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#jewish magic
thejewitches · 7 months
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No antisemitism, bigotry, or proselytization will be accepted. We will be watching closely & utilizing the delete and block buttons as needed.
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.
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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)
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ouroboros8ontology · 9 months
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… [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
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brightgnosis · 3 months
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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.
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From Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study In Folk Religion, published 2004; Joshua Trachtenberg (My Ko-Fi Here)
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zevthejewitch · 11 months
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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
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sheydgarden · 9 months
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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!
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ask-a-jew · 7 months
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so, i really want to convert. problem is, I have DID and some of the other alters have various religious views (Hellenistic pagan, Christian, atheist, agnostic). I don't really know what to do, and even my rabbi didn't really have a clue either. and also, what if I wanted to be Jewish and practice witchcraft as well? is that against anything? sorry if this is out of your wheelhouse :/
So I'm not a rabbi and I only know a few Jewish systems, and I know systems that converted but generally, there is a need for some system-wide consensus on what you want to do specifically with regards to your body being Jewish. Are all your alters on board with converting or will this cause friction along the way? You need to be able to confirm that you will continue practising Judaism regardless of what other beliefs your alters may have. I think two alters co-existing as Christian and Jewish will make things harder for you than the pagan or atheist alters existing in a Jewish body. There is little Rabbinical literature on plurality as even in the psychological world it is a marginalised and poorly researched experience.
Questions for you all to consider would be:
Will we be able or willing to perform mitzvot even if someone else is fronting?
Are we all willing to change our diet if we want to keep kosher?
Are willing to change what we eat, how we dress, how we organise our seasons and weeks?
Are we willing to keep Shabbat respectfully as a Jewish body even if someone else is fronting?
Are we willing to give our time and energy to Jewish life and education?
Are we willing to experience antisemitism?
If you have a penis you will need either a bris or to donate a few drops of blood is that something you are willing to do?
As for witchcraft, it -as all Jewish things do- depends. The types of divination explicitly banned are anything that worships a deity besides HaShem, and anything that makes use of idols or images of other deities (For example we can't wear Saint's Medallions for example, or derive benefit from a statue of Ganesha or Shiva.) this also forbids us from worshipping in a Christian church, or consuming food or wine used in other religious rituals. Also forbidden is anything that claims to predict the future, or claims to change predestined events (whether Judaism believes in pre-destination is a whole other issue)
There are two ancient forms of witchcraft Ov and Yidoni that are explicitly named as off-limits and these are a matter of debate in terms of what they actually preferred. I believe it's generally understood both involved working with the dead and as corpses are ritually unclean in Judaism and death is traditionally seen as an act of G-d going against these as a human was seen as disrespectful at best and a Chillul Hashem (an act against G-d) at worst, punishable by death.
Now bearing in mind that was several thousand years ago times and tides have changed. Eastern European, North African and Mirazhi Jewry all have documented histories of talismans, ritualised good luck magic and social fortune-telling predominantly practised by women I recommend following @thejewitches for more information in that regard.
These folk practices were largely influenced by the society the Jewish community existed in and almost exclusively are recorded as something practised by women in the home, with Balkan and Russian Jews having syncretic practices based on Slavic Paganism and Tunisian or Morrocan Jews being influenced by both Sufism, Islamic folk magic and North African practices.
We have good luck symbols such as the Hamsa and Nazar that are said to protect people from the Ayin Hara, the evil eye which comes from other people's bad intentions (the yetzer hara). Some Jews will say "Keyn Ayin Hara" and spit three times in the same way you might touch wood to stop something from happening. These are less magical practices but little cultural things you tend to pick up with osmosis.
There are plenty of Jewish people who kept practices that are outside of regular Jewish practice but in order for them to not go against Judaism: You can't invoke any other gods besides HaShem, you cannot engage in Avodah Zara or idol worship and don't bother the dead.
Resources
Jewitches Website
Do Jews believe in Witchcraft (Chabad)
Witches and Witchcraft (MJL)
Jewish Magic and Superstition (Sefaria Sheet)
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vvvivvd · 1 year
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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.
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limerenceobject · 2 years
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from: https://68.media.tumblr.com/1330f7794695be6897711cebc46df71c/tumblr_omtshfMHYT1uggfs1o1_250.jpg
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bubblecupi · 8 hours
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🧿 jewitch discord server 🧿
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: https://discord.gg/MQJZxJ6dyp ✡️✡️✡️
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simchatora · 8 months
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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!
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thejewitches · 8 months
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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.
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thepomegranatewitch · 3 months
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blessing after meals
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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.
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ouroboros8ontology · 9 months
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The primary principle of medieval Jewish magic was an implicit reliance upon the Powers of Good, which were invoked by calling upon their names, the holy Names of God and [Their] angels. The simple dependence upon names for every variety of effect obviated resort to all other magical acts with which the non-Jewish tradition has familiarized us. The magician who could produce wonders by the mere utterance of a few words had no need of the devious “business” of his non-Jewish colleague. It was the absence of the satanic element and the use of these names, that is, the employment of God’s celestial servants, which stamped Jewish magic with a generally far from malevolent character, for the angels could not be expected to carry out evil commands and thus contravene the essential purpose for which their good Lord has created them. And it was this principle, too, which kept Jewish magic securely within the bounds of the religion, and prevented it from assuming the rôle of anti-religion, as its Christian counterpart did.
Joshua Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion; The Truth Behind the Legend: Jewish Magic
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brightgnosis · 3 months
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One may define the Jewish Magician as a scholar by vocation, [and] a practitioner of the mystical-magical arts by avocation; every Mystic, properly trained, could practice magic as a side-line. Indeed, the dangers of invoking the Spirits without an adequate education in Mysticism were frequently stressed, and the possessor of esoteric traditions and writings was sternly counselled to keep them hidden from the common glance, lest they be misused, and to pass them on only to a select circle. [Thus] Early [Jewish] Mystical and Magical Lore was successfully guarded by a limited oral transmission.
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From Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study In Folk Religion, published 2004; Joshua Trachtenberg (My Ko-Fi Here)
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pickledangel · 2 years
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These angels are both representatives and defenders of their earthly charges in the heavenly courts, as well as motivators of action below. The "deputy angels" of birds or animals or men who have been wrongly dealt with plead their cause before God and see just punishment meted out to the malefactors.
- Jewish Magic and Superstition by Joshua Trachtenberg
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