Exhibit Explores Jewish Mystics and Fortune Tellers
Translated & summarized from Jüdische Allgemeine by baba
An exhibition at New York's YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, "Jews Are Magic," explores Jewish occult practices from fortune tellers to psychics. It features figures like Laila, who claimed occult professorship, and Naftali Herz Imber, author of "Hatikvah," who was also a clairvoyant. The exhibit also highlights Wolf Messing, a confidant of Stalin, and connects historical practices to modern-day influencers, running until December 31st.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York is hosting an exhibition titled "Jews Are Magic" on occult practices.
- The exhibition features figures like Laila, a claimed occult professor, and Naftali Herz Imber, author of "Hatikvah" and a clairvoyant.
- Wolf Messing, a Polish-born psychic, became a confidant of Stalin and later served the politician and the politician.
- The exhibit connects historical Jewish mystics and fortune tellers to contemporary influencers and wellness gurus.
- The exhibition showcases amulets, books, and other artifacts related to Jewish occultism.
- The "Jews Are Magic" exhibition runs until December 31st.
An exhibition at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, titled "Jews Are Magic: Occult Practices from Palmistry to Professional Psychics," delves into the world of Jewish mystics, fortune tellers, and healers in America and Eastern Europe. The exhibition showcases amulets, old books, newspapers, and drawings of palms with interpretations, alongside a film explaining magical practices.
One featured figure is Laila, born Else Teresa Frenkel in 1901 in Austria-Hungary, who claimed to be a professor of occult sciences and spoke 18 languages, including Yiddish, while concealing her Jewish identity. She performed as a fakir, studied with Rabindranath Tagore and Nicolas Flammarion, and offered services like telepathy and palmistry. After her identity fraud was exposed in Berlin in 1930, she traveled globally, predicting events for prominent figures like politicians Georges Clemenceau, Benito Mussolini, Lord Balfour, and Lloyd George, as well as Zionist leaders.
The exhibition also highlights figures like Dora Meltzer, who earned a living as a fortune teller in New York's Lower East Side in the late 19th century, and Abraham Hochman, a Talmudic scholar who wrote books on astrology and taught fortune-telling. Hochman famously intervened in a trial by claiming to read the defendant's thoughts and paying his bail, after which the man was acquitted.
Naftali Herz Imber, best known as the author of the Israeli national anthem "Hatikvah," also practiced clairvoyance. He referred to himself as the "Apostle of the Kabbalah" and "Envoy of the 37 Masters." After studying Kabbalah in Palestine and working for Sir Laurence Oliphant, Imber traveled widely, issuing warnings of future disasters and predicting the future of Californian wines.
Wolf Messing, born Velvi Messing in Poland in 1899, developed talents for mental suggestion and clairvoyance. He gained prominence in the Soviet Union, becoming a confidant of Stalin, and later continued his psychic services for the politician and the politician. Messing had predicted Hitler's eventual downfall.
Curator Eddy Portnoy notes that while mysticism and occult practices are not part of normative Judaism, they have always been popular. The exhibition connects these historical practices to contemporary influencers and wellness gurus, suggesting that people turn to such practices during times of intense pressure and uncertainty. The show also includes the tragic case of Erik Jan Hanussen, a hypnotist of Jewish origin who became involved with Nazi circles and was found murdered shortly after their rise to power.
"Jews Are Magic" runs until December 31st at the YIVO in the Center for Jewish History in New York.