Sefardi Herbalism, with Naomi Spector

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Sefardi Herbalism: An Introduction to Earth, Water and Plant-Based Folk Traditions of the Sefardim explores the earth-based folk culture and healing tradition of the Jews of Spain and Portugal. Weaving together diverse sources, such as Judeo-Spanish medical texts, memoirs, interviews, testimony from inquisition records, poetry, songs, and folk tales, the book offers a taste of everyday life in the homes and kitchens of Sefardi Jews, who journeyed into various diasporas following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. Written for those new to plants and herbalists alike, this book explores Sefardi relationships to the ocean; folk beliefs about the evil eye and the practice of crafting amulets for spiritual protection; herbs and ingredients that were common to the Sefardi kitchen and medicine cabinet; herbalism and amulets for birth; and finally, Sefardi end-of-life herbalism.

Naomi Spector is an ethnoherbalist, plant historian, and educator with a master’s degree in education from Tufts University. She provides holistic plant-based care, with a focus on ancestral plant medicine drawn from Sefardi, Ashkenazi, and Mediterranean traditions. She is the author of 50 Illustrated Jewish Sayings, The Jewish Book of Flowers, and Sefardi Herbalism. She is a co-creator of the Jewish Herbalists Network, an affinity group within the Jewish Farmer Network, and was the keynote speaker at LimmudFest Atlanta 2023. She co-leads Muestro Lashon, a group in the Boston area dedicated to maintaining Sefardi culture and language.