transformed it, helping to generate new kinds of texts, including catalogues of demons, and even encouraging surprising forms of collaboration between Jewish and Christian practitioners.
Register to receive the link to join us online. Barring technical issues, this talk will be posted in our Program Recording Archive.
Gal Sofer (MD, PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and holds the Rosen Family Career Development Chair in Judaic Studies. His research focuses on the history of science, magic, and Kabbalah from the late Middle Ages to the present, in both Jewish and Christian cultures and across multiple languages. His work examines the transfer of knowledge between languages in Europe, the visualization of scientific and religious knowledge, and the visual aspects of learned magical literature. Trained as a physician (MD), he also serves as an adjunct lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
We extend a special thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our 2026 program lineup. He dedicates the semester’s learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman and Stephen C.