Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism

My second book, Sefer ha-Bahir, is in process to be published in the coming year! The cover design is beautiful. List JEWISH BLOGGERS Join >>

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-second-book-sefer-ha-bahir-is-in.html

The complex ritual of the Seder provides many opportunities for occult interpretations (see my earlier entry, The Ritual Mysticism and Magic of Passover ). Rabban Gamliel, for example, require...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2015/03/mystery-guests-on-seder-plate-charoset.html

So what was that glowing, explosive rock stuff in Aronofsky's film Noah? Was it just a a lazy author's device of convenience, or does it actually have some authentic roots in Noah traditions...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2008/10/tzohar-miraculous-light-of-noah-window.html

One of the least known but very persistent Jewish folkloric beliefs is that of “changelings,” that there are human-appearing demoniods, offspring of human-demon couplings, that move among u...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2006/11/spawns-of-satan.html

Now that Aronofsky's Noah, his decades-in-the-making auteur obsession about yet another visionary-yet-  monomanical character, is in the theaters, this seems to be the time for a parable from t...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2014/03/dream-work-noah-cinematic-and-jewish.html

PARTZUFIM: (Aramaic, “Countenances,” “Personifications”). First outlined in the ZOHAR, this metaphysical concept is more fully devel­oped by ISAAC LURIA. According to the Lurianic cosmo...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2014/03/partzufim-divine-personas-holy-family.html

So I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read, "Pray for Obama" - a nice gesture - and is followed by the citation, "Ps. 109:8." May his days be few; may another take over his position...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2010/10/so-i-saw-bumper-sticker-other-day-that.html

I just watched the new preview for the Darren Aronofksy Noah. I expect the Jewish mystically-inclined director will be drawing not just from the Bible, but from Jewish traditions of the worl...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2009/07/herev-mythic-jewish-swords.html

Jewish vampires? Sure. The existence of blood lusting monsters is yet another folkloric belief that exists across cultures. Like zombies, Americans today have totally internalized the "vampire ...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2006/11/vampires-jewish-goth.html

So what do Jews, Judaism, and Halloween have to do with each other? Nothing, of course. Neither the holiday or the date has any Jewish connection whatsoever. None. The time when Jewish spirits ...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2006/10/jews-judaism-and-halloween.html

So on the strength of my book and this website, I get contacted from time to time by writers, producers, and creators of books, TV shows, and feature films, who are seeking to develop pro...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2013/10/aronofskys-noah-reaching-deep-into.html

Today, if you look up the word "incubation" in most modern dictionaries, the only definitions will involve the development of fetuses. But the acute reader will notice the word "incubus," or drea...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2013/09/dream-incubation-revelations-of-night.html

Whenever a congregant reads something I have written, or I share a bit of Jewish esoteric tradition from the pulpit, I inevitably have some say to me, rather emphatically, “Jews do not do ...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2013/09/machnasei-rachamim-and-selichot-jewish.html

I got to see Man of Steel just before vacation (I stood atop a Mayan pyramid - about as close to a ziggurat as I'm  gonna get, being a Jew, so that was awesome) and now I am ready to comment...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-superman-is-better-jewish-messiah.html

Once again recently (it happens quite a bit here in Texas), I ended up discussing the culpability of Adam and Eve in light of the death of Jesus. For traditional Christians, of course, the "Fall ...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2013/05/when-adam-did-fall-did-sin-we-all-fall.html

J.R.R. Tolkien gave us the most famous magic ring in human imagination, but certainly not the first. Rings and seals of power have a long history in Jewish tradition, beginning with King Sol...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2012/12/jewish-magical-rings-of-power.html

One of the special delights that have evolved in my life the past few years is a new hevruta of study companions. You have the fruits of some of our studies in past entries. Currently we continue...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2012/11/one-of-special-delights-that-have.html

 It's been four years since I wrote the The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism, and three years since it was selected as a Finalist for the Jewish Book Council Award, but it w...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2012/09/esoteric-judaism-brought-to-public-eye.html

So I finally got to see the new Jewish-flavored horror movie Possession, and my assessment is....meh. The centerpiece is really a domestic drama of a disintegrating family. The first two ...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2012/09/possession-dibbuk-box-review.html

] So I just noticed a strange spike in visits to the JMMM blog. This most often happens after a showing of the Demi Moore film, The Seven Sign. But this one is different. A huge number of...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2009/01/unborn-theres-dybbuk-in-my-web-stats.html

A reader asked if the Jewish concept of Adam Kadmon that I mentioned in my earlier posting was the inspiration for the Christian concept of the “Mystical Body of Christ.” It’s an ex...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2007/01/adam-kadmon-i-spiritual-man-primordial.html

Its been a while since I've added an entry. And recently it occurred to me that I have only addressed issues of infertility tangentially, through the themes of Sukkot, or the fabulous storie...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2010/06/barren-shall-rejoice-battling.html

Beit Alpha Synagogue floor Modern Jews are largely ignorant of the degree to which astrology and, particularly, the zodiac, has played a  role in Jewish tradition. Famously, and frequently ...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2012/06/jews-and-zodiac-pt-1-good-sign.html

Called Eliyahu ha-Navi, “Elijah THE Prophet,” in Hebrew, this prophet of ancient Israel (9th Century BCE) is one of the most celebrated heroes in Jewish lore. In his earthly mission he p...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2007/05/elijah-prophet-angel-of-covenant.html

Many people are familiar with the episode in Ex. 32:11-13 where God wants to wipe out Israel in response to the egel zahav, the golden calf incident. Moses, according to the biblical version, t...

http://ejmmm2007.blogspot.com/2012/03/five-angry-angels-moses-olden-calf-and.html