Wednesday, May 05, 2010

More on the Jewish Magic exhibition

MORE ON THE JEWISH MAGIC EXHIBITION at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem:

The Times of Malta has a brief notice of the exhibition, but it includes a nice photo of what looks like a page from a magical handbook.

Meanwhile, Times Live avails itself of an eye-catching, if somewhat meretricious, headline:
Sex and the Jewish mystic

May 4, 2010 3:29 PM | By Sapa-dpa

In the beginning there was sex - and it was complicated.

The first conversation of the first man and the first woman on this earth was apparently to argue about ... sexual positions - if you believe medieval Jewish texts, that is.

According to Jewish legend, the argument between Adam and the woman named Lilith - over who would be on top - became so heated that Lilith flew off in a huff, turned into a demon who harms newborns, and forced God to create a substitute for her, namely Eve.

Lilith's chained image appears on many amulets used throughout the ages to protect infants and their mothers.

Examples will be among the items on display in an exhibition on Jewish magic opening in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

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