Images: Yarmukian Goddess, Sha’ar HaGolan, Northern Israel ca 6400 BCE (L)
Goddess Inanna/Ishtar on an Akkadian Empire seal, 2350 BCE, modern day Iraq (R)

The Sacred Feminine in Judaism:
An In-Depth Exploration
A Four Part Series

What do we mean by the "Sacred Feminine?"

Who is the Divine Feminine in Judaism and who were her precursors before we became the Jewish people?

We have numerous references to the presence of the Goddess Asherah in the ancient Temple, yet most Jews today would roundly deny, and even be shocked at the notion of worshiping a female divinity. The Shekhinah as Divine Presence is central to Jewish mysticism, yet many if not most Jews are unfamiliar with the specifically female aspect of G’d.  

In this series, in which we offer varying perspectives, we will explore the pre-Hebraic, pre-Judaic Goddesses of the Ancient Near East and how they embodied the Sacred Feminine; the Hebrew Goddesses and their presence in the Biblical text, and the Shekhinah in ancient and modern Jewish mysticism. The series will conclude with an experiential session exploring the presence and meaning of the Sacred Feminine in our own lives and psyches.

Session 4: Experiencing the Sacred Feminine - An Embodied Thealogy

Led by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn and Shoshana Fershtman

This class will offer an embodied experience of the Sacred Feminine. Working with journaling, guided meditation, movement, we will explore how the Sacred Feminine lives in our lives, psyches and bodies today. How do we relate to these energies in a time when the concept of gender itself is being explored and re-imagined?

D'vorah J. Grenn, Ph.D., educator, writer and spiritual mentor, is Founding Director of The Lilith Institute (1997), a center for learning and ceremony and former Co-Director, Women's Spirituality MA Program at ITP/Sofia University; she now teaches Feminist Philosophy at Napa Valley College. Her publications include Lilith’s Fire; Talking To Goddess prayer anthology with works from 72 women in 25 traditions; "The Kohanot: Keepers of the Flame" in Stepping into Ourselves: An Anthology of Writing on Priestesses; Jewish priestess and Lilith entries in Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions and “Spiritual Brokenness and the Healing Presence of the Sacred Feminine” in FEMSPEC, an interdisciplinary feminist journal. Contact: dvorah@lilithinstitute.com.

Shoshana Fershtman, JD, PhD, is a Jungian analyst and psychologist. She is a member analyst and teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, and serves on the spiritual leadership team and Tzedek social justice arm of Congregation Ner Shalom. Her book, The Mystical Exodus in Jungian Perspective: Transforming Trauma and the Wellsprings of Renewal was published in 2021. For more info, see www.shoshanafershtman.com