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Hello, I'm not trying to ask this in bad faith but how is working with Lilith antisemitic?

I'm just curious and in no way trying to offend. (Also I don't work with her.)

Hey there! I got very very close to answering this privately because the more Lilith content I post the more antisemitism I seem to face, and I just don't have the energy to deal with that ATM, but I'll post it publicly in the name of education. I'm also on mobile so apologies for formatting/grammatical errors.

First and foremost, Judaism is 100% closed. This means that everything within Judaism, whether or not it's "good" or even worshipped, is still closed. If countless people from a closed culture tell you not to touch something because it is ours, one should just listen to that already. That is the most important part of this entire argument.

Lilith was first reclaimed and seen as a positive feminist figure by Jewish feminists, and was a symbol against the intersection between antisemitism and misogyny, as well as the misogyny Jewish women may face within their own communities. Even this symbolic version of her has been stolen and stripped of her Jewishness, which is antisemitism in action.

Adding on to points #1 and #2, taking Lilith and stripping her completely of her Jewishness is antisemitism. It has happened countless times to Jewish figures, ideas, and beliefs, it is antisemitism. By interacting with her as a non-Jew, you are taking her out of her Jewish context, and stripping her of her identity.

The narrative of Lilith being the first wife of Adam, rebelling against Gd, and becoming a hot sexy demon goddess is not her true story. This story originates within a satirical work (the Alphabet of Ben Sirach) which also talks quite literally about pissing and farting and a bunch of other crude stuff because it was a work made to be stupid. In actual Jewish lore, Lilith was never a human, period. The idea that this story is the true Jewish idea just continues to erase actual Jewish narratives and the reality of her story.

I have seen countless Lilith appropriators say that, yes, the Kabbalah is closed and so is every other part of Judaism, but just not Lilith. This statement already doesn't make sense, but also one cannot interact with Lilith in a vacuum. One cannot interact with Lilith outside of Judaism. A heart cannot beat outside of the body it belongs to. You cannot interact with Lilith without inherently interacting with all these other aspects of Judaism.

I'm a bit busy at the moment, so this was slightly rushed, but I believe I have covered every point. If I think of others later, check the replies and I will tag you in them. I hope this helps, and thank you for the respectful inquiry!

Ignore the tags, B"H.

SIX SONGS, 2017

a short zine illustrating a chapter of the Hechalot Rabbati, an ancient Jewish mystical text which describes—in gory detail—the dangers of listening to the angels singing around the merkavah (holy chariot). it features detailed pen & ink artwork drawing from both Jewish symbolic tradition (including panel borders inspired by antique Ashkenazi gravestone carvings) and a modern macabre visionary style.

incredible to look back at this one 5 years later! my first Jewish zine. folks' response to this really changed my whole creative practice & it helped me find my voice after almost a decade of artistic burnout.

still available as a free/pay-what-you-want digital download at itch.io, physical copies occasionally in my Etsy shop

🧿 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: ✡️✡️✡️

goyim will spell 'kabalah' wrong and think they know enough about this closed practice to educate others on how to steal from it

It's said that certain wonders of creation were created "Bein HaShmashot"- the twilight between the sixth day of creation and the beginning of the first Shabbat. During Bein HaShmashot, many unexplainable creations and important objects were created; including the first blacksmith's tongs, the rainbow, and the donkey that spoke. As a trans person, I am often in the twilight of the life, as if I myself am Bein HaShmashot- between two days. Twilight is the transitional time, a time of great mystery and uncertainty. I know what it feels like to be unexplainable. I am often at the crossroads between manhood and womanhood, religious and secular, confident and doubtful. When there is a Mechitza, I don't know where to stand, because I am constantly in this twilight state. We cannot fully explain why trans people exist, sometimes we're as strange and ineffable as the first fire and the Ten Commandments. It's not a curse or a blessing to be created Bein HaShmashot. Great things were created during this time, and terrible things too, and things that are neither good nor bad- just different. Twilight is the time between the two lights- the sun and the moon. In Jewish mysticism, the sun embodies the masculine, and the moon embodies the feminine. For trans people like myself, we are often cast in the twilight of these times- neither fully in the sunlight or fully in the moonlight. I am neither fully part of manhood's day or womanhood's night. There are things in life we cannot fully explain, but we're not meant to understand everything. Hashem chose to create certain phenomena Bein HaShmashot- to be in this liminal space between knowing and unknowing. Is it not then possible that in His infinite wisdom, She created our beautiful transgender souls Bein HaShmashot?

If you think Lilith is Christian/Mesopotamian/pagan in origin (or something other than Jewish) and is open to practice with anyone, please unfollow me and leave. I'm not up for an argument; either make your opinions known in the comments so I can block you, or leave. Thanks.

All hail the Jewish Heartthrob of Darkness!

🖤🗡🖤

I hope all the ethnically Asian, African, Pacific Islander, and all other Jews of Color are having a wonderful day! The world should appreciate World Jewry more! Jews are a diverse group of people spanning all four corners of the world and we are invaluable! I hope everyone, gentile or Jew, recognizes us for our devotion to ourselves and our community!

In 1974, Leonora Carrington created 11 lithographs depicting her costume designs for a theatrical production of S. Ansky’s play The Dybbuk. This suite of prints forms the core of the exhibition Leonora Carrington: El Mundo Mágico now on view at Mixografia in Los Angeles along with several other prints showcasing Carrington’s enigmatic form of Surrealism, which blends various visual and mythological strands from her European background with those of her adopted home of Mexico.

THIS is happening. The empire is falling. Materialism is falling. We are rising. We must continue to rise. We are at the end of something, and also at the beginning.

...

South African apartheid fell in my lifetime, after many, many years of fierce, unwavering resistance. The Zionist-war-machine will fall too. The US-empire will fall. It is falling, falling fast, and we are helping it to fall with our fierce, unwavering resistance. Perhaps the eclipse is here to help us, by revealing to us what must be released in service of what is dying and what is ready to be born. Perhaps Pesach is here to help us by reminding us of the process of getting free. Perhaps this year we will truly understand the message of Pesach - that getting free is only getting free if we do it together.

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)

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.

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!