The resting place of Jonathan ben Uziel, a first-century sage, is believed to have magical powers: Visit the grave in Amukah, northern Israel, while you’re looking for love — and you’ll be married within the year. Thousands of couples swear it has worked for them. This is but one of many folk customs with magical undertones that have been performed throughout Jewish history.
Such practices continue to this day. Red string bracelets and the hamsa symbol are examples of Jewish amulets that still have popular appeal. Such amulets, small tokens or written inscriptions have been used by Jews since the time of the Talmud for protection, healing, and warding off the Ayin Hara, the Evil Eye.
But these practices are not without controversy.
Maimonides disapproved of amulets as well as astrology, claiming that both ideas, while perhaps effective, could undermine normative Jewish belief. Despite this, both have been incorporated into Jewish practice. The zodiac is a central motif in synagogue design of the Talmudic period. A thorough knowledge of astrology is evident in works of medieval poetry by Jewish poets such as Solomon Ibn Gabirol and Eleazar Kalir, as well as works of medieval biblical exegesis by Jewish commentators such as Abraham Ibn Ezra.
Jewish belief also gives some credence to the idea of divination or supernatural insight. Generally, divination is broken into two types: telling the future and being able to supernaturally discern events in the present, either in people’s minds or in another part of the world. Dreams, especially dreams of a premonitory quality, have been likened to prophecy (first by Joseph, in Genesis 37:5), though the Talmud also cautions against reading too much meaning into dreams. Curiously, the Talmud doesn’t say that dream prophecies are untrue–instead, it warns that they might be false prophecies created by demons or other malevolent spirits (Berakhot 55b).
Demons, spirits, and even certain monsters appear in many Jewish texts. The Midrash describes Lilith as being Adam’s equal at the beginning of creation and then banished from the Garden of Eden, living on as a sort of half-woman, half-demon. Dybbuks and golems are also part of Jewish tradition; some legends about these creatures date as far back as the Talmud.
It is taught that a few select holy people in Jewish history received instructions on how to interact with supernatural beings. In the apocryphal Book of Tobit, the protagonist Tobias weds a woman whose previous husbands had been killed by a demon. The Talmud even contains instructions for laypeople on how to detect the presence of demons in their own homes.
Perhaps the most overt power attributed to magic by Judaism is the ability to cast spells. From the first acts of Creation, brought about through a series of “speech acts” by God, language is used both in construction and destruction. Uttering one of the names of God is used to accomplish everything from blessing the nation of Israel to destroying the walls of Jericho.
Though Jewish magical practices have varied through history, they have always existed as a parallel force to normative Jewish ritual and belief.
Pronounced: TALL-mud, Origin: Hebrew, the set of teachings and commentaries on the Torah that form the basis for Jewish law. Comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemara, it contains the opinions of thousands of rabbis from different periods in Jewish history.
Mahali pa kupumzika pa Jonathan ben Uziel, mwenye hekima wa karne ya kwanza, inaaminika kuwa na nguvu za kichawi: Tembelea kaburi huko Amukah, kaskazini mwa Israeli, wakati unatafuta upendo na utaolewa ndani ya mwaka. Maelfu ya wenzi wa ndoa huapa kwamba imewasaidia. Hii ni moja tu ya desturi nyingi za watu zenye maana ya kichawi ambazo zimetendeka katika historia yote ya Kiyahudi. Mazoea hayo yanaendelea hadi leo. Vifungo vyenye kamba nyekundu na ishara ya hamsa ni mifano ya mapambo ya Kiyahudi ambayo bado yanavutia watu wengi. "Hizi ni ishara ndogo za kuokoa, ambazo zimetumiwa na Wayahudi tangu wakati wa Talmud kwa ajili ya ulinzi, uponyaji, na kuondoa ""Ayin Hara,"" jicho baya." Lakini mazoea hayo yanashikiliwa na watu wengi. Maimonides hakukubali sanamu za kuabudiwa na vilevile unajimu, akidai kwamba mawazo yote mawili, ingawa labda yalikuwa yenye matokeo, yangeweza kudhoofisha imani ya Kiyahudi. Licha ya hilo, mambo yote mawili yameingizwa katika desturi za Kiyahudi. Zodiac ni mfano muhimu katika muundo wa sinagogi la kipindi cha Talmud. Ujuzi wa kina wa unajimu unaonekana katika mashairi ya enzi za kati ya washairi Wayahudi kama vile Solomon Ibn Gabirol na Eleazar Kalir, na pia katika tafsiri za Biblia za enzi za kati za washairi Wayahudi kama vile Abraham Ibn Ezra. Imani ya Kiyahudi pia hutoa imani fulani kwa wazo la kutabiri au ufahamu wa kimuujiza. Kwa ujumla, utabiri unagawanywa katika aina mbili: kutabiri wakati ujao na kuweza kutambua matukio ya kisasa kwa njia ya kichawi, ama katika akili za watu au katika sehemu nyingine ya ulimwengu. Ndoto, hasa ndoto za hali ya kutarajia, zimelinganishwa na unabii (kwa mara ya kwanza na Yosefu, katika Mwanzo 37:5) ingawa Talmud pia huonya dhidi ya kusoma maana nyingi sana katika ndoto. Talmud haisemi kwamba unabii wa ndoto ni wa uwongo, badala yake, inahadhari kwamba inaweza kuwa unabii wa uwongo ulioundwa na mashetani au roho nyingine mbaya (Berakhot 55b). Mashetani, roho, na hata viumbe fulani wa ajabu huonekana katika maandishi mengi ya Kiyahudi. Midrash inaelezea Lilith kama kuwa sawa na Adamu mwanzoni mwa uumbaji na kisha kufukuzwa kutoka Bustani ya Edeni, akiishi kama aina ya nusu-mwanamke, nusu-pepo. Dybbuks na golems pia ni sehemu ya utamaduni wa Kiyahudi; baadhi ya hekaya kuhusu viumbe hawa ni za zamani sana kama Talmud. "Kuna mafundisho ya kwamba ""watu watakatifu wachache katika historia ya Kiyahudi"" walipokea maagizo juu ya jinsi ya kuingiliana na viumbe wa ajabu." Katika kitabu cha Tobia, mwigizaji mkuu Tobia anaoa mwanamke ambaye waume wake wa zamani waliuawa na roho mwovu. Talmud hata ina maagizo kwa watu wa kawaida juu ya jinsi ya kugundua uwepo wa mashetani katika nyumba zao wenyewe. Labda nguvu iliyo wazi zaidi inayohusianishwa na uchawi na Dini ya Kiyahudi ni uwezo wa kutupa uchawi. Tangu matendo ya kwanza ya Uumbaji, yaliyotolewa kupitia mfululizo wa "matendo ya usemi" na Mungu, lugha hutumiwa katika ujenzi na uharibifu. Kwa mfano, jina la Mungu linatumiwa katika mambo mengi, kuanzia kubariki taifa la Israeli hadi kuharibu kuta za Yeriko. Ingawa mazoea ya uchawi ya Kiyahudi yamebadilika-badilika katika historia, sikuzote yamekuwapo kama nguvu sambamba na desturi na imani ya Kiyahudi. "Kutoka kwa neno la Kiebrania ""Tall-mud"" (Tall-mud) ni ""mkusanyiko wa mafundisho na maelezo juu ya Torati ambayo hufanyiza msingi wa sheria ya Kiyahudi.""" Kitabu hicho, kilichoandikwa kwa maandishi ya Mishnah na Gemara, kina maoni ya maelfu ya marabi wa nyakati mbalimbali za historia ya Wayahudi.