Jewish Mythology - in Post-Talmudic Times

In Post-Talmudic Times

After the dispersion of the Jews, the Jewish people spread among the peoples of the earth and were influenced by other cultures. Mythographers have been studying how Jewish mythology began to borrow or adapt stories and ideas from various cultures. Mythology was naturally acquired and adapted to each time and place.

A variation in custom is sometimes found between one set of Jews and another which enables the inquirer to determine the origin of them. Thus, English Jews sometimes show a disinclination to sit down with thirteen at a table, probably copied from their Christian neighbors who connect the superstition with the Last Supper of Jesus; whereas Russian Jews consider thirteen as a particularly lucky number, as it is the gematria of "echad" (one), the last and most important word of the Shema.

On the other hand, many stories are specifically Jewish in nature and origination. For example, the belief that the resurrection of the dead will take place in the valley of Jehoshaphat is a specifically Jewish corollary to their narratives of an after-life, and a veneration of Jerusalem.