Author Draws From Jewish Heritage to Craft Urban Fantasy Novel

“This book is a response to the self-image of Jews as scholarly sages — not fantasy warriors or heroes — and an invitation to broaden our understanding of what it means to be a Jew.”

So says J.S. Gold, author of the uniquely illuminating novel The Sanhedrin Chronicles, a modern fantasy where ancient Hebrew mysticism comes alive on the streets of New York.

The author adds, “Taken a step further, all good fantasy fiction uses the particular to illuminate the universal. The story considers identity through a uniquely Jewish lens, but it’s by no means limited to the Jewish experience.”

In the book, college student and certified nerd Arthur Rose has issues: he’s estranged from his Jewish faith, he needs a recommendation for grad school, and getting back with his ex, Lynn, is going to take some doing. 

He’s trying to balance it all when he starts seeing shapes in the dark. Soon after, a mysterious young woman approaches. She tells him she killed his father and seeks a stone blessed by God Himself…What follows is a tale ripped out of Arthur’s wildest fantasies: to protect the world from evil, he must join a secret order of Jewish demon-hunters that have spanned millennia.

In this recent interview, the author expanded on some of his compelling themes and notions.

Q: Your book has been called “a modern fantasy where ancient Hebrew mysticism comes alive on the streets of New York.” Tell us about The Sanhedrin Chronicles and how this reference is appropriate.

A: In The Sanhedrin Chronicles, the protagonist, Arthur Rose, discovers that he is descended from an ancient order of Jewish mystics that fight a secret war against demonic evil. This order is called the Sanhedrin, which in real history was a council of judges that presided over the ancient Jewish land of Judea. However, in my work, the Sanhedrin aren’t just judges, but sorcerers, channeling divine energies to breathe life into Talmudic spells. 

In real history, the Sanhedrin were disbanded by the Roman Empire, but in Chronicles, they abdicated only their visible political life, continuing on their supernatural fight in secret all the way up until the present day.  In this way, Chronicles bridges history to the present, tapping into the rich Jewish stories and traditions of the ancient world and bringing them forward to today.       

Q: What challenges did you face in this merging of Hebrew mysticism and modern urban fantasy?

A: Any time you’re mixing fantasy with religion, you have to be careful not to disrespect one’s beliefs by suggesting they’re just fantasies themselves. I didn’t want to trivialize any religious rituals or values, but indeed honor them by using the story’s supernatural elements as metaphors for their power.

A perfect example is the story’s treatment of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. When Arthur attends a Yom Kippur service, he not only feels a genuine connection to his Jewish identity for the first time in a long time, but also learns that demons fear Yom Kippur due to its holy energy.  So we have an approach where the profundity of Judaism is forwarded even when the more fantastical elements are in play. 

Q: Arthur’s journey involves rediscovering his Jewish heritage and faith. How did your own experiences or research into Judaism and mysticism shape Arthur’s character and the depiction of Hebrew magic?

A: Like Arthur, I too have had a complicated relationship with my Jewish heritage. I went to Hebrew school.  I got a Bar Mitzvah. Yet I always held that part of myself at arm’s length. To be Jewish was something not to necessarily hide from others, but not to lean into either. I felt that to share my Judaism with others was to risk them seeing me through a stereotype — nerdy. Unathletic. Weak. I internalized all this just like Arthur has at the start of the story.

But like Arthur, as I learned more about my people’s history, I understood this self-image couldn’t be further from the truth. Jews were and are strong — badass even — but that strength just looks a little different for us. That’s why instead of swords and armor, I gave Arthur Talmudic spells and a tallit. 

Q: The stone blessed by God plays a significant role in the story. Can you delve into its symbolic meaning within the narrative?

A: One of the first objects I discovered in my research of Kabbalah was the Tzohar Stone, which, according to the Jewish mystic tradition, is a gem said to contain the light of creation, bestowed unto Abraham by God. The qualities of the stone are a matter of conjecture, but in the fiction of the story, it’s able to heal wounds, perhaps even bring one back from death.

It’s therefore fitting that as Arthur seeks the stone over the course of the narrative, he’s being healed — not physically, but spiritually. His connection to his Jewish faith is being restored.  Of course, restoration means different things to different people, so while Arthur is on a symbolic journey to reclamation, his antagonist, a lapsed Hasidic woman named Rifka, seeks the stone to literally resurrect her deceased husband.  

