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Are you unclear on the history of Messianic Christianity? Here is a resource, unaffiliated with us in any way! We encourage you to read it.

We wrote this because we’ve been caught in the trap of messianic “resources” made to trick Jews.

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Like we say, context is key. Jews have been using fish as protective symbols for centuries…but that isn’t the same as the Jesus fish! Red flags come in varying shades. Always use context & look for more before making assumptions.

Remember: interfaith solidarity doesn’t include coercion, trickery, subterfuge, appropriation & lying.

jewitch moodboard ✡︎

🧿🧿🧿/🧿🧿🧿/🧿🧿🧿

🧿 jewitch discord server 🧿

UPDATE: i made a tumblr for this new little community of mine! pls follow if ur intrested, server join link can be found there!

shalom! i just made a JEWISH ONLY discord server called shtetel shabbos! it's a server with a focus on jewish magic, mysticism, folklore, superstition. and witchery (though we welcome other topics too). we are bipoc, lgbtq+, disabled, system and ger friendly server welcoming to jews from all streams (+ we're protected by a manual verification system)! we have various roles and chats, including a resource channel. we've also got plans for study groups, polls and events when we get more members! i'd really love to interact w/ more jewitches and magically inclined jews so pls join if that interests you!

pls like/reblog for reach or invite ur jewish friends!!

link: ✡️✡️✡️

please enjoy our family's Tu bShvat table!

Closeup of three haggadot with a fruiting and flowering full colour botanical drawing of pomegranates overlaid with a black and white circle of moonphases, labeled in English and Hebrew as Seder Tu bShvat and Rosh Hashanah l'Ilanot

Closeup of a cheeseboard. Top left, clockwise as follows. Round container of herbed soft cheese, small jar of almonds, sliced red pear, a spoon, two white ramekins of olives, the lower stuffed with almonds, cut parmesan cheese, sliced brie. In center dried figs, golden raisins, and dried apricots.

Closeup shot of flowering white stonefruit blossoms. A cluster of 4 is visible, with a slightly blurry bud in midground.

An overhead shot of a table mostly set for Tu bShvat (I forgot the orange, cardamom, and water; and the vegetarian chili and yellow cornbread didn't fit). Top left clockwise as follows. Flowering pink tulips in a pink plastic wrap, red wine, a baby plate, white wine, a pecan pie with circular rays pattern, a wineglass, a spoon on yellow gingham napkin, the haggadah described above, a glass turkish teacup, a spoon on a red gingham napkin, another haggadah, a spoon on green gingham napkin, a wineglass, another haggadah. In center the cheeseboard described above and a plate of homemade puffed matzah.

If you're interested in the haggadah, a pdf is available, and I made a post with links to multiple Tu bShvat haggadot.

(edited 5784 / 2024 for new link to haggadah)

May you all have a plentiful Seder filled with thoughts of liberation for all. May none be stuck under oppressive regimes, may all refugees be treated with dignity and welcomed with open arms.

Nisht keyn tsadek, nisht keyn shalom!

Having a really witchy day.

☕️ This morning, when I added creamer to my coffee and stirred it in, I stirred clockwise to bring the intention to fruition and I just asked for a good, positive day.

🍓 For dinner, I went over to my partner’s new apartment and brought a jar of strawberry jam which I read was a Sephardic tradition upon moving to a new place. My partner took a spoonful of the jam and placed it in a small dish I picked out. It was for the sheydim of the house to snack on as a sort of introduction and to prevent negative feelings from the sheydim.

❌ Then I looked into curses and hexes. I don’t think I’m quite ready to do that yet and I’m a little hesitant karma-wise, but there’s some politicians and transphobes that really have it coming, so I’m studying it and on the lookout for a good beginner one.

⚧ When I got home, I cleaned and organized my space lightly. I carved the trans symbol into my candle and lit it with the intention that it should strengthen the trans community (myself included).

🎵 Now I’m listening to one of the songs on my witchy playlist, watching the candle, and reading up on some low energy magic for spoonies.

