INTRODUCTION:
I have always been fascinated by the difference between
superstition and religion – and by just where one delineates between
superstitious or magical practices and genuine Halacha.
In this article, I have drawn extensively from the research
of Professor Gideon Bohak
who is a specialist scholar of Jewish magic.
Professor Bohak writes:
“Jewish magic is thriving in
present-day Israel, in spite of the supposed disenchantment of the modern
world.”
NOTE:
In this discussion, the term ‘magic’ is used with
reference to any ritualistic activity or folkloric belief - usually presented
as a religious undertaking involving recitations or actions - which attempts to
theurgically change the fabric of reality, without the individual actually
trying to affect it by pragmatic endeavours.
Similarly, the term ‘Kabbalah’, in our context,
refers to practical and particularly theurgical Kabbalah, and not to
theoretical or theosophical mysticism.
A SHORT HISTORY OF JEWISH MAGIC:
2nd CENTURY BCE:
Gideon Bohak explains that Jewish magic, although a factor
since “time immemorial”, only really becomes traceable from the second
century BCE. We know this because of the proliferation of magical texts from
that period onwards.
These texts are regarded as ‘magical’ because they aimed
at changing the world around them through the use of amulets, holy names of
G-d, angelic and demonic powers. Some of these included the intention to harm
or even kill opponents.
Bohak writes very tellingly that throughout Jewish history:
“...for every Jewish community
for which we have reasonable amounts of written evidence, the evidence also
includes extensive documentation of Jewish magical activities.”
11th CENTURY – RATIONALIST OPPOSITION:
Interestingly, as we move on to the 11th century
when medieval rabbinic rationalists like Maimonides opposed many of these
rituals and practices which had sometimes become indistinguishable from
normative Judaism, these rabbis were aggressively challenged by many of their
contemporaneous mystical colleagues.
15th CENTURY – THE PRINTING PRESS:
Then, from the mid 15th century, with the
invention of the printing press, Kabbalistic medicine, practical Kabbalah
and mystical literature in general, received a boost and were quickly spread
throughout the Jewish world.
16th CENTURY - SHIMUSH TEHILLIM (1551):
One newly printed book was Shimush Tehillim (How
to Use Psalms) which was published in 1551. It is an anonymous work from a
much earlier time. The printed edition, in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic,
shows how to get practical benefit from the 150 Psalms:
According to this work, Psalm 1; - for example - could
prevent an abortion. Psalm 2; could help with a headache and also saves from a
storm at sea. Psalm 3; alleviates shoulder pain. Psalm 5; helps find favour in
a governor. Psalm 16; helps with catching thieves. Psalm 54; helps with taking
revenge on an enemy. And Psalm 124; helps find a runaway slave and gets him to
return.
18th CENTURY - RAZIEL HAMALACH:
Books of Segulot (Kabbalistic amulets, remedies
and recipes) became very popular particularly after Sefer Raziel was printed
in 1701. This book became an amulet in itself as it suggested that even if one
did not study from it but merely kept it in the home “together with his
silver and gold” then the house would be protected from fire and evil
spirits.
IMPACT OF PRINTED MAGICAL TEXTS:
Sociologically, the popularity of these types of books had a
huge impact because now the reader could simply open the book (some even came
with indexes) and did not need to visit the Kabbalist or one of the Baalei
Shem (medicine men).
This, in turn, led to a reaction from the Kabbalist practitioner
who now felt aggrieved, and often tried to ban the publication of such works,
claiming that the printing of various holy names amounted to a desecration of
G-d’s name.
On the other hand, some Baalei Shem like Yoel Baal
Shem (the Second) took advantage of the need for such works and used the
technology of his day to actively produce even more books for wide dissemination.
Printed Segulot for newborn babies also became very popular
as they were ubiquitous and cheap.
19th CENTURY HASKALAH:
The proliferation of magical texts continued until the early
19th century when the Jewish Enlightenment Movement or Haskalah,
declared a “war on magic” and tried, instead, to emphasise reason over folklore
and magic. To some extent and in some circles the Jewish magical texts were then
marginalised but certainly not eradicated.
“However, just as Maimonides
and his followers had found out several centuries earlier, any attack on
‘superstition’ and magic in the Jewish world soon ran into the problem that the
Jews’ sacred texts—and especially the Babylonian Talmud—are full of elements
which the rationalists were wont to disparage.”
Although there were orthodox rabbis who embraced the Haskalah
Movement [See Talmudic
Commentators Who Embraced the Enlightenment], the Haskala is
generally associated with reform. Unfortunately, opposition to magic was now
seen as a reform innovation and an attack on the orthodox. This may have had
the effect of strengthening the belief in magic in some of the more
conservative orthodox circles.
Either way, the albeit partial marginalization of magic only
took place in Europe but did not affect the Jews of Muslim countries who
continued to practice a very traditional or “conservative” form of
magic.
JEWS IN MUSLIM LANDS:
The Jews in Muslim countries were not generally exposed to
the printed Kabbalistic texts published after the 15th
century (as printing was strictly regulated in those countries) nor were they
exposed to the influence of the Enlightenment Movement (opposing magic) which was
predominantly felt only in Europe.
Even long after the emergence of the printing press, most of
Middle Eastern, North African and Sefardic magic was still transmitted in
manuscript form, and often assumed the format of a ‘recipe book’.
PLOTTING THE GRAPHS OF ASHKENAZI AND SEFARDI MAGIC:
Bohak points out an interesting difference between the practical
Kabbalistic literature developing in Europe as opposed to that which
flourished in Muslim countries: In the European or Ashkenazi world, the
numbers of such books rise during the 17th century, peak during the
18th century, dwindle in the 19th century (largely due to
the Haskala), and all but vanish in the 20th century.
