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Oct 24, 2023Liked by Talia Lavin

You amaze me. Your words and the way you wield them amazes me. Thank you.

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This made me laugh. My family has a story about me when I was a very bratty little kid and my dad got exasperated with me and said, "Sara, you are such a witch!" and I stomped my little feet and said, "I am NOT a witch! Not a WITCH!" But now that I'm grown up and I do witchy things like making all manner of concoctions from plants I forage, keep piles of sticks and seeds in bowls around my kitchen, hang persimmons, comfrey and other herbs to dry, I think I actually am a witch and my late dad was right on the money, as usual.

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As a Jewitch, I also do not truck in magic/k. However, i feel like those of us who heal hearts and bodies, who grow herbs and know what to do with them, who curse with abandon, who are old and wisened and live a life that few others understand have earned the right to call ourselves Witch.

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Delightful post! Here's a good old Irish witch curse--from my maternal grandmother's side of the family: "May those who love us, love us. And those who don't love us, may god turn their hearts. And if he can't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping." Lot of similarity between Jews and Irish, no? (I got that Irish curse printed on a sweatshirt--emerald green, of course!--which I wear when I'm feeling particularly witchy.)

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Kind of a curse: A peddler named Moishe defines his life by his rivalry with and jealousy of another peddler, named Itzhak. One day Moishe is visited by an angel who offers him anything he desires. The only condition is that Itzhak will receive double of whatever he asks for. Without hesitation, Moishe responds, “I want to be blind in one eye.”

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