I like to think of myself as a free thinker. Growing up my favorite question was why, as an adult I generally enjoy things that are a little left of center (that probably explains my lifelong love/obsession with the paranormal). Over the years my studies had brought me to the conclusion that demonic possession/rite of exorcism was a Christian ideal. However, Christianity is not the only major world religion with a rich history of demonology and exorcism. Judaism also has a history of demons and other spirit entities interacting with humanity:
One of the spirits/entities mentioned in Jewish literature is a Dybbuk:
· Dybbuk (clinging/possessing spirit) is a ghost or disturbed transmigrated soul that possesses the body of a living person. While demonic possession has a long history in Judaism the first reports of dybbuks only start to appear in the 16th century. The term dybbuk itself is even later early accounts simply speak of ruchim spirits. Dybbuk accounts coincide with the spreading belief in reincarnation among Jews.
· According to pre-Lurianic Jewish mysticism the dybbuk is a sinner who is seeking refuge from the punishments of the afterlife or who for some reason have been unable to continue its journey to its resting place in the Treasury of Souls. In Lurianic Kabalah, the dybbuk phenomenon is more closely linked to the biblical fate of karet being cut off and because of its sin the dybbuk has been exiled from its next proper stage of reincarnation. Thus it finds refuge in a living victim and must be exorcised.
· Dybbuks mostly attack those who are spiritually vulnerable. It enters for example into a home with a neglected mezuzah because it knows someone resides there who is lax in spiritual practice and development. Dybbuks are also disproportionately male and disproportionately p possesses women though there are accounts in Jewish literature of men being possessed. In some accounts there is a sexual dimension to the dybbuks choice of victim (Dennis, G (2007) P.72-73)
Jewish literature has this to say regarding Demons:
· Demons are spirits that act malevolently against human beings, usually in the form of disease, illness, confusion or misfortune. The Bible makes repeated mention of evil spirits (Lve 16:10; Sam. 16:14-16; Isa 34:14) including satyrs and night demons, but does not provide a great deal of detail.
· More elaborate stories about demons appear during the Greco-Roman period. The Gospels, which provide us with a picture of Jewish life in 1st Century Palestine, record several accounts of confrontations between Jesus and demonically possessed people.
· The existence of demons while widely accepted has always presented a theologically difficult for Jews. Since all things are ultimately the creation of one God, the question of why evil spirits should exist has greatly exercised Jewish thought. Drawing upon the cryptic passage about the Sons of God found in Genesis 6:1-4 apocalyptic literature offers the first attempts to explain their existence in a monotheistic context by claiming demons are really fallen angels or the offspring of the union between humans and fallen angels. This explanation introduces a larger strand of thought, recurrent throughout Jewish literature that demons are actually somehow the byproduct of human beings
· Rabbinical literature particularly the Talmud provides the most extensive sources for Jewish demonology though the information is scattered through many sources and throughout those sources several explanations for the existence of demons are offered.
· The Talmud begins by asserting that they are creations of the twilight of the sixth day (Avot 5.6). The Talmudic sources do not specify whether demons are independent creations of whether they first appear as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve which in some traditions also happened at twilight of the sixth day. Whatever the case, they cannot procreate on their own so they used semen from Adam in order to make more of their own kind (Eruv. 18b). An elaboration of this tradition is that Lilith the first woman having transformed herself into a witch-demon using the Tetragrammaton takes the nocturnal emissions of men she seduces to procreate demons (AbbS). Eve was also seduced by incubi producing a line of malevolent offering beginning with Cain (PdRE 21, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan 4:1)
· Midrash Tanhuma regards them to be souls without bodies, creations that were as yet unfinished when the day of rest commenced (Bereshit 17). Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (34) teaches that demons are the disembodied souls of those who died in the Flood. Another strand of traditions asserts that the sins of a person are inscribed on their bones and when they die, demons are a kind of postmortem metaphysical emission like the release of the soul.
· The Zohar also claims that some demons are the souls of the wicked dead.
· In classical Kabalistic thought the demonic is necessary part of creation, a product of the Sitra Achra the other side of the divine emanations (specifically Gevurah) in the material universe. Medieval mystics would often characterize demons as destructive or punishing angles a way of emphasizing that demons too are part of God’s creation and subject to the divine will. Mystics also clarify and elaborate on the Talmudic position that demons are the byproduct of human sin.
