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Read more about the article Article: The Sacralization of Randomness – The Theological Imagination and the Logic of Computerized Divination Rituals
Magic and paganism / Science/medicine and technology

Article: The Sacralization of Randomness – The Theological Imagination and the Logic of Computerized Divination Rituals

Have you ever had your cards read online? …Hoe is it different than reading cards from a deck? In this article all the divination (foretelling) rituals are analysed, in their new, virtual version: what changes in the virtualization process, in terms of the inner logic of believers? In my opinion, in the course of this process, a new logic is emerging, that gains popularity in our cultue - a logic of sactifying randomness. The artcile (about 13,500 words) was published in Numen: International Review for the History of Religions - a first-rate world-renowned journal in the field of Religious Studies (considered by many scholars in the Humanities as the top Religious Studies journal in the world).

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January 5, 2022
Read more about the article Jewish Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy in Israel
Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Mind and psychology

Jewish Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy in Israel

The research on Psychotherapy that integrates Jewish Spiritually in Israel is conducted by Prof. Ofra Mayseless from the University of Haifa and Dr. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro from Zefat Academic College. This study is part of a wide international research project involving dozens of research teams around the world. The aim of the international project is to expand and deepen the research foundation and knowledge of the integration between psychotherapy and spirituality. The international research and the Israeli research are supported by the John Templeton Foundation and the participation and direction of Brigham Young University, located in Utah, USA.

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January 4, 2022
Read more about the article A research Article: “Trance, Meditation and Brainwashing – The Israeli Use of Hypnosis Law and the New Religious Movements Scene”
Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Mind and psychology / State politics and law

A research Article: “Trance, Meditation and Brainwashing – The Israeli Use of Hypnosis Law and the New Religious Movements Scene”

"Under Israel’s hypnosis law, everyone is guilty of hypnosis—therapists, artists, religious leaders and even mothers who sing nursery rhymes to their children." [Natalie Pik, in Even 2012] This article presents a critical examination of the Hypnosis Law that is unique to Israel - integrating an analysis of the law's wording, an observation of the professional struggle between licensed hypnotherapists and alternative therapists, and moral panics events revolving mind control in Israel. (By the way, since 2018 procedures have been taken in the Knesset that might lead to the law's cancellation.)

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December 20, 2021
Read more about the article Article: Witch-Hunt or Women’s Oppression? The Secularization and Re-Enchantment of the Witches of Ashkelon Tale by Contemporary Spiritualities’ Leaders
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Science/medicine and technology / Typology and comparative study

Article: Witch-Hunt or Women’s Oppression? The Secularization and Re-Enchantment of the Witches of Ashkelon Tale by Contemporary Spiritualities’ Leaders

This study (some 10,500 words; and a similar one published in Hebrew- 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 important journal of Jewish Studies, pronted by the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies - Journal of Jewish Studies.

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December 14, 2021
Read more about the article Doctoral Dissertation: The New Age Culture in Israel (A Methodological Introduction and the “Conceptual Network”)
Identity / Israel / Methodology and models

Doctoral Dissertation: The New Age Culture in Israel (A Methodological Introduction and the “Conceptual Network”)

The doctoral dissertation was written in the Program of Interdisciplinary Studies of Hermeneutics and Culture at Bar-Ilan University, with the supervision of Prof. Moshe Idel (Hebrew University, Jerusalem) and Prof. Adiel Schremer (Bar Ilan University). The work is written in Hebrew, but entails a long abstract and detailed contents in English. It holds over 450 pages, in two volumes, and was approved in 2006. It was a pioneer big work in the area of the Alternative Spirituality in Israel, and served many dozens of researches that followed. The work surveys the phenomena and trends of New Age culture in Israel, and deals with an array of methodological issues concerning the New Age studies. It offers a model of cultural interpratation - "the ideational/conceptual network". This work was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Moshe Idel (Department of Jewish Tought), Hebrew University, and the supervision of Prof. Adiel Schremer, (Department of Jewish History), Bar-Ilan University.

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December 9, 2021
Read more about the article Article: “Lilith’s Comeback from a Feministic Jungian Outlook: Contemporary Feminist Spirituality Gets into Bed with Lilith”
Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Methodology and models / Mind and psychology / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Article: “Lilith’s Comeback from a Feministic Jungian Outlook: Contemporary Feminist Spirituality Gets into Bed with Lilith”

This prizewinner article is a feminist hermeneutical research of Lilith's myth, from a Jungian viewpoint. It was announced (January 2021) “the 2020 Honorable Mention Award Winner” by The Jewish Women's Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology. In addition to this article, there are more items - an article and lectures that present the research project on Lilith.

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December 1, 2021
Read more about the article Research Article: “The Temptation of Legitimacy – Lilith’s Adoption and Adaption in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality”
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Typology and comparative study

Research Article: “The Temptation of Legitimacy – Lilith’s Adoption and Adaption in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality”

This article surveys the many and various manifestations of Lilith's image in the femenist spirituality in the last decades, in the Jewish world and beyond. The article examines the values and messages embodies in the adoption and adaptation of this figure, and reveals their contradictory character - in many fields. Finally, the conclusion is that Lilith's figure constitutes an instrument to establish legitimation. The article is about 7,600 words, in English. In addition to this article, there are more items - an article and lectures that present the research project on Lilith. See links below. "I cannot remember now how I had even heard of Lilith, but I borrowed her tale because it fit my contemporary need." from: Judith Plaskow (ed. Donna Berman), The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972-2003, p. 86.

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November 30, 2021