Sacred Time and Liminal Space: Ashkenazi Folk Magic at the Threshold

Mondays and Wednesdays, September 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 2024
7:00–8:30 p.m. ET

Just as Judaism is a religion of sacred time, liminal times and spaces play a powerful role in traditional Yiddish folk belief. The month of Elul, the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are set aside for special prayers, visiting the graves of ancestors, and preparing to be written into the Book of Life for the new year. It is during Elul that we find the unique Eastern European women’s folk magic ritual known as feldmestn: measuring the cemetery (and its graves) to make special holiday candles. Feldmestn brings together three of the most important symbols of Ashkenazi women’s folk magic and ritual: cemetery, candles, and personal, vernacular prayer (tkhines). But the cemetery was a key locale for much more than measuring candles. It was also the site of the plague wedding (mageyfe khasene), a place to gather curative and healing materials, and an essential site for ongoing communication with the dead (kayver-oves). These customs can be uncovered through a variety of Yiddish texts (in translation) including ethnographic accounts, memoirs, newspapers, songs, and Yiddish tkhines. The course will also place a special emphasis on learning about these customs through short stories, particularly the work of Sarah Hamer Jacklyn.

Join journalist and scholar Rokhl Kafrissen to learn about feldmestn and kayver-oves, as well as other beliefs and customs related to rosh khoydesh (the new Hebrew month) and the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). What did these customs and practices look like? How have they been adapted and reinvented for our modern life? How can Yiddish folklore and folk magic speak to the modern world?

All sessions are held live via Zoom. Recordings will be available to all registrants.

Cost: $100 for Yiddish Book Center members and $125 for nonmembers.