Lecture

Read more about the article Lecture: Sanctifying Randomness – The Theological Imagination of Alternative Spirituality with Connection to Internet Technologies
Magic and paganism / Science/medicine and technology

Lecture: Sanctifying Randomness – The Theological Imagination of Alternative Spirituality with Connection to Internet Technologies

This lecture deals with the ideational-ideological aspect of the transformatio processes in contemporary spirituality and religion following the rise of Cyber culture, via a study case: divination rituals (such as a Tarot cards' spread). In the shift of those rituals from the physical traditional space to cynerspace, I argue that a new rationale emerges - namely sanctified randomness.

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November 24, 2022
Read more about the article Lecture: What is Hypnosis? A Critical Inquiry in Light of the Scientific Disputes
Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Israel / Mind and psychology / Science/medicine and technology / State politics and law

Lecture: What is Hypnosis? A Critical Inquiry in Light of the Scientific Disputes

"There's no finding the border between acting and hypnotizing" - thus is said in an Israeli verdict in the case of White accused in using hypnosis while violating the law. If the Israeli law forbids using hypnosis (except of limited cases), and one doesn't know why actually hypnosis is - how can the law be enforced?! The lecture deals with the juristic and enforcemental problematicalness in Israel, in light of studying the sceintific discourse that has a "hard time" agreeing on the definition of "hypnosis".

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November 21, 2022
Read more about the article Lecture: Jewish Spirituality in the New Age
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Typology and comparative study

Lecture: Jewish Spirituality in the New Age

This lecture (about 30 min.) surveys and maps the various ways in which New Age and Judaism meet and mix together. The full name of the lecture was: "Jewish Spirituality in the New Age - Emerging Jewish-Israeli Phenomena in the Junction with New Age Culture". It presents ten "types" of these meeting places, accompanied by many examples, while presenting a relevant theoretical background, and discussing the characteristics and trends of this emergent multifaceted space, one of them being the exotization of Judaism process in the New Age realm.

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November 20, 2022
Read more about the article Lecture: The Exotization of Judaism in the New Age
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Typology and comparative study

Lecture: The Exotization of Judaism in the New Age

This lecture (see 30-min. film and a presentation, in Hebrew) took place in a seminar celebrating the publication of an anthology of researches which included my article on the meeting place of Judaism and New Age in Israel, at Ben Gurion University. The lecture focused on the characteristics of Israeli New Age Judaism, especially the exotization of Judaism within those circles.

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November 20, 2022
Read more about the article Lecture: “Between Meron and Ashkelon: The Comeback of an Old Witch-Hunt Story”
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
Read more about the article Lecture: Science as Religion – The Scientific Discourse of Hypnosis and Its Correlation with Religious and Spiritual Phenomena
Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Mind and psychology / Science/medicine and technology / State politics and law

Lecture: Science as Religion – The Scientific Discourse of Hypnosis and Its Correlation with Religious and Spiritual Phenomena

What is "hypnosis"? It seems we all know the answer… but - do we indeed? In this research the sceintific discourse (of hypnosis) becomes an object of critical examination. It appears that the scientific controversy revolvong the simple question of "what hysnosis is" is so fierce, that in fact the answer isn't clear at all. Actually, the spiritual-religious sphere is a "significant other" that influences the formation of the sceintific discourse. The sceintific definitions bear significat implications both on the therapuetic aspect and the public and legal ones. The lecture's title at the conference was: "Science as Religion – A Critical Outlook at the Scientific Discourse of Hypnosis and Its Correlation with Religious and Spiritual Phenomena".

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February 9, 2022
Read more about the article Lecture: Kursi, From the Miracle of the Swines site to the Enchanted Bench Site – An Alternative-Spiritual Invention of Tradition Revolving a Christian Site Sponsered by the Israel Nature And Parks Authority
Economy and business / Geography / Israel / Magic and paganism / Methodology and models / Science/medicine and technology / State politics and law

Lecture: Kursi, From the Miracle of the Swines site to the Enchanted Bench Site – An Alternative-Spiritual Invention of Tradition Revolving a Christian Site Sponsered by the Israel Nature And Parks Authority

This lecture describes the sanctification process of a (historically Christian) site in the Land of Israel, by the Alternative Spirituality, or Neo-Pagans/Shamans, and analyses the invention of tradition revolving Kursi. In addition to this lecture, there is another one, as well as two articles (in English and Hebrew) that describe different aspects of the sanctification process of Kursi. See links below. The lecture takes part in a research project that deals with the Alternative Sacred Geography of the Land of Israel, by Ruah-Midbar Shapiro. The lecture was included in a session dedicated to "A Geography of Memory", chaired by Anat Kidron, held at the 60th conference of the Israeli Geographical Association - 2020, at the University of Haifa.

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January 31, 2022