Semitic neopaganism is a group of

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

s based on or attempting to reconstruct the

ancient Semitic religion Ancient Semitic religion encompasses the polytheistic religions of the Semitic peoples from the ancient Near East and Northeast Africa. Since the term ''Semitic'' represents a rough category when referring to cultures, as opposed to languages, ...

s, mostly practiced among

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Jewish neopaganism

The notion of historical

Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

or Jewish polytheism was popularized in the United States during the 1960s by Raphael Patai in '' The Hebrew Goddess'', focusing on the cult of female

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

es such as the

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

Asherah Asherah (; ; ; ; Qatabanian language, Qatabanian: ') was a goddess in ancient Semitic religions. She also appears in Hittites, Hittite writings as ''Ašerdu(š)'' or ''Ašertu(š)'' (), and as Athirat in Ugarit. Some scholars hold that Ashera ...

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

. During the growth of

Neopaganism in the United States Modern paganism in the United States is represented by widely different List of Neopagan movements, movements and organizations. The largest modern pagan (also known as neo-pagan) religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of the ...

throughout the 1970s, a number of minor Canaanite or Israelite-oriented groups emerged. Most contained syncretistic elements from

Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

. Forms of

Neopagan witchcraft Neopagan witchcraft, sometimes referred to as The Craft, is an umbrella term for some neo-pagan traditions that include the practice of magic. They may also incorporate aspects of nature worship, divination, and herbalism. These traditions be ...

religions inspired by the Semitic milieu, such as ''Jewitchery'', may also be enclosed within the Semitic neopagan movement. These groups are particularly influenced by Jewish feminism, focusing on the goddess cults of the Israelites. A notable contemporary Levantine Neopagan group is known as "Am Ha Aretz" (, lit. "People of the Land", a rabbinical term for uneducated and religiously unobservant Jews), "AmHA" for short, based in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. This group grew out of Ohavei Falcha, "Lovers of the Soil", a movement founded in the late 19th century. Elie Sheva, according to her own testimony, an "elected leader of AmHA," reportedly founded an American branch of the group, known as the Primitive Hebrew Assembly. ''Beit Asherah'' ("House of Asherah") was one of the first Jewish neopagan groups, founded in the early 1990s by Stephanie Fox, Steven Posch, and Magenta Griffiths. Magenta Griffiths is High Priestess of the Beit Asherah coven and a former board member of the

Covenant of the Goddess The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens (or congregations). It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among witches and to secure ...

. Semitic neopagan movements have also been reported in Israel and in Lebanon.

Kohenet movement and "Jewitches"

In 2006, rabbi Jill Hammer founded the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, which has a stated mission to "reclaim and innovate embodied, earth-based feminist Judaism", inspired by pre-Israelite Semitic religion priestesses such as Enheduanna, who was a devotee of the goddess

Inanna Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

. The word ''kohenet'' is the feminine declension of ''

kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

'', the priestly lineage in Jewish tradition. The ordination of "Hebrew priestesses" has led to some consternation in the Jewish community, with some feeling that the Kohenet movement is not solely Jewish due to the presence of aspects of paganism that are incompatible with the Torah. The syncretic aspects of this religious movement have been characterized as " goddess worship", but supporters say that the movement expresses a creative approach to problems posed by non-egalitarian streams of Judaism. Similar organizations include the Lilith Institute (also known as Mishkan Shekhinah), an organization and community more overtly aligned with

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

and other feminist/goddess-centered neo-pagan movements than the Kohenet Institute. A related movement is "Jewitches" (sometimes styled as ''JeWitches''), Jews – often but not exclusively women – who combine Jewish religious tradition and

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

, often including elements of Semitic neo-paganism.

References

External links

Primitive Hebrew Assembly
(Am Ha Aretz USA)
Tel Shemesh
{{Religion in Israel Jewish American culture Jewish Israeli culture Judaism and paganism Modern pagan traditions Modern paganism in the United States Religion in the Middle East

Jewish neopaganism

Kohenet movement and "Jewitches"

See also

References

Further reading

External links