Nostradamus: The Prophet, the Golem and the Mystery of Human Knowledge

What happens when knowledge is suddenly within our grasp? Is it a gift? What connects a sixteenth-century Golem with twenty-first-century artificial intelligence? What happens when a creation begins to lead a life of its own? Where does the creator’s power end? And what happens when the world as we know it suddenly ceases to make sense? Can dance explore the world of science without uttering a single word?
The Jerusalem Ballet presents the world premiere of Nostradamus—a ballet about human curiosity, the dangerous allure of the unknown and the fine line between creator and creation.

Now, tell me: have you ever fancied holding a séance with Nostradamus? Nadya Timofeyeva took the plunge—and came away with a new ballet that is, to put it mildly, rather out of the ordinary. Let me make one thing clear: the choreographer wasn’t looking for winning lottery numbers or the date of the apocalypse. What interested her was the man himself—someone who may have glimpsed the future without necessarily being able to change it.

And Nostradamus isn’t the only extraordinary guest. In Timofeyeva’s new ballet, the title character encounters Einstein, the biblical master craftsman Bezalel, and the Maharal of Prague, the legendary creator of the Golem. This is where things get particularly interesting, because the Golem is danced by… a woman. Not a robot, not a Terminator, not a mechanical doll, but a living ballerina. And it is a fascinating sight: a creation coming to life onstage, acquiring a will of its own.

“I hope Nostradamus wouldn’t have minded sharing the stage with Bezalel and Einstein. Though if he really could see the future, he knew what he was letting himself in for,” Timofeyeva says.

I’ll publish our conversation a little later. For now, I’m still turning over what I heard—and what I saw at rehearsals.

Nostradamus is a story about human curiosity, the power of imagination and our responsibility for what we create. In this new production by the Jerusalem Ballet, prophecy, science, ancient legends and human passions come together with such ingenuity and dramatic flair that it soon becomes clear: no one is about to deliver a philosophy lecture from the stage. Here, the questions matter more than ready-made answers, and mystery is more compelling than any solution.

After all, for all their differences, Nostradamus, the Golem and Einstein were engaged in much the same enterprise: trying to push beyond the limits of what was known, to glimpse what lay beyond the horizon of their own time.

And what about us? Do we even know what to do with everything we have already discovered and created?

Nadya Timofeyeva: “The main purpose of the production is not to provide answers, but to preserve our sense of wonder at the mystery of the universe.”

Perhaps, after the premiere, we too will find ourselves wanting to ask the future a few questions. The answers may be more surprising than we expect.

Tickets