Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, dozens of witches operated at the promiscuous city Ashkelon.
This study (some 8,000 words; and a similar one published in English – as follows) deals with contemporary spiritual interpretations of an ancient Jewish legend – on a witch hunt executed by Rabbi Shim’on ben Shatach at Ashkelon in the 2nd century B.C..
It presents a comparison of three spiritual leaders in Israel, each re-designing the old story in a different way, thus expressing various values – in relation to Judaism, to their feminism’s character, and to the place of magic in the world.
The article was published in the anthology “Between Times – Ritual and Text in a Changing Society”, edited by Haim Hazan, Rachel Shar’abi, and Inbal Esther Sikurel, in the Hermeneutics and Cuture series at Carmel publishimg house.
Abstract
This puzzling and embarrassing tale, whose traces remain embedded within Rabbinic literature, depicts the execution of eighty witches in Ashkelon by Rabbi Shim’on ben-Shatach, in violation of proper Halachic protocol. This paper shall reveal how contemporary alternative spiritualities’ leaders in Israel make use of this shameful story.
This study analyzes three different methods of heritage-revival (those of Ruchama Weiss, Ohad Ezrachi, and Dov Trubnik), each representing a different feminist and theological viewpoint (liberal, maternal-cultural, eco-feminist); each with its own different approach towards Jewish identity. The analyzed texts come from different spheres of contemporary alternative spiritualities: Reform Judaism, Jewish Renewal, and Neo-Shamanism. These leaders – in perceiving themselves as adversaries of the religious establishment – identify with the witches in the story, and, in fact, view this ancient tale as a treasure trove for the invention of tradition and the formation of an alternative-spiritual identity.
Authors
Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro
Links
To a (Hebrew) description of the books and to read its forward and preface chapters (in Hebrew) by Haim Hazan, click here.
For the book’s page (including its table of contents) at Carmel publishing house’s site – click here.
For the Ashkelon National Park, including its ancient and pagan findings – click here
The article analyses Hebrew texts by Ruchama Weiss (see here), Pele Ohad Ezrachi (see here), and Dov Ahava/Trubnik (from this book).
For another interesting text, published after the research was already conducted, by Carmit Mizrahi, click here.
Year
2021
Language
Hebrew
Academic/Non-academic
Academic item
Bibliographical citation
Ruah-Midbar Shapiro, Marianna, “The Witch Hunt in Ashkelon as Retold by Contemporary Spiritualities: From Embarrassment to Treasure Trove”, in Hazan, Haim, Shar’abi, Rachel, and Inbal Esther Sikurel (Editors). Between the Times – Text and Ritual in a Changing Society. Carmel, 2021. pp. 381-406. [Hebrew]
