Between Heaven and Earth: Yiddish Women's Folklore, Rituals, & Magic
I'm so happy to share that this fall I'll be teaching my first class for the Yiddish Book Center. I've created a brand new course on the Ashkenazi folk magic and ritual of women++. (While the folk magic and ritual domain was one where women played significant leadership roles, it did not exclude men.) We'll be covering plague weddings, feldmestn (grave and cemetery measuring), candle magic, the indispensable art of evil eye removal, protections for pregnancy and childbirth, Ashkenazi herbalism, divination, and more.
We'll talk about why some magical practices have persisted for hundreds of years, despite the disapproval of the rabbis, while others have almost completely disappeared. And we'll explore the role (or lack thereof) of folk magic and folk religion in American Judaism.
The course will take place over four consecutive Wednesdays in October and November, starting right after the High Holidays. Click here to register or find more information.
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