A cluster of henna [blossoms] is my beloved to me, in the vineyards of ‘Ein Gedi’
- Shir haShirim, The Song of Songs, 1:14

The magic and medicine of the henna plant has guided and held the Jewish people since before biblical times. The Hebrew word כפר, kopher, is generally accepted to refer to the henna plant and is used several times in the Song of Songs, an ancient devotional poem that describes the relationship of Gd and the Jewish people as a heated love affair. This plant is transformative and carries its own Kabbalah for those who wish to receive it. The paste literally changes our skin color and body temperature, and the application process asks us to learn patience, respect, connection to self and community, and remembrance of Hashem.

Throughout Jewish history and the diaspora, our ancestors have carried a deep relationship with henna. Mizrahi familial oral histories share tales of women applying henna to each other before weddings as a talisman of joy and luck. Scholars document flirtatious scenes and songs in the Sephardic tradition of women applying henna to their fingers, feet and hair for beautification. Though Ashkenazim have no documented henna tradition, the rich traditions of metal work and embroidery in the Pale of Settlement offer motif inspiration. 

The rejection of "arabization" among Jews following the aliyot of Mizrahim and Sephardim in the 20th century has nearly suppressed the continuation of this art form. In an era where Jewish people are accused of stealing our own culture, relations with our non-Jewish neighbors are fraught, and Am Yisrael is so divided, this medium presents an opportunity for us to explore our individual and communal relationship to it as an act of cultural preservation and spiritual devotion.

I encourage all young Jews to rediscover our relationship with the henna plant and discover her depths so we might remember the beauty of our diverse cultural traditions and our role as Orot L'Goyim (lights to the nations), for the sake of Hashem.