Comments on: Henna Good

By: Ra'anan Jers

Ra'anan Jers — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:07:59 +0000

I was SURPRISED how much henna IS rooted in Judaism. B”SD
VERY briefly, the 3 aspects (still preserved amongst, of course, YEMENITES)
1) 24 jewels of the bride, Adam’s first impression of Eve
2) henna which is “kofer” in Hebrew meaning kaporo as in Yom HaKIPPURIM, meaning the people put it on to show they’ve atoned for their mistakes
3) red finger nail polish so that that crazy 1st wife of Adam known as (be careful not to actually SAY HER NAME) LILITH doesn’t see those originally shiny nails & be reminded of her first husband whose reincarnations (namely, JEWS, especially MALES) she is still trying to seduce (that’s what’s REALLY occurring during an nocturnal emission!).
These ideas are rooted throughout Jewish textual sources, but only in a VERY fragmented way, it took me some 3 years to put them together. I think the most prominent aspect that comes out is that every 24 in SHAS et al are really references to JEWS (which is considered FEMALE relative to G-d/HaShem Who is considered “MALE”) trying to “seduce,” so to speak, HaShem by “turning Him on” through being attractive in GOODNESS!!!

best,
Ra’anan
Jerusalem

Here’s one Jewish origin of henna:
Song of Songs 1:14 Eshkol haKOFER dodhi li

By: katrina

katrina — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 09:00:51 +0000

ohh mine is still on! it wont come off hahaha

By: Ben-David

Ben-David — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 22:30:22 +0000

I actually like the fact that it looks homemade.

My wife once went to a “khinna” – yemenite(?) engagement party/bridal shower, and came home with just a stripe of this stuff on her hand, “for good luck”. No pattern.

Thanks for the link to the history stuff. I’m sure there must be Talmudic reference somewhere.

By: ofri

ofri — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:11:40 +0000

i have to agree with Jewish Mother on this one. i like tasteful tattoos, but this just looks like what bored 13 year olds do in class. it just looks messy and dirty.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:02:15 +0000

While as a 3rd generation Iraqi Jew I am very culturally flattered at all this attention to henna etc., please remember it’s just fun and culture. It’s nothing to do with religion or Torah or ethics.

By: Rabbi Yonah

Rabbi Yonah — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:19:25 +0000

Jews in Iraq, Yemen, N. Africa, Persia all have practised henna for different ceremonies. See hennapages.com

By: Ben-David

Ben-David — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 14:33:06 +0000

Doesn’t this have a pretty long Jewish history? I remember reading about it – Persian Jewry? I don’t remember.

Could someone more knowledgeable confirm this?

By: abigail

abigail — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:52:34 +0000

Thanks for sharing the photographs. The henna design on the left hand in the pic is looking beautiful.

By: Rabbi Yonah

Rabbi Yonah — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 04:58:21 +0000

Msg left in my inbox….

Hello!!
I am Flavia, Jessica’s henna partner.
I just wanted to say we had such a great time with all the students.
They were fun,(the most ) adventuresome and lovely to work with.
I am sure there will be some great henna results today.
The people were the best group we have ever had the pleasure to work with.
Thank you for the opportunity,
Flavia
hennacaravan.c...
“an all woman effort bringing the ancient art of henna to you”

By: taltman

taltman — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 23:44:51 +0000

My 19th century Jewish Libyan Star of David pattern turned out really well. Thank you henna artists! I’ll have to take a pic soon, since its probably at its peak darkness by now. Its on the inside of my right forearm, so I had to come up with a cover story at work: I went to a Jewish Libyan wedding in LBC! Heh, kinda. “Bo’i Kallah, bo’i Kallah…”