Jewish Shamanism

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Sunday, February 2nd, 2020
4:00 PM

Congregation Emanu-El Education Team presents “Jewish Shamanism” with Francis Landy on Sunday, February 2, 4:00 pm at Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue, 1461 Blanshard Street, Victoria.  Admission is by donation; light refreshments will be served. 

Shamanism is a term for a cross-cultural religious orientation which seeks to access alternative states of consciousness in order to effect societal or personal transformation, outside of or in addition to normative institutions and practices. The shamanic tradition in Judaism extends from the biblical prophets to contemporary Hasidism, and may involve trance, dance, psychotropic substances, and strange rituals, like nefilat apayim ("falling on one's face") and yihudim, when the adept seeks to unite the soul with that of a departed saint. Francis Landy will discuss aspects of the tradition, from the prophets through medieval and post-medieval Kabbalah to the present day.

Francis Landy is a biblical scholar who has recently made his home in Victoria, after a career of over thirty years at the University of Alberta. He has published a number of books and many articles, and is a specialist in the poetry of the Hebrew Bible. He is a member of Congregation Emanu-El.

This is the fourth presentation in the Alternative Realities in Judaism series.