Photo: Nikolay Busygin
By Maria Johannen
October 17, 2017
On October 15, the Dostoevsky Library hosted a lecture entitled “Jewish Magic Before Kabbalah.” For the first time in Moscow, visitors had the opportunity to learn about the origins of Jewish magic, see ancient magical objects, and get answers to their questions.
“This is a residential building. The door to the library is further down,” reads the sign on the door next to the panoramic windows of the Dostoevsky Library. The glass door is indeed located a few steps away and leads to a cozy little cafe at the library.
A light aroma of oils and atmospheric traditional music with Israeli charm can be heard from the reading room. On October 15, the Eshkolot project’s lecture “Jewish Magic Before Kabbalah” with the support of the Genesis Foundation is being held here.
The lecture is led by Professor of Religious Studies Yuval Harari, Ben-Gurion University. Before the lecture, the professor answered several questions:
— Why is it important for a modern person to remember ancient magical practices?
— I can’t say exactly how important it is, but it’s really interesting. Magic is a segment of Jewish culture that has long been neglected. Practical Kabbalah was the ugly sister of Kabbalah. People didn’t want to study it or talk about it. As a result, 30 years ago, no one was doing serious work on Jewish magical practices and texts. However, magic has taken root in Jewish traditions and has always been a part of Jewish identity and Jewish culture. It is not part of our past, because it still exists. There are indeed people in Israel who practice Jewish magic.
— Why are you interested in magic?
— I don’t know. I don’t think that a person is capable of manipulating the world through magic. I don’t believe in it. And yet, magic has attracted me since my youth because I see it as a fascinating part of human culture. I work with practical Kabbalah, the area where ideas are realized in the material world for practical purposes.
— Could you recommend some texts on magic or examples of magical practices that our readers should definitely learn about?
— There are two solid books on ancient Jewish magic. One of them is by Gideon Bohak and the other one is by me. I think that anyone who is curious about Jewish magic before Kabbalah will find them very interesting. I recently wrote an article about how Kabbalists tried to destroy Hitler and the Nazis with magic. In times of need and grief, people turn to any means that can help them.
— Do you really believe that magic is a pre-scientific technology? Why?
— Not that I believe it. I think it is a good way to describe magic, because it is comparable to technology. It examines ideas about the structure of the world. According to ancient texts, the Jewish people believed that God, angels and demons have power over reality. Therefore, the best way to influence the world was to turn to supernatural forces to make them work for a person. It's the same thing we do with technology - we apply scientific knowledge for the purpose of profit. And that's what people did before the scientific worldview.
- Were there magical practices for achieving happiness? What should a person do to become happy, in your opinion?
— (Laughs) I never expected such questions. No, they didn’t exist. I must say that Jewish magic is very practical, very pragmatic. It deals with people’s fears, sorrows and goals. Magic does not imply such goals as achieving happiness. As for the second question, I don’t think anyone can tell others what to do with their lives.
— We are interested in your ideas on this matter.
— I think a person should follow the call of the heart, while it is in his power. As long as you are able to choose what you really want to do, do it. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to afford it.
The hall gradually fills up. "I apologize for the cramped space. There are more visitors than we expected," the translator apologizes. The lecture is conducted in Professor Harari's native language - Hebrew with translation into Russian. It is devoted to magical objects and concerns new discoveries in the field of studying ancient Jewish magic.
Magic has always been a part of Jewish culture, evidence of faith in it is recorded in the oldest written monuments of the Jewish people, for example, in the Talmud, and is found mainly from the 3rd-4th centuries CE to the 13th century CE. This is not a widespread phenomenon, but magical practices live on today, mostly among the religious population of Israel.
In ancient Jewish culture, magic is a system of practices whose goal is to change the world with the help of a ritual, the core of which is a spell in verbal form. It is noteworthy that the word is a central figure both in magical practices and in religion ("In the beginning was the Word"; prayer is the basis of worship).
As a rule, magicians tried to achieve what could be achieved by ordinary means. However, they approached magic very technologically: a diagnosis of the disease was carried out - a demon or witch that interfered with a person's life was determined, the addressee was carefully identified - the name of the victim and the name of his mother were written down, and the means necessary to save from evil spells were described.
When the lecture came to an end, Professor Harari left 20 minutes for those present to ask their questions.
The microphone passed to a young girl: "Thank you for an interesting lecture. I discovered a lot of new things. It turns out that people really believed in magic and practiced it for generations throughout our era. Doesn't this mean that magical practices really allow you to influence the world?"
The impressed audience burst into laughter. Comments from the audience were heard: "Indeed - Hitler was defeated after all!"
Professor Harari paused and, thanking him for the interesting question, gave an exhaustive answer:
"When I teach the history of magic, students ask: "Do you believe in all this?" I say that I am a representative of people who practiced magic. I do not think that our ancestors were stupider or less rational than us. The thing is that there are differences in our view of the world. I am a materialist, I believe that the world cannot be changed by rituals. However, this does not mean that I am right.
I do not think that practical magic implies a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but perhaps one way or another - it works. Indeed, so many people would not waste their time on something that does not bring benefit. Without a magical worldview, modern people must explain this phenomenon.
Magic is an optimistic thing. Bronislaw Malinowski, an anthropologist who laid the foundations of field research, believed that magic is the ritualization of human optimism. A person on the verge of despair turns to it when he does not know what to do. It is important that magic allows you to feel that not all is lost, even in the most hopeless situations."
