19/01/2024
tinyurl.com/DiasporicDecoctions
Out of almost 100 Ashkenazi Jewish villages interviewed in Eastern Europe between the wars, the vast majority reported extensive knowledge and use of sheydeem sheets – a Yiddish name for Solstice Wort. Popular in contemporary herbalism for its usefulness with anxiety and depression, Jewish communities have long used this herb to support nervous system healing (and more!). One of the traditional remedies involves a decoction of sheydeem sheets massaged into a person afflicted with “paralysis,” a term used in Yiddish literature to refer to fear / possession / the evil eye.
Many different cultures have ancient relationships with this plant. Our online class series Diasporic Decoctions examines the way herbal medicine has long been a medium of cross-cultural exchange and connection across difference. This February, we’ll go into depth with traditional and contemporary understandings of sheydeem sheets along with several other herbs as well as some medicine-making techniques, all in the Ashkenazi Jewish repertoire.
We’ve just released 10 more access rate tickets on the event page! Please join us for this 4 part series on Ashkenazi Herbalism through the lens of radical diasporism. Last day to enroll is Sunday January 28th! tinyurl.com/DiasporicDecoctions
Slide 1: On a solid pink background are 5 images of st. john’s wort flowers. Each flower is yellow with 5 petals in a star shape. There are some black dots on the petals. Thin threadlike stigmas ending in a red dot grace the center of each flower. The center flower is much bigger than the remaining 4 which are placed at each corner. The title text reads: sheydeem sheets (in italics): a traditional ashkenazi name for…(in bold). Radiating in a circle around the big flower are the following names; elf blood, solstice wort, witch’s blood, devil’s flight, st. john’s wort, hypericum. In the bottom center in bold is written the Yiddish name sheydeem sheets above in Yiddish text: שדים שיץ. The translation below in italics is “demon protection.” Below this text is the enrollment link for this Ashkenazi Herbalism course: tiny.url.com/DiasporicDecoctions
Slide 2: On a pink background is a photo of a person in a field with their outstretched arm holding a bundle of freshly harvested yellow st. john’s wort flowering tops.
Slide 3: On a pink backdrop is a photo of an oil infusion of st. john’s wort flowers which still has the flowers at the bottom. The oil has taken a deep red color and is sitting in a glass jar on a cutting board. There are yellow st. john’s wort flowers strewn about the image as well.
