I am quite disappointed in this book, which I purchased because after some years of not being observant, I had thought to start observing the holidays, trying to combine that with practices of witchcraft like working with plant genii. Immediately upon browsing through the book at home I noticed a distinct prejudice on the part of the author for Orthodoxy as the only legitimate interpretation of Judaism. Such remarks as "Even those of us who aren't Orthodox can practice the Jewish rituals with intent and awareness." (p. 156) abound. It is bad enough to encounter this sort of sectarianism from certain backwards people in mainstream Judaism, but its expression in something that is trying to combine Judaism and Paganism is at best the result of laziness and ignorance. It is very clear that the author has relied upon Orthodox sources for all her information about Jewish law and practice - this when Orthodoxy is what, 5% of Jews in the US? Way to be pluralistic.

The author posted on LiveJournal that she did not know any Jews other than Orthodox who followed halachah. She must not know very many Jews then, and if that is the case, I have to wonder on what basis she decided she had the knowledge to write this book. Running a forum doesn't qualify one to write authoritatively on a topic.

Much of the information in the book is a watered-down version of what you will find in Raphael Patai's fabulous book, The Hebrew Goddess. You can get much more "meat" for incorporation into your practice (and a whole new appreciation for Judaism as non-monolithic and even perhaps non-monotheistic) from his work than you ever will from this one. And Patai has not got any Orthodox axe to grind. There are also several academic works on Jewish ceremonial magic out there, like Ritual Practices to Gain Power, Icons of Power, and Scholastic Magic. Then there is the enormous amount of recent research by Moshe Idel on straight Kabbalah and on what he calls ecstatic Kabbalah, such as was practiced by Abulafia and by some of the Hasidim at the beginning of the movement, which offers a lot of material for people wanting to use shamanistic techniques. There's even the hoary old Jewish Magic and Superstition by Trachtenberg, which has been reprinted, if you're looking for straight witchcraft. So it's not like there are no sources out there for Jewish Pagans or magicians.

A number of the quotes from interviews with practicioners of a mix of Judaism and Neopaganism sounded whiney to me. I would have preferred more about how one's practice was satisfying rather than snarky remarks about how "rabbis can't tell me what to do" and boastful claims like "I've always wrestled with God."

I wanted to like this book. I'm sure the author is a nice person. But she doesn't know what she is talking about, and she is spreading sectarianism. Do we really need more of that?

Oy, it's about time. Finally, a book that acknowledges the meshuganah pagans and their contribtutions to Wicca and neopaganism. Few people realize how much of Wiccan ritual tradition has pagan Jewish roots, and this book points out what we've all been missing for so long. The author's approach to her subjects is sensitive, the writing style is easy to read, and this book is a wonderful way for pagans to learn about an underrepresented group of colleagues. The majority of pagans may not identify as Norse, Stregas, Egyptian, or Voodoo, but they have had the opportunity to learn about these traditions from authors connected to their roots. Up until now, it hasn't been possible to learn about the Jewish connection to neopaganism, but now that has changed.

Hunter interviewed an interesting sample of contributors, but it is not as extensive or varied as the sample for her previous book on pagan sexuality. Phyllis Curott is conspicuously missing, for example, and I would have appreciated her viewpoint here. But the author otherwise gives us a good sense of Jewish American Paganism. In general, they do not the share the Zionism of mainstream American Jews (and Starhawk most definitely does not), but they do place an emphasis on historical research, already emphasized among Norse pagans. Like other pagans, they are happy to leave their monotheistic beliefs behind them, but they want very much to retain the stuff which merges easily with modern pagan belief. All we need now is a collection of pagan tales from the time before Mohammed to round out our knowledge of witches from the Middle East.