[mechashefah]

# mechashefah -  ❛ You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you ❛ - mutuals only , selective blog for a fandomless original character Rahel (Rae) Cohen. minors dni

dearly tolerated by ena (21+ she/her) GMT +1

exploring themes of religion , witchcraft , family , community , overcoming trauma , female rage consult the carrd before following 

carrd │ interest tracker │ starter call

[mechashefah]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥

<3 for a starter ; multis specify muse

[thejewitches]

What are Dybbukim? How can we interpret our tradition surrounding them during this fraught moment, as Jewish communities cling to and cleave from tradition, spirituality, and ḥesed (loving-kindness)?

What are our dybbukim?

How does the tradition of Dybbukim engage with our values of Hereness?

As we seek international solidarity while remaining rooted in Jewishness; transformational and yet, demanding of us to be present and connected to the past, never without our roots & the conditions that we re-imagine this ancestral wisdom in.

The stunning images were created by @mygolem_is_here and photographers Aaron Farley and Magda Chudzik.

As a reminder, this is one interpretation and experience of Jewish folkore and folklife. This post focuses on the experience of Ashkenazim in Poland. Jewishness is diverse & vast: this post serves as representation of one facet of it.

Julie Wetz resides in Poland.

[thejewitches]

Did you know that Jewitches offers a variety of used and pre-loved books?

[mechashefah]

i wanna come back to this blog highkey but heeyyy is anyone still here

[ribbontales]

𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : a little assortment of angsty and hurt/comfort action prompts for rp purposes. remember to tag your blood, death etc. add +reverse to swap the roles.

[ 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 ] : as sender is about to leave, receiver embraces them. [ 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 ] : as sender is about to leave, receiver grabs them by the wrist. [ 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 ] : receiver pleads sender to not go. [ 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 ] : sender kisses receiver before leaving far away. [ 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 ] : receiver kisses sender who won't be back for a long time. [ 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 ] : sender has rejected receiver's romantic feelings. [ 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 ] : receiver rejects sender's romantic feelings. [ 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 ] : sender and receiver agree to not give in to love. [ 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 ] : receiver expresses frustration regarding sender's actions. [ 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 ] : sender tells receiver they don't love them anymore. [ 𝐥𝐢𝐞 ] : receiver is trying to convince sender they're feeling fine. [ 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞 ] : sender shoves receiver away from them. [ 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 ] : receiver comforts crying sender. [ 𝐫𝐮𝐧 ] : in a dangerous setting, sender tells receiver to run to safety. [ 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞 ] : receiver catches sender as their feet give in. [ 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 ] : sender carries injured receiver to safety. [ 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 ] : receiver is taking care of sick sender. [ 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 ] : receiver tends to sender's wounds. [ 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 ] : sender and receiver are attending to a funeral. [ 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 ] : receiver is missing the deceased sender.

[mechashefah]

my dash is so messed up on both my accounts jfc,,,,,, so if i randomly react to an old post it's tumblr being weird

[mechashefah]

this is so rae

[sourkitsch]

Else Lasker-Schüler

[svjetllost]

🆂🅻🅰🆅🅸🅲 🅼🆈🆃🅷 & 🅵🅾🅻🅺🅻🅾🆁🅴 🅰🅱🅾🆄🆃 🆅🅰🅼🅿🅸🆁🅴🆂

In South Slavic folklore, a vampire was believed to pass through several distinct stages in its development. The first 40 days were considered decisive for the making of a vampire; it started as an invisible shadow and then gradually gained strength from the lifeblood of the living, forming a (typically invisible) jelly-like, boneless mass, and eventually building up a human-like body nearly identical to the one the person had had in life. This development allowed the creature to ultimately leave its grave and begin a new life as a human.

The vampire, who was usually male, was also sexually active and could have children, either with his widow or a new wife. These could become vampires themselves, but could also have a special ability to see and kill vampires, allowing them to become vampire hunters.

In Southern Slavic folklore, Serbia is considered the birthplace of vampires. Not many Serbian words have become internationally recognized, but the one that has made quite an impact, as we all know the word “vampire” (Serbian vampir). During the 18th century, Austrian officials noted that the Slavic population in the northern country’s region of Vojvodina (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), was digging out and re-murdering cadavers, calling them “vampires.”

The Bulgarian Bogomil Magi (upper clergy) produced apocrypha during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and these documents do give us some insight into the Bogomils' beliefs. God represents the Force of Creation, which is opposed by the equally powerful Force of Destruction.

Man avoids the forces of darkness through restoration through utilizing the four elements: bathing and washing; air (ventilation of the house and living outside); greeting the sun in the morning; and recognizing the celestial creations in the evening; and, of course, through the sermons of the church;

Burial of the dead takes place outside of the town and is done only during the evening after sunset or during the predawn hours;

It is forbidden to bring dead bodies into a church, because dead bodies belong to the Force of Destruction. (Perkowski)

Entrenched in the Bogomil belief system are the seeds for what eventually becomes modern vampire lore. Primarily that the early Slavs believed that the body (as matter) is evil and representative of Satan while the soul is holy and deserving of reincarnation. It is easy to see how Bogomilistic views on demonology combined with the dualistic natures of the Force of Destruction and its need to destroy the Force of Creation birthed the vampire. The continual battle between Destruction and Good can be encapsulated by a demon's ability to animate a corpse that sucks the blood (i.e. life force) from a living person.

Pre-Christian practices on the Baltic coast are described by Helmold in his Chronicle of the Slavs (1164-1168):

"... after the victim is felled the priest drinks of its blood in order to render himself more potent in the receiving of oracles. For it is the opinion of many that demons are very easily conjured with blood ... The Slavs too, have a strange delusion. At their feasts and carousals they pass about a bowl over which they utter words ... in the name of the gods ... of the good one, as well as the bad one--professing that all propitious fortune is arranged by the good god, adversity by the bad god.

If we take the association of corpses with evil forces (i.e. the Force of Destruction) and combine it with demons, which hound men and women in order to deplete them of their life force, we can easily see how mundane illnesses can be attributed to vampires. The killing of the vampire is also rooted in Bogomilistic beliefs. Since most medieval philosophies held that the head and the heart were the repositories for a person's emotions and desires, it made perfect sense to pierce both the head and heart in order to curb the violent desire for destruction exhibited by the vampire. Cremation occurs in order to execute the "ultimate separation of elements belonging to the force of good and those belonging to the force of evil" 

[mechashefah]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥

<3 for a starter ; multis specify muse

[mechashefah]

something for the comeback

[mechashefah]

and what if i came back to this account WHAT IF

[mechashefah]

@altrxisme <3'd for a starter

❝ To be born of chaos means to be born a lone wanderer in this world full of those who would gladly be food for a corrupted force. ❞ Rae remarked, tapping her nails against the table. ❝ To be a lone wolf amongst sheep... in a way ❞

[hairtusk]

Yehuda Amichai, from 'Six Songs for Tamar' (trans. Harold Schimmel)

[transsexual-menace]

photo of members of beit simchat torah, the world's largest queer synagogue, during the 1993 march on washington

[ethanhunt-deactivated20230911]

Anybody wanna waste some time? Jennifer Connelly as Marion Silver in Requiem for a Dream (2000) dir. Darren Aronofsky

[gliklofhameln]

European challah cover, 19th century

Hebrew inscription: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.