· Demons occupy an intermediate place between mortals and angles. According to Chagigah 16a they resemble angles in three ways they have wings, they fly though out the universe and they hear what transpires in heaven. They also resemble mortals in that they procreate eat and die. They are invisible except under special conditions.
· Tractate Berachot has perhaps the most information on demons of any part of the Talmud. There we learn that demons tend to dwell in the wilderness in ruins and in other places not frequented by people (Isa 13:21). It also describes a diagnostic ritual for detecting the presence of the demonic: Ashes spread around one’s bed at nighttime will reveal demon tracks in the morning and demons can be rendered visible by grinding up the ashes of a black cat’s afterbirth and then sprinkling the power in one’s eye (Ber 6a)
· RaSHI makes an early attempt to classify demons, distinguishing between Ruchin, Mazzikim, and Lilin. The German Pietist Judah he-Chasid taught that demons actually study Torah and adhere to Jewish law. Based on this understanding demonic attacks can occur only when the victim as transgressed in some way.
· The malevolent effects of demons are many; they cause illness and death, especially for the vulnerable (children, women in childbirth) they trouble and deceive the mind, and they cause contention in the community morals.
· The appearance of demons varies, but is always terrible. In keeping with Ancient Near Eastern beliefs about evil spirits demons have bird talons for feet in addition to wings. At night demons can appear in human form (Meg 3a)
· Demonic power waxes and wanes according to the time of day, the week, the seasons, meteorological conditions, topographical features and other natural factors(Yalkut Chadash, Keshafim 56; Num. R. 12:3; Pes 3a-b, 112a; Shab. 67a). The informed person can use this information to minimize the threat of this power.
· Around human habitations they frequent rooftops outhouses and drainage gutters. Strangely demons are attracted to synagogues.
· Prominent demons have names, usually derived from their particular power. Some demons like Samuel have thenymic names like angles. Occasionally demons can have surprisingly mundane names like Joseph. The name Lilith means either air (Akkadian) or night (Hebrew) and has its roots in Mesopotamian aerial spirits called lilu
· Reciting certain psalms repels evil spirits(Pss. 29, 91, 121) as do other key verses of Scripture(Num. 7:4-6) Magical phrases and incantations have also been recorded that can combat their malevolent effects(Pes. 100a; 112a). The bells on the skirts of the high priest evidently drove them away. Drinking water only from white containers turns away night demons (Pes. 3a)
· Mezuzah tefillin and ritual fringes are credited with the power to ward off evil spirits (Ber 5b). The Jews of Mesopotamia additionally protected their homes with incantation bowls. Temporary protection can be obtained through the use of magic circles. Amulets of nearly infinite variety have been created across Jewish history to combat demonic assault. Demons can be bribed with food or money (PdRE 46; Tosefta Shab. 7-16; Ber 50b) or frightening off with shofar blasts, unpleasant smells or spitting. Guarding angles are the best defense and are acquired every time one performs a mitzvah
· Intriguingly there is a strand of tradition that holds a mortal can work constructively with demons, if one knows the proper rituals of power to control them. This idea is first articulated in stories about Solomon controlling demons (Testament of Solomon). One sage in the Talmud permits demon summoning provided one does not violate Torah in either the manner of the summoning or what is asked of the spirit (Sanh 101a) Eliezer of Metz (ca 12th century) permitted the use of imps in spells and amulet writing “Invoking the demons to do one’s will is permitted for what difference is there between invoking demons and angels?” Demons can be turned against other demons (Lev R. 24) Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague permitted communications with demons but solely for the purpose of divination
· Sometimes the demons will help human willing (Pes. 106a) but usually spirits must be controlled magically, captured, and coerced to do the will of the adept. By the same token anything that smacks of demon veneration or worship such as making offerings or burning incense to a demon is expressly forbidden. (Dennis, G (2007) P 66-67)
Conclusion
Demons, spirit possession, demonology, rites of exorcism are not just a Christian concept. Viewing the paranormal from a strictly Christian point of view limits the possible understanding that may be gained from the study of the paranormal.
References:
Dennis, G.W. Rabbi. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism. Woodbury, MN:
Llewellyn Publications
