#talmud
Dream Work for the Jewish Witch
In my previous post, I outlined numerous examples from Jewish scripture about the magic of dreams. Today I build on that research as well as my general witchcraft practice to present a Jewitch’s guide to inducing meaningful dreams, dealing with nightmares, and interpreting dreams. (more…)
Dreams and Dream Interpretation in Judaism
This is the first of a two-part post exploring how to pull from my Jewish roots to make working with dreams a bigger part of my witchcraft practice. This first post will focus on examples of the belief that dreams hold significant spiritual meaning and of dream interpretations in Jewish tradition. My second post will focus on specific practices I use to induce or interpret dreams. (more…)
Orthodox Jews and Sex
The New York Times magazine recently published an article about an Orthodox Jewish sex therapist who helps women in the Orthodox community (they spoke mostly of her Haredi clientele) with intimacy issues. Besides the troubling word choices used by the author, like “tainted” to describe how Orthodox Jews consider a woman who’s in niddahand“semi-quarantine,” to describe the period where a husband and wife are separated, the article also gave the impression that many Orthodox Jews have repressed sex lives. While it was clear from the piece that sex between a husband and wife (in the proper time) is considered something positive, it spoke of the Orthodox approach to sex — across the gamut, from Modern Orthodox to Hasidic — in a way that made it seem as though it was very restrictive, when the basic halacha (Jewish law) on the subject is anything but, as long as we’re talking about a married couple.
Read more: http://jewinthecity.com/2015/02/orthodox-jews-and-sex/#ixzz3RlqWBUSA
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A dream is 1/60th part of prophecy
Sivan is a month of “receiving” and prophecy, and the Talmud says that a dream is 1/60 part of prophecy. ⠀
My dreams have been very active the past few weeks. ⠀
It seems like it may be time to start dream journaling again to give them the respect they are requesting and do my best to full receive the messages the Divine is trying to impart.⠀
If you don’t know about Vanessa Ochs’ fabulous book, “The Jewish Dream Book” - it’s so worth checking out. She not only unpacks Jewish dream practices, but also uses those historical practices to weave new ways of Jewish dreamwork. ⠀
Maybe I’ll write out this new blessing she crafted and set it on my altar with the Neviah offering card, and a clear quartz and amethyst.⠀
Blessed is the Source ⠀
of all illumination and all wisdom, ⠀
who guides us in using the knowledge ⠀
we have acquired in our dreams ⠀
for sacred purposes.⠀
~Vanessa Ochs⠀
And of course, if you’d like to make my dream of publishing the Eht/Aht: a Netivot Wisdom Oracle deck happen – it’s funding on Kickstarter now.
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Aneruv that’s made with demai
Is acceptable. Want to know why?
Cause you might give away
All you own on this day,
And such produce befits a poor guy.
If one vowed, “I will not eat this bread.
Make an eruvfor me.” Go ahead.
Since some folks can partake,
With that bread you can make,
But not if “I’ll not gain…” had he said.
One ate onions, and then was found dead,
The cause should be clear in your head.
Not the bulb; That’s just swell,
But the leaves, not grown well,
Are the culprits of which this is said.
“Don’t make eruvs with unripened grain.
No one eats that. I have to explain?”
This is what Rav would tell,
Till he went to Bavel.
Since they eat it, he’s had to refrain.
Make an eruv chatzeirot with salt
Or with water you think? Oy gevalt!
(That’s considered apart.)
But together? That’s smart!
In your seltzvaser mix, there’s no fault.
When King Chizkiya sickened, Yeshaia
Brought a yeshiva e'en nigher,
So their studies might save
The good king from the grave.
Might that not raise the death angel’s ire?
“Is yourkarpeftoo big? Here’s a trick:
Go and plaster the walls really thick;
Apply layer on layer.
The goal? Two beit se'ah.
Getting down this far might not be quick.
Acompletely walled-off storage space
Behind houses? A no-carry place.
If the wall had a break,
Then through there you can take,
If ‘twere there ere the wall did encase.
“Akarpef, walled off, must be square,
Else on Shabbos, you can’t carry there,”
Eliezer would say,
“But if square, then you may,
Even if it be 200 ares.”
“If the public parades through, concerted,
A well’s space, they must be diverted,”
Rav Yehuda contended,
But the rabbis defended
Their stance that it needn’t be skirted.
Akiva in prison – each day,
HaGarsi brought water his way.
When the guard spilled out half
(“No escape!” he would laugh),
“I must wash, so no drinks, then. Okay. ♂️”
If a pole-enclosed cistern goes dry,
You can’t carry there, don’t even try.
This is true even when
The rains fill it again
(Both events on Shabbat, chaverai.)
A Jew, Dan, won’t descend into Hell
Unless Avraham our father can’t tell
That this guy is a Jew,
Which he just cannot do
If a gentile Dan (Biblically) “knew”.
A man used to frequent a lady
(A merchant), and when she got paid, he
Put the coins in her grip
Just to gaze at her lip.
Said the rabbis, “It seems a bit shady.”
When at war, skip the wash before eating;
You may take dried-out kindling for heating;
Eruv building? Say “Bye!”;
Bypass tithingdemai.
Lives at risk if your force takes a beating!
If you want to camp out on the slopes,
Make some “walls” for yourself from three ropes,
With the space between cords,
Less than three hands (like boards).
Ten hands high, and no “goat gaps”, one hopes.
