🙋‍♂️ Does Judaism Recognize the Existence of Mermaids?

Question:

According to Judaism, do mermaids actually exist, or are they merely creatures of myth and folklore?

 

Answer:

Surprisingly, there are numerous sources in Chazal and later Torah literature that describe the existence of a marine creature resembling what is commonly called a mermaid.

 

The primary source is the Gemara in Bechoros 8a which discussed the marine creature known as Dolfinin (“Bnei Yama” – people of the sea), and that they can procreate from or like humans. Rashi explains that these are creatures that are half-human and half-fish, identifying them with the creature known in Old French as Sirena (mermaid, or a female human fish which is a virgin, known as Besulas Yam).

 

Likewise, the Sifra discusses a marine creature known as a Sirina or Sironis, and numerous commentators explain it as a sea creature whose upper body resembles a human and whose lower half resembles a fish, and is referred to as an Adam Yam.

 

Many classical Torah sources take the existence of such a creature for granted. While they differ regarding its precise attributes and how various Talmudic passages are to be understood, they nevertheless describe a marine being possessing humanlike features.

 

The Chida, in Midbar Kedemos, writes: There is a fish found in the sea called a Sirina. From the waist upward it resembles a virgin woman, and from the waist downward it has the form of a fish. Its dwelling place is among rocks and dangerous areas of the sea. Whenever a ship passes by, it begins to sing and chant with an exceedingly pleasant voice until it causes all those aboard the vessel to fall into a deep sleep. It then enters the ship and kills and consumes its occupants. This is cited from the small work Tzemach Tzadik, chapter 17. In the beginning of Bechoros (8a), Rashi explains the term “Bnei Yama” to mean: “There are fish in the sea whose form is half human and half fish,” and in Old French they are called “Shiryana” (Sirena). Likewise, the Mussaf HaAruch, under the entry Sarni, cites the teaching of the Sifra regarding the Sarni and explains that it is a type of sea creature whose upper half is that of a woman and whose lower half is that of a fish. He further records that in his time a nobleman and sailors in the waters near the Kingdom of Norway reported seeing such a creature sitting upon a reef in the heat of the day, and that upon hearing a voice, it immediately plunged back into the sea

 

Now, regarding whether Mermaids can reproduce with Humans, there are two primary readings of the Gemara. According to one of the versions of the text of the Gemara and Tosefta, the dolfinin “procreate like humans” (parin veravin ke’bnei adam), meaning that their manner of reproduction resembles that of human beings. However, according to the text adopted by Rashi, Tosafos, and others, the Gemara reads that they “procreate from humans” (parin veravin mibnei adam), and Rashi explicitly explains that if a human male has relations with them, they can become impregnated from him. Some later authorities understood this reading even more broadly, discussing whether the reverse could also theoretically occur.

 

Sources Mentioning Mermaid-Like Creatures

Sefer Otzer Hapelaos of Rabbi Ran Abuchatzera 1

• Gemara Bechoros 8a – Discusses the Dolfinin and identifies them as “Bnei Yama.”
• Rashi to Bechoros 8a – Explains that these are sea creatures whose form is half human and half fish (“Bnei Yama”), identified as Sirena, and that they procreate from humans.
• Tosafus Bechoros ibid: Like Rashi that they procreate from humans.
• Rabbeinu Gershom – Explains Bnei Yama as “Humans of the sea.”
• Tosefta Bechoros 1:5 – Discusses the Dolfinin and compares aspects of their reproduction to humans.
• Aruch, Erech Dalfan and Erech Sarni – Describes a sea creature whose upper half resembles a woman and whose lower half resembles a fish, called an Adam Yam.
• Sifra, Shemini, Parshasa 3 – Mentions the Sironis among sea creatures.
• Raavad to the Sifra – Describes the Sirina as resembling a woman from the waist up and notes that it sings like a human.
• Mussaf HaAruch – Records reports of sightings of such a creature and describes it as half woman and half fish.
• Moshav Zekeinim Al HaTorah – Describes a creature with the appearance of a woman above the waist, possessing hair and breasts, and singing pleasantly.
• Chida, Midbar Kedemos, Mareches Daled – Cites sources describing the Sirina as a half-woman, half-fish sea creature.
• Tzemach Tzedek (not the Lubavitcher Tzemach Tzedek) – Uses the Sirina as a metaphor and describes its traditional characteristics.
• Sefer Hayashar – Appears to refer to a similar creature in the context of the plague of Arov.
• Radak on Shmuel I 5 – Records a tradition that the idol Dagon was human from the waist up and fish from the waist down, similar in form to the Sirina.
• Ben LaAshri – Records testimony relating to the existence of male and female “sea people” possessing humanlike features.
• Shut HaMeir L’Aretz – Argues that the concept of mermaids is rooted in the words of Chazal and classical Torah literature.

 

Bottom Line:

There are numerous Torah sources that describe a creature known as the Sirina, Sironis, or Dolfinin, which many commentators identify as a being that is human-like above and fish-like below. While the exact interpretation of these sources and whether they should all be understood literally is subject to discussion, it is inaccurate to claim that Judaism considers the concept of mermaids to be a purely modern myth. Chazal and many later Torah authorities explicitly discuss the existence of such creatures.