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April 24, 2009
Wicca popularity increases
Rabbi encourages Jews to become more familiar with Judaism.
DAVE GORDON
What is the fastest growing religion in Canada? Islam? Mormonism? Scientology? None of the above. The answer? Wicca.
For those who are not already familiar with the term, they're modern witches. DigitalJournal.com recently reported that, although the figures are relatively small in Canada – in the two largest provinces combined, you could fill a hockey arena with them – the number of people who claim a connection to the religion has ballooned over the past few years.
Listed under the generic term "pagan," which largely includes the Wicca, Ontario has about 7,500 followers, a 232 per cent jump since 2004, according to Statistics Canada data. The same data source indicates that Quebec has about 1,300 "pagans," a 533 per cent jump since 2004, and, overall, Canada has more than 21,000, a 282 per cent jump since 2004.
In the context of Canada's population of 31 million, that isn't too many followers, but it's enough to make headlines and to wonder why one expert said that it is set to be the third largest religion in a few years – though many find that a bit hard to fathom. Wicca is a recognized religion, which is even accommodated by the Canadian Armed Forces.
As one might expect, there are Jewish people among the converts to almost every religion, including the obscure, wacky and fanatical. There are Jews for Jesus, Jews for Islam, Buddhist Jews. According to one report, a small community of Hare Krishna Jews in Harish, Israel, has officially convened. Sascha Gottschalk, to cite another example, is an outspoken former skinhead Hare Krishna Jew.
As surely as there are Krishna Jews, there are Jewish witches, or Jewitches, easily found with a simple Google search.
The images conjured up when someone says "witch" is what we see in TV's Charmed, or films like Snow White, The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West or Harry Potter. (Oddly, Willow Rosenberg, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is a Jewish witch.)
Why is Wicca growing? One reason is that established Western religion hasn't been getting good press lately. Islam is becoming known for its radical, bomb-making extremists. Jews are well-disliked and Israel doesn't seem to be too liked, either. Christianity gets a bad rap for its right-wing elements and priestly molestations. And religion hasn't been helped by recent books: Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, for example.
Rabbi Michael Skobac, education director of Toronto's Jews for Judaism, an international outreach organization, has for many decades met and counselled Jews caught in cults and other religions. According to Skobac, about one-fourth of those practising Buddhism hail from a Jewish background. What they – and Jewish Wiccas – seek, he said, really lies close to home.
There are many reasons why a person might join a certain religious group. Wicca seems to offer spirituality in a touchy feely eco-worship of the earth kind of way. Those on a quest for spirituality and the lure of the East say they have found it in Wicca.
Jewish Wiccas combine the holidays that relate to the seasons or the harvest, like Passover, Tu b'Shevat and Sukkot. Chanukah, for instance, falls close to the winter solstice and both include the symbolism of lighting candles at the darkest time of the year.
"The basic profile of a Jewish person dabbling in Wicca is someone who has limited exposure to Judaism. They have had experiences in cultural, or ethnic, Judaism, but not a spiritual path," said Skobac. "The environment is a natural draw today for a lot of people. One of Judaism's main values is also the environment, and most Jews are unaware of Judaism's environmental teachings."
He states there are "hundreds of pages" in talmudic discussion dealing with the environment, ranging from establishing green belts in a city to not wasting anything useful in the world. In fact, he noted, one-sixth of the Talmud is dedicated to agricultural issues.
While many practising Wicca celebrate the nature of the moon cycle, Judaism's months also follow the lunar cycle. "The pulse of our Jewish life [is] driven by nature. We relate our months to the moon and relate our prayers and days to when the sun comes up or down. Rambam [Maimonides] said if you want to love God, study nature. Jews don't have to go to Wicca to learn how to appreciate nature," said Skobac.
Goddesses are a major part of Wicca and many women are drawn to it for that reason. One Wicca website explained that it is important to right the wrong of the singular male God in major Western religions.
"The truth is there is a balance," said Skobac. "Judaism places a tremendous amount of importance on raising families, with women in a central position. Raising children is not something we give to people we think are inferior." Additionally, the Jewish God has a feminine aspect to it, the Shechinah. "It would be incorrect to say the entire focus of Judaism is masculine. There is, in fact, a whole Talmud named 'Women' and, as it happens, Rosh Chodesh [the start of the new month] is traditionally dedicated to women."
Witchcraft also has spells, which include those used for healing, love or fertility, or to banish negative influences. "In Judaism, we have our own incantations for things we want to change. They're called prayers," Skobac said.
One of the Wicca credos is, "If it harms none, do what ye will." It sounds strikingly familiar to the Jewish Bible's "Love your fellow as yourself," (Leviticus 19:18) and the talmudic saying of Rabbi Hillel, "What is hurtful to you, do not do to your friend." (Shabbat 30a)
Skobac warned that, although Judaism has similarities with Wicca practices, they're very different. He advised that people who were born and raised Jewish should explore Judaism more and learn about what their religion has to offer, instead of becoming a witch.
"It's the same way that Jews don't have to go India to learn how to meditate," he said. "As they say in The Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home."
Dave Gordon is a freelance writer in Toronto. His website is DaveGordonWrites.com.
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