By Daniel Eisenberg, Base Denver
Parshat Mishpatim “Laws”
Amidst a long list of laws and prohibitions in Parashat Mishpatim, there is one line that really jumps out at me:
מְכַשֵּׁפָה לֹא תְחַיֶּה m’chashefah lo t’chayeh (Exodus 22:17)
These three Hebrew words are commonly translated as “you shall not let a witch live.” The classical commentators double down on this meaning and speak about how it is necessary to actively root out witchcraft. However, Rabbi Gershon Winkler offers an alternative reading in his mind-expanding book, “The Magic of the Ordinary.” Rabbi Winkler suggests that it is possible to read the verse above as meaning “you shall not sustain a witch” or as “from witchcraft you shall not live.” He argues that the original meaning may be about discouraging Jewish communities from paying sorcerers for their magic; in other words, witchcraft should not be their main source of income but rather something they do “out of the goodness of their heart in recognition of the sacred powers they possess”. He goes on to speak about the way that this verse has been weaponized over time to justify the persecution and killing of wild and spiritually gifted women.
Whilst it may seem like the Torah is advocating for the death penalty for witches, Rabbi Winkler argues that this verse is actually testament to the existence of witchcraft among early Israelite culture and the desire for the Torah to create healthy parameters around this. Indeed, later in the Tanakh we see the story of Sha’ul, the first Israelite king, banning witchcraft and then suffering multiple military defeats leading him to seek counsel from Ba’alot Ov B’Endor, the witch of Endor. In outright contravention of the king’s own ban, this magical woman can use her powers to summon the spirit of Shmuel, Shaul’s childhood mentor, to guide him through the difficulty. Indeed, in recent years there has been a renaissance of interest in Jewish witchcraft with Kohenet – the Hebrew Priestess Institute – being at the forefront of reclaiming the marginalized traditions of earth-based female Jewish leadership.
So much of the messaging I received as a child about witches was that they were dangerous and evil women. For many years, I had a recurring nightmare about being captured by a witch. Yet as I have explored Judaism more deeply and the meaning of this childhood dream, I have come to realize the vitality of reconnecting with the witchy parts of Jewish tradition through connecting to the earth, the body and our ancestors. Fresh on the heels of Tu biShvat, may we all find ways to appreciate the magic of the ordinary from trees to mountain tops and continue to explore the wild and wonderful parts of Judaism that have been marginalized by the mainstream.
