The Witching Hour

י'ח באדר א' תשס"ח
Keolwulf 19

Old Timer comments at DovBear:

I heard something very strange in shul this past Friday night. Someone heard from his Rebbe that you are not allowed to make kiddush between 6PM & 7PM because the "shaydim" are active during that hour. If one came home from shul and could not make kiddush before 6PM he must wait the full hour until after 7PM to do so. I thought that as Jews we are not allowed to be superstitious. Has anyone else heard of this new "chumrah"? It seems that new ones keep popping up every day.

According to Sefer Yetzirah, the hour of 6-7 p.m. Friday evening is governed by the planetary energy of Mars, which influences such things as "blood, strife, wickedness, external injury, war, hatred and jealousy." The planet Mars corresponds to the letter Gimel, and thus through the Gimel/Mars connection, the hour in question creates a bridge into the physical world for the reality of "reward and punishment" to manifest. Should one be due for punishment, this might not be a good hour to make kiddush. Should one be due for reward, this may be a very good hour to make kiddush.

Graphic - my Witching Hour black sand timer made of handpainted cold cast resin and designed by Nemesis Now.