Dybbuk

Judaic Myths and Folklore Series

By Dr. Ilil Arbel

Dybbuk

The transmigration of souls, or reincarnation, is not part of mainstream Judaism. In the Bible, there is no emphasis on the afterlife, but references to the spirits of the dead do exist. For example, King Saul goes to the Witch of Endor to communicate with the spirit of his mentor, the prophet Samuel. However, the spirits reside in a place of their own, and do not enter other bodies in any shape or form. The Talmud refers to the spirits of the dead and to exorcism, but again the concept of transmigration is not stressed. The earliest versions are traced to various non-Jewish sources, including Greek, Indian, Gnostic, Christian, and the Islamic Mutazila sect. The concept entered Judaism in earnest only during the 8th century. Medieval Jewish scholars objected to it, believing (as many continue to believe today) that any type of mysticism is extremely dangerous, and can influence and contaminate not only one's pure religious faith, but his or her very life. There is some truth to that; cults, with their brain-washing techniques, are a good example of how mysticism can deteriorate. Nevertheless the concept of transmigration developed and found serious followers, and by the 12th century it became an established part of the Kabbalah. The 16th century schools of mysticism embraced it, including the Safed circle headed by Isaac Luria. When Hasidism developed, the belief took final hold. There is a vast body of Jewish literature that dwells on the transmigration of souls, and it spans the centuries mentioned above. In this entire body of myth and legend, which includes books, folktales, and plays, the souls described can be roughly divided into three forms, depending on each soul's origin and intent. The first form is the Gilgul, which is the Hebrew word for "rolling," but means, in this context, the transmigration of the soul. Generally, it is represented as a natural sequence in the life of the soul, who must occupy various bodies to learn the many lessons it needs before it can be free to reunite with God. The soul simply enters the body at birth (not at conception), just as the infant is about to leave the mother's body, and prepares to live whatever normal life span has been allotted to it. Special situations require a different approach to transmigration. The second form of transmigration is the Dybbuk, a disembodied spirit possessing a living body that belongs to another soul. There are various origins attributed to these spirits. The earliest description usually hinted that they may be nonhuman demons. Later it was assumed they were the spirits of persons who have died. The dybbuk may be the soul of a sinner, who wishes to escape the just punishment meted to it by the angels of the grave (see the article Afterlife) who seek to beat them, or to avoid another form of soul punishment, which is wandering the earth. A dybbuk may seek revenge for some evil that was done to it while it lived. Alternatively, it may be lost, and will enter a body simply to seek a rabbi who would be able to help it and send it on its way. The living person may or may not know that a dybbuk is occupying his or her body, or it may be tormented by it. This depends on the intent of the possessing soul. The third form is the Ibbur. The literal translation of the word from Hebrew means "impregnation." Ibbur is the most positive form of possession, and the most complicated. It happens when a righteous soul decides to occupy a living person's body for a time, and joins, or spiritually "impregnates" the existing soul. Ibbur is always temporary, and the living person may or may not know that it has taken place. Often the living person has graciously given consent for the Ibbur. The reason for Ibbur is always benevolent -- the departed soul wishes to complete an important task, to fulfil a promise, or to perform a Mitzva (a religious duty) that can only be accomplished in the flesh.

Enoch

Enoch, a pious teacher, scribe and leader of his people, is famed for the part he took in the tragedy of the fallen angels (see Watchers). Living during a time of great sins, around the flood, he had visited Heaven more than once. However, the time was ripe for a most significant trip. One night, two angels woke him up and commanded him to prepare for his journey. They took him on their wings, and showed him all the Heavens and their inhabitants, including a side trip to Paradise and to the place of punishment and torture of the sinners, which strangely enough was located not too far from paradise¹. He observed the activity of the sun and the moon, and made a visit of consolation to rebellious angels, the Grigori, succeeding in bringing them closer to God. After the tour, the great Angels Gabriel and Michael lead him straight to God's Throne. Sitting next to God, Enoch was instructed in wisdom, and using his skills as a scribe, prepared three hundred and sixty-six books. When he learned everything, a most significant thing happened. God revealed to him great secrets -- some of which are even kept secret from the angels! These included the secrets of Creation, the duration of time the world will survive, and what will happen after its demise. At the end of these discussions, Enoch returned to earth for a limited time, to instruct everyone, including his sons, in all he learned. After thirty days, the angels returned him to Heaven. And then the divine transformation took place. Additional wisdom and spiritual qualities caused Enoch's height and breadth to become equal to the height and breadth of the earth. God attached thirty-six wings to his body, and gave him three hundred and sixty-five eyes, each as bright as the sun. His body turned into celestial fire -- flesh, veins, bones, hair, all metamorphosed to glorious flame. Sparks emanated from him, and storms, whirlwind, and thunder encircled his form. The angels dressed him in magnificent garments, including a crown, and arranged his throne. A heavenly herald proclaimed that from then on his name would no longer be Enoch, but Metatron, and that all angels must obey him, as second only to God.

¹ Some say that the enjoyment of Paradise would be enhanced by witnessing the suffering of the punished wicked. This makes little sense in Judaism, a religion that stresses mercy and the love of one’s neighbor above all things, but it may be a throwback to a more savage past.

Kefitzat ha-Derekh

Baal of Cartagena

Translated literally, kefitzat ha-derekh means "the jumping of the road." It is usually interpreted, however, as "the shortening of the way." The phenomenon consists of the swift arrival of a person or persons to a distant destination, accomplished by supernatural means. The travelers must break the laws of nature to fit the concept, and the distance cannot be covered as quickly by walking or riding an ordinary horse, mule, or donkey. Kefitzat ha-derekh does not appear in the Bible.