Q: Arthur starts out as a “certified nerd” estranged from his faith. How does his transformation into a demon-hunter and his reconnection with his heritage mirror larger themes of identity, faith, and self-discovery?

A: Earlier I mentioned that strength looks different for Jewish people. This is one of the story’s key themes, and one Arthur has to reconcile, because like many of us, his first instinct is to associate strength with martial might. He’s got this idea that power is holding some magical sword and slaying the enemy in epic fashion à la Beowulf or the Knights of the Round.

But when he encounters the Sanhedrin, he learns they don’t slay demons, they exorcise them. There’s no weapons or armor, just faith and scripture. To the Sanhedrin, this is what it means to be Jewish – to heal, not kill. And so as Arthur reconnects with his Judaism, he also has to unlearn this idea that strength is dominance and power and realize instead that it can be resilience, survival, and faith.          

Q: What inspired you to create a story centered on Jewish demon-hunters? Were there any specific religious texts, myths, or personal experiences that sparked this idea?

A: Like the rest of the world, I was swept up in the Black Panther craze in 2018. I saw the way the film lifted the Black diaspora, which embraced it in pride and love, and I got to thinking:  where was the Jewish Black Panther? Where were the Jews in the fantasy canon? 

I knew Magneto, the famous X-Men villain, was a Holocaust survivor, and other comic characters had Jewish heritage, but none came to mind that was explicitly, proudly, or vocally Jewish. Why was that? The answer was no one, not even Jews themselves, saw themselves as fantasy heroes. Up until now, ours haven’t been the warriors or heroes, but instead the scholarly sages.  This book is a response to that self-image and an invitation to broaden our understanding of what it means to be a Jew.   

Q: Arthur’s relationship with Lynn seems complex. How does her character influence his journey, both as a former romantic interest and potentially as someone tied to his spiritual and magical path?

A: Every author has a “Big Bang” moment, when an explosion of characters, scenes, and dialogue flood the brain as if from up on high.  Arthur’s girlfriend, Lynn, was there right from the beginning of mine.  It seemed obvious that though her and Arthur were an item, when the story starts, they’re on the rocks.  The reason was also obvious: if Arthur is questioning his Judaism, then Lynn is sure of hers.  While Arthur wrestles with his new secret identity as a Sanhedrin Superman, Lynn is there in his normal Clark Kent life.  At her insistence, he volunteers and prays at Temple, and continues to work through his distaste for his identity.  On a personal note, the flashback scenes showing how they met and fell in love are some of my favorite in the novel.     

Q: The secret order of Jewish demon-hunters spans millennia. How much of this history is rooted in real Jewish lore or historical mysticism, and how much is pure fantasy?

A: So the thing about Jewish mysticism is that it’s so rich and spans so much history that the lore often contradicts itself.  For instance, was famed demon Lilith simply the first woman before Eve, or was she seduced by evil and made the first demon queen?  It soon became clear that if I was going to tell this story, I’d have to pick and choose what my canon would be.

I wasn’t so much a creator as a curator, streamlining the folklore into a coherent vision, while occasionally taking some liberties. That’s why, going back to the Tzohar Stone, what exactly this powerful gem could and couldn’t do was left for me to decide. Another example is the angel Azazel, who features in the story.  I had to describe his appearance, which is something Kabbalah doesn’t really offer.          

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
A: First and foremost, I want readers to be entertained. It’s an urban fantasy novel in the vein of The Dresden Files, and it should read with the same rich characters and action. Going deeper, there’s obviously something here for Jewish readers, and turning that last page, I want them to be left with feelings not just of heroic triumph, but an empowered sense of identity and pride. 

But what’s so cool about The Sanhedrin Chronicles (and indeed, all good fantasy fiction) is that it uses the particular to illuminate the universal. The story considers identity through a uniquely Jewish lens, but it’s by no means limited to the Jewish experience. There are so many readers who are finding their way back to themselves and their heritage, and if they can find home in theirs like Arthur does his, I’ll consider it mission accomplished.

The Sanhedrin Chronicles is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.