However, in the Sefardic countries, the numbers of
such works rise continuously from the 17th century right up to and
including the 20th century!
R. AVRAHAM HAMUY (1839-1888):
One particularly interesting Sefardic writer of Segulot
was R. Avraham Hamuy who wrote over 50 books. Once, on a visit to the Moroccan
city of Marrakesh in February 1881 - on a Thursday - he was asked by the Jewish
community to end a drought that had plagued them for some time.
He performed
various rituals including writing out G-d’s name in circumcision blood, and by
Friday evening the heavens opened up and the drought was assuaged. This gained
him much admiration from Marrakesh’s Jewish as well as its Muslim inhabitants.
THE 1942 PLOT TO KILL HITLER:
In 1942 some Jerusalem Kabbalists used various rituals
to try and kill Hitler.
They procured an airplane from the RAF to spray the blood of
white roosters over the Land of Israel to protect it from the armies of Rommel.
1948 - THE STATE OF ISRAEL:
THE ATTEMPT TO THWART JEWISH MIDDLE EASTERN MAGICAL
PRACTICES:
With the establishment of the Jewish State in 1948, both
European and Middle Eastern Jewish cultures confronted each other and the Ashkenazim
tried to “disenchant” their Middle Eastern and North African brethren of
their magical practices, but with little success.
“[Israel’s] founding fathers
had little patience for demons, amulets, and Jewish magical beliefs and
practices, and neither would the ‘new Jew,’ which they hoped to create.”
The ‘new Jews’ thus came into ideological conflict with the
‘old Jews’, also known as the ‘old yishuv’ (or old ‘establishment’) who
had already been residing in Ottoman Palestine and after 1922, in Mandatory
Palestine. The ‘new Jews’ were embarrassed about, and therefore opposed to, the
superstitious and magical practices of the older communities.
David Ben-Gurion dreamed of Israel becoming a melting pot
with new Israelis emerging who had let go of practices that he believed could
only hinder them in the future.
1980s - RESTORATION OF HONOR:
This model proved to be effective for the first few decades until
the 1980s when a push-back was expressed by - amongst other groups - the
formation of the Shas party
which vowed to restore the ‘honor and glory’ of North African, Middle Eastern
and Sefardic Jews, which had been ‘stolen’ from them by the Israeli
state.
This restoration of honor and the holding on to traditional
beliefs, also indicated to all that the magical and practical Kabbalistic
tradition was never eradicated in Israel but, instead, remained alive and
well.
1990s – ‘SUSPICION OF REASON’ IN THE POSTMODERN AGE:
Then, during the 1990s with the advent of the Postmodern Era
and its “cultural sensitivities and...New Age religiosities” (which
brought with it a “suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role
of ideology”), “the
Jewish magical tradition is now more vigorous, and more visible”
than ever imagined.
MAGIC IN THE ‘START-UP NATION’:
During the 1996 Israeli elections, the Shas party,
comprised of Sefardic Orthodox Jews, distributed amulets which had the
image of the ‘eldest Kabbalist’, R. Yitzchak Kaduri (1898-2006), and
which were ‘blessed’ by him.
These amulets were greatly in demand but were only given to
voters who promised to vote for the Shas party.
When the opposition got wind of this, they claimed it was
election bribery and the matter went to adjudication. The distribution of
amulets was dully halted by the law. This did not stop Shas gaining 10
seats.
2000:
As a result of previous electioneering with amulets, Israeli
law now prohibits anyone using:
“...adjuration, curse,
excommunication, ban, a vow, the dissolution of a vow, a promise to grant a
blessing, or the giving of an amulet; in this regard, ‘an amulet’ includes any
object that in the eyes of a part of the public has the power to grant it
benefits or harm it.”
The clause “any object that in the eyes of a part of the
public has the power to grant it benefits or harm it,” is interpreted by
Bohak as:
“...an honest admission by the Knesset that
while some of the citizens of the modern State of Israel deny the efficacy
of amulets, others certainly do not.”
And therefore:
“By the year 2000, when
this clause was added to the law, the Jewish magical tradition was finally
winning official recognition of its existence and wide appeal...”
However, even this legislation did not curb the continued (and
illegal) use of amulets and even “aggressive magic” in election
campaigning in a country that prides itself as one of the most technologically
advanced in the world.
ANALYSIS:
Gideon Bohak writes:
“The impact of this
multifaceted and multidirectional shift is still in progress, and it is too
early to tell where exactly it will lead, but one of its obvious features is
that magic is once again in vogue...
In a postmodern world,
modernity’s aversion towards magic and ‘superstition’ is being replaced by
suspicion of the rationalistic discourse...”
If Gideon Bohak’s analysis is correct and if we are indeed
living in a Jewish world defined by suspicion of the rationalistic discourse,
then we need to know this. Those of us who are happy to remain in this state
have every right to do so, but those who are not, need to sit up and take
notice.
CONCLUSION:
To end on a philosophical note, this is how R. Jonathan Sacks
uses the biblical incident of the Golden Calf to describe magic:
“...the Israelites sought an oracle,
something to tell them what to do and what to become. They were still in an age
of magical thinking in which people do what the gods require and gods produce the
outcome the people desire.
That is not what the biblical covenant
is about...It is about the acceptance of responsibility. It is about being
guided by the experience of history, not about having the responsibility for history
taken from the people and assumed by God Himself.”
