Submission declined on 4 June 2026 by Helpful Raccoon (talk). This draft appears to contain text generated by a large language model (such as ChatGPT). You cannot use LLMs to generate article content. LLM-generated pages with certain obvious signs of being machine generated may be deleted without notice. Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. See the advice page on large language models for more information. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by Helpful Raccoon 2 months ago. Last edited by Helpful Raccoon 2 months ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: Please rewrite from scratch without the use of LLMs. Helpful Raccoon (talk) 02:49, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Jewitches (talk) 02:11, 24 March 2026 (UTC)

The Jewitches (also styled JeWitches) movement has been described in media coverage as involving Jews—often but not exclusively women—who blend Jewish heritage with elements of witchcraft, folk magic, and, in some cases, Semitic neopaganism.^[1][2]

It has also been characterized as part of a broader revival of interest in Jewish mysticism and folk practices like astrology, palm reading, herbalism, and horoscopes.^[3][4]

Since its inception in the early 2000s, the Jewitch movement has grown to include several organizations and social media communities.

The term 'Jewitchery' originated in the early 2000s as a means of describing "the practices of Wiccans of Jewish heritage".^[5] Early documented usage of the term appears in the writings of Melissa Oringer on the website jewitchery.com, where she used terms including “Jewitch,” “Jewitches,” and “Jewitchery.”

Oringer heavily cited the work of Raphael Patai, in particular, his book The Hebrew Goddess.^[6]

By the mid-2000s, the term and related concepts began appearing in discussions of Jewish spirituality and identity^[7], including in a 2006 article by the Jewish Women's Archive, which describes Jewitchery as involving Jewish women who identify as “Jewitches,” “Judeo-Pagans,” or “JAPs” (Jewish American Pagans) and who practice witchcraft, Wicca, or other forms of goddess-centered spirituality.^[8]

Beginning in 2021, “A Jewitch Herbal: Mystical Reflections on Food, Nature and Urban Farming” became a recurring column by Devorah Brous in the Jewish publication The Forward.^[9]

Practices associated with Jewitches vary but may include ritual observances drawn from both Jewish tradition, folk traditions, or neopagan traditions. These can involve the use of herbalism, astrology, meditation, and ceremonial rituals, alongside Jewish practices such as Shabbat observance or holiday rituals interpreted through a mystical or symbolic lens.^[10][11]

While some Jewitches, such as Starhawk and Melissa Oringer, identify as practicing within both Jewish and pagan or earth-based spiritual traditions, others, such as Zohare Jacobi, have described Jewish mystical and folkloric traditions as longstanding elements of Judaism, suggesting that contemporary Jewitch practices draw on existing traditions rather than introducing entirely new concepts.^[12]

The JeWitch Collective is a community organization that describes itself as focused on ritual practice, education, and activism rooted in both Jewish and earth-based spiritual traditions. It operates as a nonprofit project with a fiscal sponsor in Berkeley, California. The organization's constituency is over 50% queer.^[13]

The organization describes its work as combining ritual practice, education, and activism, in particular, Tikkun Olam.^[14]

JeWitch Collective activities include hosting events like Passover Seders and retreats.^[15][10]

The JeWitch Collective founded in 2015 at Camp Cazadero, JeWitch Camp featured numerous Jewish rituals such as Tu B'Shevat, Shabbat, Havdalah, and Kiddush Levanah. It continued through 2020 with leadership from Starhawk.^[16]

Founded by Zohare Jacobi in 2021 as an offshoot of her website and blog, jewitches.com, the Jewitches podcast features discussions of Jewish identity, mysticism, and traditional Jewish folklore.^[10] Jacobi's various platforms have amassed thousands of followers since beginning in 2020.^[17]

Individuals associated with or discussed in connection with the movement include Starhawk, Zohare Jacobi, Judika Illes, Pam Grossman, and Gabriela “Gaby” Herstik, among others.^[16][17][10]

The Kohenet Movement

Semitic Neo-Paganism

Feminist Judaism

The Jewish Left

Jewish Renewal