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Their jackets smelled of the fruits of the orchards - Elul days in Zhabne

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“Elul Days in a Rebbe’s Court in Galitsiye” by Menashe Unger Originally published in "Der Tog-Morgn Zhurnal" (New York City) September 1, 1957  translation by Rokhl Kafrissen Writing in 1957, Menashe Unger looks back on his childhood days in the shtetl of Zhabne/Zabno , in what was then Austro-Hungary. He was probably around 10 years old at the time of the events he recounts, so that would make it somewhere around 1910. Writing about hasidim and the hasidic world was Unger’s bread and butter as a working writer, and this essay is an excellent example.   I've used this piece to teach about Elul for the last two years. I love sharing it with students because it brings us right into Unger’s world: the tastes, smells, and sounds of Elul seem to waft off the page. I also love it for the delicious juxtaposition of the seriousness of the season next to the hijinks of Unger and his pals. There is the indoor, spiritual world of Unger’s father, the Rebbe, and the o...
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Jews Are Magic: Occult Practices from Palmistry to Professional Psychics

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On May 26 I had the great honor and delight to be part of the opening night event for the latest YIVO exhibit: Jews are Magic: Occult Practices from Palmistry to Professional Psychics . If you haven't seen it already, this wonderful exhibit is up at the Center for Jewish History through December 2026.     The full video of the opening event is now available to watch online:  
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New Class in July: Everyday Ashkenazi Magic and the Demons of Summer

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Introduction to Everyday Ashkenazi Magic – The Demons of Summer Wednesday afternoons: July, 15th, 22nd, and 29th at 2pm EST. ($125). All sessions are recorded and available to watch afterwards. To sign up, send an email to cjcrokhl@gmail.com   Summer school is in session You are warmly invited to join me for the newest edition of “Introduction to Everyday Ashkenazi Magic," summer session.    What is Everyday Ashkenazi Magic? We often associate Jewish magic with kabbalists and wonder working rabbis, men who study the Zohar and who use their mastery of sacred names and mystical techniques to write amulets and perform miracles. But what about everyone else? What about that 50% of the population (at minimum) who did not, and could not, study those sacred texts? Everyday Ashkenazi Magic is our frame for finding the magic wielded by  everyone else , especially women. Our primary source texts are mostly in Yiddish, the language of everyday life, rather than Hebrew-A...
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New July Class - Exorcists, Embodied Magic, and the Evil Eye

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Rooster in the Cradle (Part Two): A Brief History of the Evil Eye and Yiddish Anti-Demonic Technologies You are warmly invited to join us for Rooster in the Cradle (Part Two) on Tuesday evenings, July 14, 21 and 28 at 7pm EST. ($100)   To register, send an email to cjcrokhl@gmail.com   Everyone is invited to this class, even if you haven’t taken Part 1. If you’ve ever put a red ribbon around a crib, or uttered a kinehore ( keyn ayin-hore , Yiddish for “no evil eye”), you have drawn on a rich tradition of embodied, apotropaic (anti-demonic) magic  going back thousands of years.   In many Eastern European towns, you could find Jewish men and women who specialized in exorcising the Evil Eye: the (op)shprekher(ke)s . Where a specialist wasn’t available, ordinary mothers and fathers had their own techniques for lifting bewitchments. When I say this was an embodied magic, I mean it quite literally. Even the simple act of “poo poo poo-ing” drew on the power...
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A Brief History of the Evil Eye: Thursdays in June

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Rooster in the Cradle :  A Brief History of the Evil Eye and Yiddish Anti-Demonic Technologies Thursdays, June 11, 18 & 25 at 7pm EST (online) Belief in the Evil Eye has been with us for 5000 years and is found all over the globe. Disease, sudden death, bad luck, sleeplessness, crop failure, and impotence have all been blamed on the power of a malevolent human gaze. Jewish belief in the Evil Eye ( ayin-hore ) appears in core rabbinic texts, as well as in Jewish folk cultures around the world. If you’ve ever put a red ribbon around a crib, or uttered a  kinehore  ( keyn ayin-hore , Yiddish for “no evil eye”), you have drawn on a rich tradition of apotropaic (anti-demonic) magic that goes back thousands of years. But the history of the Evil Eye, and the Jewish defense against it, goes far beyond red ribbons and kinehores . Indeed, in many shtetls and towns, you could find Jewish men and women who specialized in exorcising the Evil Eye.  Where a specialist wasn’t av...
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New Leyenkrayz (reading circle) Starting in June

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This June I am offering a new leyenkrayz : six short stories from Found Treasures over six weeks.  (Six consecutive Wednesdays starting June 10 at 7pm)  This is really a hybrid- leyenkrayz . Each week we will read the story in English translation ahead of time. I send out the Yiddish text and in class, we read selections from the Yiddish out loud, along with a class discussion of the story in English.  This new leyenkrayz is coming after the success of my first leyenkrayz over April-May. We read the wonderful new translation of Rokhl Faygenberg's 1905 memoir, The Winding Road . Each week we read part of the Yiddish and for week 4, we had a visit from the translator, Tamara Helfer .  This hybrid format turned out to be perfect for Yiddish learners who aren't ready to read an entire Yiddish novel on their own. Reading the English ahead of the Yiddish aids comprehension tremendously. It also allows beginner and intermediate students the opportunity to think about t...
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Two New Classes in April: Peretz Short Stories and Leyenkrayz

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  A Holy Man with a Psychic Nose and the First Yiddish Fan-Fic: Two New Classes in April Six Week Reading Circle/ Leyenkrayz with   The Winding Road by Rokhl Feygenberg .  This will be a hybrid, Yiddish-English  leyenkrayz .  We will read the entire book using the new English translation. When we meet, the discussion will be in English and we will read selected passages out loud in Yiddish. (You’ll read as much or as little as you feel comfortable with.) Participants  will be assigned Yiddish passages in advance so they can practice ahead of time.  All levels of Yiddish reading are welcome. Participants will get valuable experience reading an older Yiddish publication which uses pre-YIVO standardization spelling. (Don’t worry, we’ll go over it together.) Reading the English translation simultaneously will also make working on the Yiddish a lot easier, especially for hesitant readers. The Winding Road is Rokhl Feygenberg's memoir of her childho...
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