Maria Johannen
Moscow
Source: https://syg.ma/@mariia-iokhannien/liektsiia-ievrieiskaia-maghiia-do-kabbaly-v-bibliotiekie-im-dostoievskogho
Photo: Nikolay Busygin
By Maria Johannen
October 17, 2017
On October 15, the Dostoevsky Library hosted a lecture entitled “Jewish Magic Before Kabbalah.” For the first time in Moscow, visitors had the opportunity to learn about the origins of Jewish magic, see ancient magical objects, and get answers to their questions.
“This is a residential building. The door to the library is further down,” reads the sign on the door next to the panoramic windows of the Dostoevsky Library. The glass door is indeed located a few steps away and leads to a cozy little cafe at the library.
A light aroma of oils and atmospheric traditional music with Israeli charm can be heard from the reading room. On October 15, the Eshkolot project’s lecture “Jewish Magic Before Kabbalah” with the support of the Genesis Foundation is being held here.
The lecture is led by Professor of Religious Studies Yuval Harari, Ben-Gurion University. Before the lecture, the professor answered several questions:
— Why is it important for a modern person to remember ancient magical practices?
— I can’t say exactly how important it is, but it’s really interesting. Magic is a segment of Jewish culture that has long been neglected. Practical Kabbalah was the ugly sister of Kabbalah. People didn’t want to study it or talk about it. As a result, 30 years ago, no one was doing serious work on Jewish magical practices and texts. However, magic has taken root in Jewish traditions and has always been a part of Jewish identity and Jewish culture. It is not part of our past, because it still exists. There are indeed people in Israel who practice Jewish magic.
— Why are you interested in magic?
— I don’t know. I don’t think that a person is capable of manipulating the world through magic. I don’t believe in it. And yet, magic has attracted me since my youth because I see it as a fascinating part of human culture. I work with practical Kabbalah, the area where ideas are realized in the material world for practical purposes.
— Could you recommend some texts on magic or examples of magical practices that our readers should definitely learn about?
— There are two solid books on ancient Jewish magic. One of them is by Gideon Bohak and the other one is by me. I think that anyone who is curious about Jewish magic before Kabbalah will find them very interesting. I recently wrote an article about how Kabbalists tried to destroy Hitler and the Nazis with magic. In times of need and grief, people turn to any means that can help them.
— Do you really believe that magic is a pre-scientific technology? Why?
— Not that I believe it. I think it is a good way to describe magic, because it is comparable to technology. It examines ideas about the structure of the world. According to ancient texts, the Jewish people believed that God, angels and demons have power over reality. Therefore, the best way to influence the world was to turn to supernatural forces to make them work for a person. It's the same thing we do with technology - we apply scientific knowledge for the purpose of profit. And that's what people did before the scientific worldview.
- Were there magical practices for achieving happiness? What should a person do to become happy, in your opinion?
— (Laughs) I never expected such questions. No, they didn’t exist. I must say that Jewish magic is very practical, very pragmatic. It deals with people’s fears, sorrows and goals. Magic does not imply such goals as achieving happiness. As for the second question, I don’t think anyone can tell others what to do with their lives.
— We are interested in your ideas on this matter.
— I think a person should follow the call of the heart, while it is in his power. As long as you are able to choose what you really want to do, do it. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to afford it.
The hall gradually fills up. "I apologize for the cramped space. There are more visitors than we expected," the translator apologizes. The lecture is conducted in Professor Harari's native language - Hebrew with translation into Russian. It is devoted to magical objects and concerns new discoveries in the field of studying ancient Jewish magic.
Magic has always been a part of Jewish culture, evidence of faith in it is recorded in the oldest written monuments of the Jewish people, for example, in the Talmud, and is found mainly from the 3rd-4th centuries CE to the 13th century CE. This is not a widespread phenomenon, but magical practices live on today, mostly among the religious population of Israel.
In ancient Jewish culture, magic is a system of practices whose goal is to change the world with the help of a ritual, the core of which is a spell in verbal form. It is noteworthy that the word is a central figure both in magical practices and in religion ("In the beginning was the Word"; prayer is the basis of worship).
As a rule, magicians tried to achieve what could be achieved by ordinary means. However, they approached magic very technologically: a diagnosis of the disease was carried out - a demon or witch that interfered with a person's life was determined, the addressee was carefully identified - the name of the victim and the name of his mother were written down, and the means necessary to save from evil spells were described.
When the lecture came to an end, Professor Harari left 20 minutes for those present to ask their questions.
The microphone passed to a young girl: "Thank you for an interesting lecture. I discovered a lot of new things. It turns out that people really believed in magic and practiced it for generations throughout our era. Doesn't this mean that magical practices really allow you to influence the world?"
The impressed audience burst into laughter. Comments from the audience were heard: "Indeed - Hitler was defeated after all!"
Professor Harari paused and, thanking him for the interesting question, gave an exhaustive answer:
"When I teach the history of magic, students ask: "Do you believe in all this?" I say that I am a representative of people who practiced magic. I do not think that our ancestors were stupider or less rational than us. The thing is that there are differences in our view of the world. I am a materialist, I believe that the world cannot be changed by rituals. However, this does not mean that I am right.
I do not think that practical magic implies a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but perhaps one way or another - it works. Indeed, so many people would not waste their time on something that does not bring benefit. Without a magical worldview, modern people must explain this phenomenon.
Magic is an optimistic thing. Bronislaw Malinowski, an anthropologist who laid the foundations of field research, believed that magic is the ritualization of human optimism. A person on the verge of despair turns to it when he does not know what to do. It is important that magic allows you to feel that not all is lost, even in the most hopeless situations."
Maria Johannen
Moscow
Source: https://syg.ma/@mariia-iokhannien/liektsiia-ievrieiskaia-maghiia-do-kabbaly-v-bibliotiekie-im-dostoievskogho