The Talmud, however, mentions three Biblical individuals who experienced it. The actual term used in the Talmud is slightly different, though. It appears as "those for whom the earth jumped (kefitzat ha-aretz)." These were Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, Jacob the Patriarch, and Abishai ben Zeruiah. There had been some debates weather it is exactly the same concept as Kefitzat ha-derekh, but most scholars agree that it is close enough to be considered so. Kefitzat ha-derekh can happen spontaneously, as a miracle performed for the benefit of a just and good person who is in trouble. It is usually a man; I have never encountered a story involving a woman who had Kefitzat ha-derekh ¹. The man may be away from home before the beginning of the Sabbath, or unable to reach a place where he had promised to perform a valuable religious service. Suddenly, he finds himself in that distant spot, sometimes without realizing how it happened, sometimes by being transported through the air or over water. Such a miracle is assumed to be performed either by God himself, by one of his angels, or by Elijah the Prophet.

The other approach to kefitzat ha-derekh was accomplished deliberately by a group of people called baalei shem. The term means "masters of the Name" and the word "baalei" is the plural of "baal," or master. These people performed what amounts to magic, despite the fact that Judaism had always objected to any form of it; the Bible even recommends killing all witches. But this did not stop the practitioners of practical Kabbalah from being wonder makers. The baalei shem maintained that they had secret knowledge of the holy Names, and that they could achieve supernatural results using them.

Photo: Buddha

The Name, holy Name, or Shem Tov (good Name) may be one of the divine Names, the name of an angel, or a combination of letters in those Names. Most people familiar with Judaism know the name of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidism. His real name was Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer. A truly great scholar, he created a new philosophy, functioned as a religious leader, and performed miracles as a wonder-maker. Most of what we know about him is second hand, stories told by his disciples and later repeated for generations, much like Rabbi Hillel, Buddha, Socrates, and Jesus. The most famous book about him is Shivhei ha-Besht (Besht is the Hebrew acronym for Baal Shem Tov), a collection of stories that have been used in every book written about him. However, many people do not know that he was not the first to be the master of Names. Many of the stories in the book were borrowed from original tales about other "baalei shem" that had preceded the Baal Shem Tov. Scholars, particularly Gershom Scholem, proved that there was no difference between the words "baal shem" which means, "master of the name" and "Baal Shem Tov," which means "master of the good name." All names were good -- the baalei shem would not use them otherwise. They never performed anything even remotely negative like sorcery, black magic, or Satanism; the entire purpose of the wonders they performed was positive, and based on deep faith in traditional Judaism. The Names they used could be either spoken, or written on amulets made of paper or parchment.

Baxley shem are not mentioned in the Bible. They appear for the first time in the post-Talmudic period in Babylonia, or possibly at the beginning of the Geonim period, and the tales developed into the Middle Ages. The 16th and 17th centuries are extremely rich in stories, in both Israel and Europe. Kefitzat ha-Derekh is only one of the many wonders the baalei shem performed. They could preserve the bodies of the dead as "dead-alive" by placing written amulets in the bodies, to keep them for burial in the proper time and place. They could create golems (see: Rabbi Loeb,) exorcize demons and dybbuks (see: Dybbuk), protect people against their enemies on both land and sea, summon beasts from the spiritual realms, send and interpret dreams, and raise the spirits of the dead. Every process had its own formula and name, and those of kefitzat ha-derekh were different from all the others. The first known text to mention kefitzat ha-derekh, coupled with the personality of a baal shem, was a question sent by a North African community to Rabbi Hai Gaon. It described how a famous baal shem was seen in one place on the Eve on Sabbath (Friday). Later on the same Friday night, he was seen in another place, a distance of a few days journey. On Saturday evening, he was again seen back in the original place. There was no logical way to interpret the sightings, and the community wanted Rabbi Hai Gaon to explain the miracle. In his response, Rabbi Hai Gaon categorically denied the possibility of kefitzat ha-derekh; most rational rabbis did not want anything to do with these fanciful ideas. Nevertheless, the population, greatly encouraged by the baalei shem, did believe in kefitzat ha-derekh. The concept appeared in many areas of the world. Southern Italy produced a particularly famous manuscript, Megillat Ahimaaz (also called Megillat Yuhasin). In this tale a most amusing use of the formula is described -- the Name was written on the hooves of the horse carrying the baal shem! There are tales from Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain, and others. Many more are attributed to the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria), the great kabbalist from Safed, Israel, and to his student, Rabbi Hayim Vital. These wonderful tales continued to develop until the traveling rabbis abandoned walking and riding in favor of technological progress; they started using fast ways of transportation, such as trains, to reach important destinations. As miraculous teleportation was no longer urgently needed, the telling of Kefitzat ha-derekh tales dwindled and eventually stopped. The demise of this myth is surprising, since there are such things as derailed trains, car accidents, and delayed planes. Why not have a miracle in a crowded airport, or while stranded on a lonely road in a stalled car? The stories might have continued to accommodate such issues, and their organic growth into modernity would have been of interest. However, perhaps they did not entirely vanish, after all.

The idea resembles teleportation in other world myths and legends, not to mention science fiction and fantasy, which freely make use of it in books, movies, and television. If Kefitzat ha-derekh sounds familiar to readers of science fiction, it is because Frank Herbert used this term in his book Dune, where the concept charmingly, if somewhat inaccurately, refers to a person whose being represents the shortening of time leading to a certain important future event. But the most famous form of modern science fiction/Kefitzat ha-derekh will be familiar to just about everyone: "Beam me up, Scotty!"

¹ If any reader knows a genuine Judaic Kefitzat ha-derekh tale, where the traveler is a woman, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.