🧿 I’m also wearing my new evil eye necklace and it’s so comforting and makes me feel powerful and safe and connected to my ancestors

our servers events and ongoing for nissan are live, now, as well as our server notion page!

… [Medieval] witchcraft and sorcery were based upon a perverted worship of Satan, according to popular belief, and individual warlocks were supposed consciously to accept the suzerainty of the Power of Evil and to operate through an appeal to his aid. Jewish magic, to the contrary, functioned within the framework of the Jewish religion, which naturally excluded any such association, real or fancied, with the arch-opponent of God. This reputed central feature of European magic, from which it derived its special character, was entirely foreign to the Jewish mentality, not only on theological grounds, but even more on folkloristic, for the figure of Satan as a distinct personality was very faint, almost non-existent, in Jewish folklore. The entire literature does not disclose a single instance of a magical act which depended upon submission to the devil himself, or his intercession, for its execution.

Joshua Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion; The Truth Behind the Legend: Jewish Magic

Jews were stoned as Sorcerers. But it needs little knoweldge of Human nature to believe that the very vice became a virtue when Christians themselves had need of a little expert magic on the side. [And] If Jews were Magicians, their every act a Charm, then their magic devices could [surely] aid as well as harm.

From Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study In Folk Religion, published 2004; Joshua Trachtenberg (My Ko-Fi Here)

I really loved Queerkeit Coven. Do you know if it will continue? I would love to join a queer, Jewish magical space on Discord :)

hey! it's really nice to be reminded that folks still think fondly on that, thank you. while i can say with certainty that i won't personally be involved in running anything else related to that, i'm sure there are other folks who might be interested in making something similar, or it might already exist! if you haven't looked into @thejewitches, i'd recommend checking them out (they're more active on Instagram i think)

for myself, i've sort of ducked out of "witchy" communities again - my love for Jewish magic & mysticism tends a little more towards the academic/historic than many of the folks i encounter in those spaces. while i've always described myself as a "witchy" Jew (in that my Judaism is weird, anti-authoritarian, and more interested in mysticism/magic than much of the mainstream), i've realized i don't quite fit in with "Jewish witches" - many of whom i love & respect, we just have different focuses & levels of investment in witch/magic community! for example, i am all in for conversations about folklore, the history of ritual objects, ancient texts, the making of amulets, etc., but i have pretty much nothing to add to conversations about...i don't know, spirit work or astrology or energy healing. it's not that my mind is necessarily closed to those things, they just aren't really part of my life. i think i'm probably the wrong person to be heading up community that leans more in that direction, which seemed like what more people ended up wanting. i also just don't really have server or community-running capacity at this point in my life, haha. i hope you find something useful & best of luck in your search!

Fish Head: Rosh Hashanah means head of the year. Rosh = head, ha = the, shanah = year. We eat the heads of various animals to symbolize the head of the new year. Vegans/vegetarians may also eat a head of cabbage or lettuce.

Figs: Figs are one of the sacred foods.

Leeks: One of the Simanim, represents asking for protection and cutting our enemies off.

Pomegranates: One of the sacred foods, pomegranates are believed to contain 613 kernels, representing the mitzvot as well as fertility and bounty.

Apples: Eaten to bring sweetness to the new year, typically dipped in honey or baked into a cake.

Honey: While it was historically date honey, honey is believed to be a sacred food. It is eaten at the new year to bring in sweetness. Often baked into a cake.

Dates: One of our sacred foods, eaten to bring sweetness to the new year.

The Ocean: At Tashlikh, we cast our sins into the depths. We use living waters, like the great sea.

Der shtern. דער שטערן. The brow, the star. The ridge on my skull I obsess over. This brow makes me feel like a monster, testosterone marred, like a man, I think. I see through society’s eyes the monster they make of me. I clock myself. I allow myself to forget it is a star the very top of my being. And how could I forget the story of the monster they made me out to be, that also held the spell to their undoing? When they created me, the golem, they brought me to life by inscribing the word אמת, truth, upon my forehead. In their minds they made me a monster. Their monster. Because they could not face truth themselves, they gave it to me. Of course the truth was already there, they merely wrote it out. Upon my forehead, my shtern, my star, truth. Like anthropologists labeling their collection, they wrote truth on my star.

from: https://68.media.tumblr.com/1330f7794695be6897711cebc46df71c/tumblr_omtshfMHYT1uggfs1o1_250.jpg

blessing after meals

Image description. Screenshot of blessing after meals in English with a leaf green background. Text is lower in post. Bottom left has handle in black, bottom right has red chop, and right side has a budding almond branch.

this is in my tu bshvat haggadah post, but deserves to have its own separate post to shine. I wrote this today to focus on human connections and natural wonders as our blessing after the meal.

