ארכיון Myth - Page 2 of 4 - Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro (PhD)

Lecture: Time Perceptions and Body Images in the Contemporary Spiritual Discourse

Many Cultures share the yearning to a far ideal past - the lost paradise. What is special in the past-time perception of New Age Spirituality, especially in its Jewish/Israeli version? How does this spiritual discourse narrates the Jewish and human history? Answers to these questions were presented in a lecture at the conference of the Israeli Anthropological Association. These theses also appear in studies published by Ruah-Midbar Shapiro.

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January 20, 2023

History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth / State politics and law

Essay: The Never-Ending Story – From the Land of Israel to Mother Earth

"Don't give us the old, but the ancient. And instead of the future, we'll discover the present. Instead of a plow, give us a hug. Let's flow and connect... We'll find our ways and turn back, return to ourselves - dive into the depths of our Selves." In this article, Ruach-Midbar describes the shift in values and narratives that accured in the Jewish-Israeli story within the New Age realm, as a replacement for the Zionist story that was cast in the image of the Enlightenment. The text (about 500 words, in Hebrew) was incorporated into the "Israeli Talmud - Tractate of Independence", edited by Dov Elbaum, with the support of BINAH.

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January 19, 2023

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Article: The film “Noah” (2014) as an Environmental Cinematic Midrash

The film Noah (2014) is a cinematic Midrash. What does this mean? That it creatively interprates the biblical story of Noah anew, fills in existing gaps in the story, and striving at delivering an ideological message. This article surveys the sources of inspiration integrated in the film - from the sages' midrash to Zen Buddhism stories, and explains the film creators' interpretative choises and their message.

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December 1, 2022

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / History / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Science/medicine and technology / Typology and comparative study

Article: “Not Your Grandmother’s Bible”—A Comparative Study of the Biblical Deluge Myth in Film

Do you know the story of Noah and the deluge? Well, every generation had its interpretations and versions of the story. And when the deluge is retold - they actually talk of a humanity worthy of annihilation. Why? Every commentator has its own explanation, where lies criticism of the society they live in or encounter. The deluge as presented in current cinema isn't the flood as depicted in old traditions, since the story continues to evolve and get renewed. In this comparative study, we've surveyed Hollywood films that present the deluge iver the last century - in each of them the humanity is presented as facing annihilation, while offering an a current critic. Recently, for instance, the deluge myth is linked to the ecological discourse.

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November 30, 2022

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Article: Worldviews in the Film “Noah” – Hedonism, Fundamentalism, and Ecofeminism

"We broke the world — we did this. Man did this. Everything that was beautiful, everything that was good, we shattered. Now, it begins again." (Noah's words, from the film) In this article we interprate the film Noah (2014), and identify various cultural/ spiritual/ religious worldviews that clash in the contemporary western society: a hedonistic-materialistic approach, religious and enviromental fundamentalism, and eco-feminism. We show how the film maker, Daren Aronofsli, express through the protagonist, Noah, the problematicalness in the various cultural stances, when the plot leads its hero thorugh a transformational process.

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November 30, 2022

Feminism gender and sex / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth

Article: ‘Back to Paradise’ in New Age Thought: Images of an Ideal Past in the History of the Jewish People

Many Cultures share the yearning to a far ideal past - the lost paradise. What is special in the past-time perception of New Age Spirituality, especially in its Jewish/Israeli version? How does this spiritual discourse narrates the Jewish and human history?

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November 15, 2022

Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Myth / Typology and comparative study

Encyclopedic entry: “New Age Judaism”

This Encyclopedic entry presents one of the main reseach specialties of Ruah-Midbar Shapiro - The meetingplace of Judaism and New Age spirituality. It includes several exemplifications of the phenomena generated in this meetingplace, such as Jewish Reiki, Jewish Shamanism, Jubu, contemporary alternative spiritual versions of Kabbalah and Hassidism.

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November 14, 2022

Feminism gender and sex / Geography / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / State politics and law / Typology and comparative study

Article: Canaanites and Neopagans in Canaan – A Comparison between Two Israeli Movements over the past Century

This study (some 10,500 words, in Hebrew) is a comparative research of two Israeli pafan movements from the last centurt: the Canaanites and the Neopagans. Some surprising similarities, as well as salient differences are revealed, while focusing on questions of land, Identity, politics, gender, and more. The article ends with a table that summarizes the comparison.

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October 6, 2022

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / Geography / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Lecture: “Between Meron and Ashkelon: The Comeback of an Old Witch-Hunt Story”

This lecture opens with the Neo-Shamanism in Israel, and presents two modes in which the local alternative spirituality approaches Judaism - positively and negatively. The lecture focuses on the demonstration of a negative connection with Judaism, in an Israeli Neo-Shaman text. The text is an alternative nrrative of a rabbinic legend of a witch hunt conducted by one of the Rabbis in Ashkelon in the days of the Hasmonean Kingdom. The text was analysed in a few publications (one in English) . The lecture took part at a conference in Zefat Academic College.

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June 1, 2022

Feminism gender and sex / Identity / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth

An Encyclopedian Entry on Mothering and Spirituality

This short entry featured as one among hundreds of others included in the 3-volume Encyclopedia of Motherhood, edited by Andrea O'Reilly. The entry deals with the connection between mothering and spirituality, to motherly deities (in Kabbalah, Hinduism, and Mother Earth - Gaia), to the spiritual valor of mothering, and the balanced feminine role. It was written and published on the same year in which Marianna Ruah-Midbar became a mother.

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February 8, 2022