sacred geometry: circles in Jewish folklore & mysticismwe’ve finally made it to unit four in YIV
sacred geometry: circles in Jewish folklore & mysticismwe’ve finally made it to unit four in YIVO’s Folklore of Ashkenaz class, which deals directly with folkloric ritual & belief - this is what i signed up for! in the first lecture, Professor Gottesman discussed the importance of circles - believed to be perfect shapes with the power to ward off evil - throughout many different Jewish customs. some examples:circling one’s body to keep away demonscircling the groom under the wedding canopy for luck/protectioncircling while beating willow branches on Hoshana Rabbaheating bagels after returning from a burial to evoke the cycle of life and death, including common Diasporic Jewish belief in reincarnationcircling graves of pious Jews with thread, which is later used as wicks for candles in the synagogue (read more about kosher fodem here)a folk remedy for eye swelling includes circling the eye with a ringanother folk remedy to prevent the further growth of hunchback calls for circling the hump with the hand of a dead man (!)circles are a common motif on Jewish amulets, and ilan sefirot (diagrams of the Kabbalistic tree of life) often represent each sefira as a circle. feel free to reblog with more examples of Jewish circles! (kippahs/yarmulkes come to mind)the top image is from a copy of the Sefer Raziel HaMalach published in Vilna in 1875, and while i couldn’t find a source on the bottom image, it appears to be a medieval volvelle with Hebrew lettering - would love to know more! -- source link
#jewish folklore#jewish magic#jewish mysticism#sacred geometry#ashkenazi#circles#yivo#ezra's posts