For what are we but stardust?

HMMM! (and thank you for sending me these anons!)

I suspect it depends on what tradition we’re drawing from. Werewolves as a whole are mostly a European thing, although people changing into or communing with animals is pretty much a worldwide myth. 

Some things to think about: If you’re not fully conscious (or not conscious in the same way) when you’re a wolf, are you accountable for any destruction you cause? Does transformation count as work? (Also, if you can’t stop yourself from doing work, you probably aren’t breaking Shabbat..) Can you attend synagogue as a wolf?

In the former case, a lot of the issues around Shabbat and holiday observance would be simplified using the principle of mitzvot aseh she’ha’zman grama, which means “positive commandments that must occur at a specific time.” The rabbis exempted women from prayer because it occurs at a specific hour of the day, and that is not compatible with the demands of childcare. However, they are obligated for weekly and monthly commandments like Shabbat and holidays, since that’s flexible enough for them to participate. A rabbinic court could use this precedent to create a similar exemption for werewolves, exempting them from all positive commandments that must occur at a specific monthly (rather than daily) time.

Managing on one’s own, the first priority must be human life - including one’s own. If trying to participate in the holiday would possibly endanger themselves or others, the werewolf would be actively forbidden to do so. In fact, I would argue that the werewolf would be positively obligated to take the necessary measures to prevent harm. If they take all possible precautions, and they still harm someone (or even do damage to property), then they are only responsible as an ones - someone to whom an unforeseeable accident has happened. If they took shoddy or irresponsible precautions, then they’d be responsible as a shogeg - someone who errs through carelessness or poor judgment. Finally, if they knew they would inevitably turn into a werewolf but took no precautions to mitigate harm, then they would be responsible as amezid - someone who is deliberately and fully responsible for the wrong they do. I won’t recap the entirety of Jewish civil and criminal law, but in almost all cases the penalties increase as you move up through the three categories.

(One could also argue that the werewolf is a tinok she’nishba, a child without proper knowledge, when in their wolf form. Such a person is not responsible for their actions, not even to the level of an ones. However, the principle of psik reisha lo yamut - that you are responsible for the illegal consequences of legal acts - would suggest that the ones-shogeg-mezid framework is more appropriate. At the time when you were still human, you had the chance to take actions that affected what would happen when you became a wolf.)

Fortunately, the werewolf does escape some problems with mitzvot just by being a wolf. For example, the thirty-nine categories of melacha, work, that are forbidden on Shabbat are precisely and deliberately categories of human work. A wolf doesn’t weave, for example, or light a fire. Even if they, say, did an action that is isomorphic to melacha, like ripping a piece of cloth, they are not capable of intending the action as work.

On the other hand, there are rabbis who would argue that animals are inherently muktza, inappropriate for use on Shabbat. That stricture would apply not to the werewolf themselves, but rather to other Jews who would not be allowed to touch, move, or benefit from the wolf. This is a minority opinion, though, which is a relief to those of us who own pets! It’s not something that would affect werejews in most communities.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

I just realized this might be the longhorn with the world record for longest horns