{"product_id":"ritual-medical-lore-of-sephardic-isaac-jack-lvy-9780252026973","title":"Ritual Medical Lore of Sephardic Women: Sweetening the Spirits, Healing the Sick","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Ellii Kongas-Maranda Prize from the Women's Section of the American Folklore Society, 2003.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eRitual Medical Lore of Sephardic Women\u003c\/i\u003e preserves the precious remnants of a rich culture on the verge of extinction while affirming women's pivotal role in the health of their communities. Centered around extensive interviews with elders of the Sephardic communities of the former Ottoman Empire, this volume illuminates a fascinating complex of preventive and curative rituals conducted by women at home--rituals that ensured the physical and spiritual well-being of the community and functioned as a vital counterpart to the public rites conducted by men in the synagogues. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Isaac Jack Lévy and Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt take us into the homes and families of Sephardim in Turkey, Israel, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, and the United States to unravel the ancient practices of domestic healing: the network of blessings and curses tailored to every occasion of daily life; the beliefs and customs surrounding mal ojo (evil eye), espanto (fright), and echizo (witchcraft); and cures involving everything from herbs, oil, and sugar to the powerful mumia (mummy) made from dried bones of corpses. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e For the Sephardim, curing an illness required discovering its spiritual cause, which might be unintentional thought or speech, accident, or magical incantation. The healing rituals of domesticated medicine provided a way of making sense of illness and a way of shaping behavior to fit the narrow constraints of a tightly structured community. Tapping a rich and irreplaceable vein of oral testimony, \u003ci\u003eRitual Medical Lore of Sephardic Women\u003c\/i\u003e offers fascinating insight into a culture where profound spirituality permeated every aspect of daily life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Isaac Jack L?vy, Rosemary L?vy Zumwalt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0252026977\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780252026973\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Illinois Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/05\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.31lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.34h x 6.24w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2002 pg. 146","brand":"Isaac Jack L?vy","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46052185473279,"sku":"9780252026973","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_cc0293fe-1fb4-432a-804c-9195e5518680.jpg?v=1723555585","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/ritual-medical-lore-of-sephardic-isaac-jack-lvy-9780252026973","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}