US Judaism’s summer of psychedelic love

MADISON MARGOLIN: The Jewish Psychedelic Summit heralded the reintegration of acid, ecstasy, and other consciousness-altering drugs into Jewish spiritual life

SO FAR, THE best Purim I ever had was spent on psychedelics in Jerusalem. I’d let a sliver of acid dissolve onto my tongue as I got ready in front of a mirror, adjusting my signature pink wig, and draping a silk, purple scarf from northern India—one I’d bought outside the ashram where my father and Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now, had spent time with their guru Neem Karoli Baba—over a borrowed white, floral dress.

The microdose of acid had yet to kick in when we left the house to dip in and out of seudahs around Nachlaot, until eventually we made it to a street party where a friend gave me some MDMA.

The energy of Purim alone is enough to engender a psychedelic experience; but as we are commanded, substances like alcohol—or trippier substitutes—are an integral part of the program. I started to feel the blessed combination on the light rail to another party in a hillier, Haredi neighbourhood of the city, where I ran into old friends from Brooklyn feasting on a haimish spread of cholent, kugel, and meats, as psytrance music blasted in the background.

FULL STORY Judaism’s psychedelic renaissance (Tablet)

Illustration: Tablet