Magic in Jewish History and Culture

Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $375**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)

This is a live, online seminar held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 20 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in English.

Instructor: Elly Moseson

Course Description:
The belief in the possibility of certain actions to supernaturally alter the laws of nature can be found in virtually every culture and period of human history. The Jewish tradition, too, embraced a variety of beliefs and practices that can be called magical, and indeed Jews were often viewed as experts in this type of lore. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources and ethnographical studies, this course will offer an introduction to the rich traditions of Jewish magic from biblical times to the present. Students will learn about the various kinds of magic practiced by Jews in different historical periods and cultural contexts, the tension that existed between magic and prevailing religious norms, and the various ways magic was integrated as an acceptable cultural practice. The course will also highlight the symbiotic relationship between Jewish magical traditions and those of other cultures, the social functions of Jewish magicians, including those known as ba’alei shem (Masters of the Name), and the special role played by women as practitioners and transmitters of magical lore.

Course Materials:
The instructor will provide all course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.

Elly Moseson earned his B.A. at Columbia University where he studied literature and philosophy and completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Boston University. He has been a Visiting Professor at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and held postdoctoral positions at Columbia University, Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, and the University of Hamburg. His research interests include early modern Jewish movements and literatures, the cultural and political functions of texts, and the intersection of literature, psychoanalysis, and religion. He is currently working on a monograph on the role of literature in the formation of the Hasidic movement and a series of studies on dreams and magic in Jewish culture.

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