My name is Dr. David Rotman and I joined the Hebrew University in October 2020 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Hebrew Literature and in the Graduate Program in Folklore and Folk Culture at the Faculty of Humanities. For as long as I can remember, I loved reading and analysing texts, and felt that literature was an integral part of my life. During my bachelor’s in Hebrew literature and political science (at Tel Aviv University), I gained an introduction to folklore, and its varied subject matter and offbeat character led me to a lifelong fascination with the field. In my doctorate I examined monsters in medieval European Jewish texts. My first book, “Dragons, Demons and Wondrous Realms: The Marvellous in Medieval Hebrew Narrative”, was published in 2016. I have also published more than two dozen of articles dealing with Jewish folk narratives from late antiquity to modern days.
In a later research project, together with my colleague Dr. Uriah Kfir we analysed the literary images of medieval Hebrew poets from Spain. This project won an ISF grant for an Individual Researcher in between the years 2017-2020. My current research project, also supported by the ISF grant for an Individual Researcher, examines the image of Rachel the Matriarch in Contemporary Israeli folk literature and culture.