Blessed is all Being, for sustenance and nourishment, the vine and the tree and their fruits, the fruits of the field, the land we live on. May we remember and be remembered by Mercy, and guided by Justice to restore our love for each other. May Compassion rebuild our human family speedily and in our days, so we see each other as holy, and rejoice in each other. Let us eat together at one table of abundance, where we bless each other, all beings, and the earth, the waters, the sky. Let us always remember and give thanks for the wonders of the cosmos, for the stardust above and within our shared blood, the flowers before us and within us all. Let us be one interconnected family. May it be so.

Lilith - History in Detail

Shalom, friends!

I am new to Tumblr!

I wanted to share a bit about my current project: I've recently published a piece about Lilith for my Jewitchery group. However, I am looking to write a more detailed academic article regarding her cultural history.

I am absolutely open to collaborating with Jewish folks! Especially fellow Jewitches!

shalom, and welcome to the shtetl shabbos tumblr blog!

shtetl shabbos is a new community and jewish only discord server dedicated to jewish magic, mysticism, witchery, mythology, folklore and more! with many plans and much to offer, we hope to connect with the tumblr jewish community as well!

disboard link (pls leave us a review!): ✡︎ | discord server direct link: ✡︎

we offer:

♡ a verification system to ensure maximum safety of all members ♡ a server guide featuring a faq, a pdf exchange spreadsheet and a constantly growing library of jewish resources ♡ a safe-space chat to discuss mental health, antisemtism and the likes ♡ a weekly book club and parsha study group + monthly zine and research prompt ♡ chats specifically for bipoc jews, lgbtq+ jews, disabled/nurodivergent jews, alterhuman jews, jewish systems, and converts! ♡ a variety channels to start new and exciting conversations ♡ polls, qotd, chat revival, astrology ping, starboard, vcs, events, mutual aid channel and more!!

quick FAQ under the cut!

FAQ

Q: what is a jewitch/jewish witchcraft?

A: considering there is an expanse of ideas on both what being jewish and what practicing witchcraft/magic means, there is no one definition to describe jewitches or jewish witchcraft. for the sake of this server, we define “jewish witchcraft” as any practice that involves the magic, mystical, supernatural or spiritual within a jewish framework and a “jewitch” as anyone who considers themselves a practitioner of judaism and witchcraft/magic. Q: how can you be a jewitch or practice magic/witchcraft as a jew?

A: the answer to this question is complex and depends on who you ask. respectful conversation surrounding this topic is welcomed within the server. we recommend the following article by the creator jewitches as a primer for this question.

Q: who can join?

A: any jew, self-identified jewitch or not! our server is pluralistic and we welcome people from all movements, minhags, and backgrounds. we appreciate having diverse perspectives. we are explicitly a safe space for gers, disabled & neurodivergent jews, lgbtq+ jews, bipoc jews and jewish systems. bigotry, hatred and infighting will not be tolerated. messianic "jews" are not welcomed here.

Q: can i join if i'm curious about or new to jewish magic?

A: yes! infact, once you are verified, we have a resource forum channel where we are constantly working to update it with new and improved resources all the time! we also have a dozen channels and other things to explore different topics within both judaism and witchcraft.

Q: can i join if i'm a ger/convert/conversion student?

A: yes! converts are fully jewish and welcome to practice jewish practices. conversion students are welcomed to join, however we want to make it explicitly clear that gers-in-progress should not practice jewish magic/mystycism/witchcraft without supervision and approval from a rabbi. we are happy to educate and provide our perspective but we cannot preform the job of a rabbi.