God’s Pharmacy: On the Use of Entheogens in Jewish Mystical Traditions
January 13, 2025 Anna Sierka
Drawing on Derrida's essay Plato's Pharmacy, this article examines sacred and profane illuminations within Judaism, focusing on the marking nut (baldhur). It surveys both exoteric-curative and esoteric-altered states of consciousness induced by this medicinal plant fruit, retracing veiled pharmacopoeias that blur the line between medicine and poison. The analysis points to Walter Benjamin's later intoxication trials, which attempted to revive this recondite pharmacology.