Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreams

by Jill Hammer

A radical approach to dreams and dreamwork rooted in our bodies, communities, and ecosystems.

Undertorah takes readers on a journey through the root systems of the dreamworld. Drawing on a deep knowledge of ancient Jewish dream practice, world wisdom traditions, and contemporary ecotheology, this hybrid work of mystical scholarship combines personal narrative, multi-voiced oral history, and a somatic alternative to more symbolic methods of dream interpretation. A practical and paradigm-shifting guidebook for individuals and communities, Undertorah offers a transformative approach to contemporary dreamwork, grounded in embodied experience and ancestral wisdom, that connects us to spirit and inspires us to heal our world.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish

236 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2022

About the author

Jill Hammer is a celebrated author, scholar, poet, rabbi, ritualist and dreamworker. The Moonstone Covenant, forthcoming in fall 2024, is her first work of fantasy. Like some of her characters, she has a deep love of books, trees, water, and mysterious journeys. She is also the author of Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreaming, Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah, The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership (with Taya Shere), The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons, The Omer Calendar of Biblical Women, Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women, and The Book of Earth and Other Mysteries. She lives with her family in Manhattan. You can learn more about her and her books at themoonstonecovenant.net or jillhammer.net.

Reviews

[Bogi Takács]

I feel like I've read endless amounts of books about dreams, but most of them don't actually get across what dreams *feel* like - this one does. I always enjoy Jill Hammer's writing and this one was no exception.

The book had an emphasis on healing, and I was wondering if that could've been expressed in the title (I might have read it even sooner). It took me a few chapters to see that was where the book was going.

I felt the Jewish connections were a bit more understated in this book than in some of her other work; I think I expected more 'technical' Kabbalah after having read her book on the Sefer Yetzirah. But overall this book worked well for me and has influenced my dreams already (I've been reading it bit by bit over the past week) - I think this aspect of relating dreams to healing was exactly what I needed right now. It also had a description of dream groups that was different from the usual and honestly made more sense to me than most of the others I've read; I'd love to give a group like this a try.
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Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library (my purchase request - thank you!)

[Michael Acciarino]

p.28
We might say that a dream communicates like e. e. cummings's poem "maggie and milly and molly and may":

[maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, and]

milly befriended a stranded star whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) it's always ourselves we find in the sea

p.86
When I was twenty, I encountered a dragon in my dreams, who taught me that wonder and appreciation for the profound beauty of creation are at the core of my life.

[Golda P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely wonderous. It gave me a new sense of the meaning of dreams and how to “read” them. Jill Hammer’s work is always incredible: beautifully written and suffused with a deep knowledge. I’m a little sad to have finished it but hope to return to it as I read my dreams.

[Mallory Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful perspective on the dream world.