Study Yiddish anti-demonic technologies with me!

Apotropaic (Anti-Demonic) Technologies in Yiddish 

illustration by Rokhl

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 available, ordinary mothers and fathers often had their own techniques for lifting bewitchments. 

If you think the danger of the Evil Eye is a thing of the past, you might want to reconsider. More than any other time in history, we are now vulnerable to an infinite number of eyes, seeing us from every angle. Technology has been a force multiplier for the malevolent human gaze. If you've ever posted your new car/vacation/graduation pics, you might want to learn more about the ancient dangers awaiting us online.

I'm now offering lively and engaging one- or three-session classes on the Evil Eye in Ashkenazi Jewish culture. Participants will discover these beliefs and magical practices through primary sources: Yiddish newspaper columns, ethnographic accounts, novels, short stories and more, all in English translation. You'll also learn techniques for repelling the Evil Eye in the age of social media. Drop me a note to book a class today!