Jewish Magic and Superstition

by Trachtenberg, Joshua; Idel, Moshe

• ISBN13: 9780812218626
• ISBN10: 0812218620
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-16
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr

Summary

Alongside the formal development of Judaism from the eleventh through the sixteenth centuries, a robust Jewish folk religion flourished--ideas and practices that never met with wholehearted approval by religious leaders yet enjoyed such wide popularity that they could not be altogether excluded from the religion. According to Joshua Trachtenberg, it is not possible truly to understand the experience and history of the Jewish people without attempting to recover their folklife and beliefs from centuries past. Jewish Magic and Superstition is a masterful and utterly fascinating exploration of religious forms that have all but disappeared yet persist in the imagination. The volume begins with legends of Jewish sorcery and proceeds to discuss beliefs about the evil eye, spirits of the dead, powers of good, the famous legend of the golem, procedures for casting spells, the use of gems and amulets, how to battle spirits, the ritual of circumcision, herbal folk remedies, fortune telling, astrology, and the interpretation of dreams. First published more than sixty years ago, Trachtenberg's study remains the foundational scholarship on magical practices in the Jewish world and offers an understanding of folk beliefs that expressed most eloquently the everyday religion of the Jewish people.

Author Biography

Joshua Trachtenberg (1904-59) served in the American rabbinate for nearly three decades. He is the author of The Devil and the Jews. Moshe Idel is Professor of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His numerous publications include Kabbalah: New Perspectives, Messianic Mystics and Hasidism: Between Ecstasy and Magic. He received the Israel Prize for excellence in the field of Jewish philosophy in 1999.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Moshe Idel
Preface	xxvii
The Legend Of Jewish Sorcery	1	(10)
The Truth Behind The Legend	11	(14)
Jewish Magic
The Magician
Forbidden And Permitted
``It Is Best To Be Heedful''
The Powers Of Evil	25	(19)
The Middle World
Terminology
The Genesis Of Demons
Attributes And Functions
``Jewish'' Demons
``Foreign'' Demons
Man And The Demons	44	(17)
Attack
Crises
Spirit Possession
Incubus And Succubus
The Evil Eye
Words And Curses
The Spirits Of The Dead	61	(8)
The Powers Of Good	69	(9)
Deputy Angels
Attributes And Functions
``In The Name Of . . .''	78	(26)
The Potency Of The Name
Abracadabra
The Golem
The Evolution Of Name-Magic
The Names Of God
Angel Names
Borrowed Names
The Bible In Magic	104	(10)
The Word Of God
The Use Of The Word
The Magical Procedure	114	(18)
Incantations
Numbers
The Magic Act
Sympathetic Magic
Amulets	132	(21)
Material Objects
Gems
Written Amulets
Preparation Of Amulets
Tefillin And Mezuzot
The War With The Spirits	153	(28)
Religious Defenses
Magical Defenses
Stratagem
Birth, Marriage And Death
Nature And Man	181	(12)
The Wonders Of Nature
Folk Biology---Procreation
Forgetting And Remembering
Medicine	193	(15)
Magic And The Doctor
The Causes Of Disease
Treatment
Some Sovereign Remedies
Herbs
Divination	208	(22)
Determinism vs. Free Will
Omens
The Prognostic Arts
The Divining Princes
Necromancy
Buried Treasure
Trial By Ordeal
Dreams	230	(19)
The Dream In Human Affairs
Where Dreams Come From
``Dreams Follow Their Interpretation''
The Technique Of Interpretation
Dream Divination
Neutralizing Ominous Dreams
Astrology	249	(11)
Appendix I---The Formation Of Magical Names	260	(5)
Appendix II---Ms. Sefer Gematriaot On Gems	265	(4)
Abbreviations And Hebrew Titles	269	(2)
Notes	271	(62)
Bibliography
Note About The Sources	315	(3)
Hebrew Sources, Printed	318	(4)
Hebrew Sources in Manuscript	322	(1)
Modern Literature	322	(11)
Glossary Of Hebrew Terms	333	(2)
Index	335