Session: Deities in Neo-Paganism, Occultism and the New Age
This fascinating session, organized and chaired by Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro, dealt with deities in Neo-Paganism, Occultism and the New Age.
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May 17, 2023
Midrash: Embroidering the World
This midrash (ancient Jewish myth) was woven when I was preparing myself to lead a yarn workshop in the kindergarden of my Daughther, Enigma Dei. I suddenly remembered how the entire creation is woven together... in the wisdom of the spindle (Chokhmat haPelekh).
March 12, 2023
A Textbook for the Matriculation Exam in Jewish Thought (Atate Schools): “Whom my Soul Loveth” – Love and Romantics in Judaism
This book deals with concepts of love, relationship, jealousy, etc., on its various aspects: marital love, God's love, philosophy - through a selection of sources from all times. The book is intended for the 10th/11th/12th grades in Idraeli state high schools, as part of the Jewish Thought curriculum (in the scope of 1-2 units for the matriculation exams). The book was published on behalf of the Ministry of Education - the Pedagogical Secretariat - the Department for Curriculum Planning and Development, by Ma'alot Publishing House, in 2007. This rich book contains 372 pages, including sources, interpretations, illustrations and suggestions for educational practice. Mariana Ruach-Midbar wrote the main part of the book, and later it was also adapted and edited by Ariel Aviv and Zila Miron-Ilan. In addition, a teacher's guide book has been authored to this book - again first by Marianna Ruah-Midbar, and later with some adaptations and editting by others.
January 23, 2023
Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Education and higher education / Postmodernism / Science/medicine and technology / State politics and law
Lecture: Criticism of New Age Culture, or New Age as Cultural Criticism
cults, the anticult movement, academia, the scientific discourse, objectivity, values, predisposition, Nurit Zaidman
January 20, 2023
Essay: From a Hoe to a Hug – A Constitutive Narrative of Zionism and Renewal
"A good story is never just a story. A good story is a founding story; it is a basis for identity, for action; it creates a network of meanings in which we cling to in our lives - as individuals, as a group." With these word the essay opens, dealing with the renewal of cultural values in contemporary Israeli Judaism - the transformation of our national story and our hero/ines. 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. It is included in Unit D of the anthology, entitled "The Israeli Traditionalism in the Present and Its Vision for the Future".
January 20, 2023
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.
January 20, 2023
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.
January 19, 2023
Essay: Spirituality in Business – A Weird Couple?
Is there a place for spirituality in the business world, or do the two necessarily contradict each other? In this article, published in a special issue of TheMarker on pioneering management, Ruah-Midbar analyzes the contradiction from a critical research angle, and clarifies that they mustn't contradict.
January 17, 2023
Essay: A Reckoning of the Soul in an Artistic Style
"God willing - the worldwide contemporary spiritual awakening is finally attacking us too, and the art exhibition in front of us is one of the expressions of that." This quote appears in the main text of the catalog of the art exhibition "Heshon Nefesh", curated by Dafna Naor, and with the participation of 43 artists, presented at HiTouch in Herzliya Pituach in 2009. The text was written by Marianna Ruah-Midbar.
January 17, 2023
Limerick from the students on the end of the Gender, Religion and Spirituality course
M.A. students at the end of the academic year at the Department of Gender Studies at the University of Haifa composed limericks for the lecturers of the various courses. One of the five limericks was dedicated to Mariana Ruah-Midbar, who taught them a course on gender, religion and spirituality.
January 17, 2023