Contents

Read more about the article A collection of newsletters sent on behalf of the Department of Mysticism and Spirituality at Zefat Academic College
Education and higher education / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Popular culture and mass media

A collection of newsletters sent on behalf of the Department of Mysticism and Spirituality at Zefat Academic College

A variegated and rich collection of newsletters sent to those interested in the contents of the Department of Mysticism and Spirituality, during the years of its existence at Zefat Academic College. The newsletters included news of the department, as well as news from Israel and the worldwide in the fields of mysticism and spirituality, columns dealing with academic concepts and content related to the department, descriptions of academic literature and academic events, inspirational quotes, and more.

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October 16, 2023
Read more about the article Lecture: Recycled Witches – The Retelling of Narratives from Rabbinical Literature within Contemporary Alternative Spirituality
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Typology and comparative study

Lecture: Recycled Witches – The Retelling of Narratives from Rabbinical Literature within Contemporary Alternative Spirituality

This lecture presents a surprising and innovative spiritual-alternative strategy of Israeli-Jews to refer to the Jewish tradition - an interpretation of the tradition while identifying with the anti-heroines of an ancient Jewish legend. In this way, the characteristic approach of the "spiritual-but-not-religious" (SBNR) trend that criticizes the religious establishment is expressed, while adopting the criticism inherent in the ancient Jewish sources. In our case it's the retelling of an ancient Jewish legend - about a witch hunt conducted by Rabbi Shimon ben Shatach in Ashkelon in the second century BC.

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October 13, 2023
Read more about the article The Event Marking the Closing of the Department of Mysticism and Spirituality
Education and higher education / Judaism and Kabbalah / Science/medicine and technology

The Event Marking the Closing of the Department of Mysticism and Spirituality

In this event (14th Elul 5784; August 31st, 2023) the end of the journey of the Department of Mysticism and Spirituality at Zefat Academic College (Safed) was marked. An exciting, sad-happy event, which included a presentation by Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro, memories of students and lecturers, a lecture by Prof. Moshe Idel, a special ceremony, a Playback show by the members of the department, songs and blessings.

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September 13, 2023
Read more about the article Lecture: Meditation in the Eyes of Medical Research – On the Border between Spiritual and Scientific
Critical theory / Magic and paganism / Science/medicine and technology / Typology and comparative study

Lecture: Meditation in the Eyes of Medical Research – On the Border between Spiritual and Scientific

Is there a connection between the fact that Mindfulness has become fashionable in the cultural space and the scientific recognition it has received? How did Mindfulness turn from a spiritual practice to a evidence-based scientific practice? In this lecture, we presented the development process of the scientific-medical discourse about Mindfulness, in an unusual context: observing this phenomenon as part of a cultural process. One of the main conclusions was that the intensity of the secularization and the Westernization of the meditation is a predictor of the degree of its acceptance in the Western discourse.

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June 27, 2023
Read more about the article Lecture: The Mindfulness Trend Conquers the Scientific-Medical Discourse
Critical theory / Magic and paganism / Science/medicine and technology / Typology and comparative study

Lecture: The Mindfulness Trend Conquers the Scientific-Medical Discourse

this lecture presented the scientific-medical discourse on mindfulness, in which this meditation became an accepted and desirable trend. In order to illustrate the success of mindfulness - a comparison with the status of Transcendental Meditation in the scientific-medical discourse is also presented.

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June 27, 2023
Read more about the article Article: “The Most Powerful Portal in Zion”—Kursi: The Spiritual Site that Became an Intersection of Ley-lines and Multicultural Discourses
Feminism gender and sex / Geography / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / Science/medicine and technology / State politics and law

Article: “The Most Powerful Portal in Zion”—Kursi: The Spiritual Site that Became an Intersection of Ley-lines and Multicultural Discourses

This article deals with the sanctification process of a site in the Land of Israel, by the Alternative Spirituality, or Neo-Pagans/Shamans. The site, that has a Christian history, and is directed by an Israeli governmental authorities, has become a focus if an invention of tradition that synthesizes a variety of discourses and traditions. Though it is percieved as a hub in a network of power sites arrayedthroughout Israel and the whole planet, some view it as the most powerful spiritual site on Earth.

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June 19, 2023
Read more about the article Panel: Spiritual Leadership in Israel
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Geography / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / State politics and law

Panel: Spiritual Leadership in Israel

This panel concluded the 9th Israeli Conference (and the last one - 2018) for the Study of Contemporary Spiritualities. It included four Israeli spiritual teachers who examined contemporary society, in Israel in particular, and its challenges, from the spiritual aspect they are occupied with.

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May 21, 2023