Are You Superstitious?

Our January book club book was The Mapmaker's Daughter, by Laurel Corona.  Laurel is a native San Diegan, and we were lucky enough to have her speak to our book club.  She spoke on not only The Mapmaker's Daughter, but on the process of writing and  publishing, for about an hour and a half.  She is a wonderful speaker, and if you ever travel on Silver Seas cruise ships, you may be lucky enough to find her on board.

The Mapmaker's Daughter is the story of Amalia, the daughter of a mapmaker, during the time of the Inquisition in Spain.  Corona did  a lot of research for this book, and one of the things I noticed, was the insertion of Jewish superstitions into a 15th century story.  Superstitions are prevalent in all cultures, but I never thought of Judiasm as having so many.  Jews often refer to superstitions as bubbe meises.  One of greatest amount of superstitions in the Jewish religion relate to the Evil Eye.  Reciting kein ayin hora, which means "may the evil eye stay away" is supposed to keep evil away.  Many Jews carry their own good luck charms as extra protection from evil spirits.  Hamsa, a hand shaped amulet is used in jewelery, hanging from a car mirror, or over a door way.  Muslims use this same symbol.

There are superstitions  pertaining to all sectors of life.  Here are just a few.  Eat galic to ward off bad spirits, a childless couple should find an egg with a double yolk, then eat it to get pregnant.  Some people believe that the deceased hear and know everything that is being said about them until the final spade of earth is thrown over.  One popular superstition is the breaking of a glass at the conclusion of the wedding ceremony to cast away the demons and awaken the groom to the reality of married life.  Also, if the bride returns from the huppah and takes the grooms hand first, she will dominate the home.  Another popular superstition is the practice of tying a red ribbon to an infant's crib to ensure safekeeping from bad vibes.

It is clear that many superstitions involve warding off evil spirits.  I was surprised how much of this existed in Judiasm, as I did not regard Judiasm as a superstitious religion.  It is, just as all cultures and religions have their own superstitions, Jews are no different.  Often based on fear, superstition plays an important role in our daily lives.  Just think about some of your daily reactions.  Many of them are based on superstition.  (throwing salt over your shoulder, not opening an umbrella inside, not stepping on a crack.)