# The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics from the Bible to COVID-19

Watch a special event featuring Jeremy Brown, author of "The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics from the Bible." In his book, Brown investigates the relation between Judaism and infectious diseases throughout the ages, from premodern and early-modern plagues, to rabbinic responses to smallpox and cholera, to the special vulnerabilities Jewish immigrants faced in the U.S. as result of prejudice, and to the curious practice of "Black Weddings" in which two orphans are married in a cemetery. Popularized during the 1918 influenza pandemic the practice was revived in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, showing that the intriguing relationship between Judaism and infectious disease remains relevant today.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2023
- By: Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division
- Genres: Religion
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2025661158/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2025661158?play=1)