Dybbuk
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In Jewish mythology, a Template:Lang (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx, from the Hebrew verb Template:Script/Hebrew Template:Lang, meaning 'adhere' or 'cling') is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being exorcised.<ref name="Falk">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="EJ">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Etymology
Template:Lang comes from the Hebrew word Template:Script/Hebrew Template:Lang, meaning 'a case of attachment', which is a nominal form derived from the verb Template:Script/Hebrew Template:Lang 'to adhere' or 'cling'.<ref>See A. Sáenz-Badillos & J. Elwolde, A History of the Hebrew Language, 1996, p. 187 on the qiṭṭūl pattern.</ref>
History
The term first appears in a number of 16th-century writings.<ref name="Falk" /><ref name="Goldish">Spirit Possession in Judaism: Cases and Contexts from the Middle Ages to the Present, by Matt Goldish, p. 41, Wayne State University Press, 2003</ref> However, it was ignored by mainstream scholarship until S. An-sky's 1920 play The Dybbuk popularised the concept in literary circles.<ref name="Goldish" /> Earlier accounts of possession, such as that given by Josephus, were of demonic possession rather than that of ghosts.<ref name="Schwartz">Tree of Souls:The Mythology of Judaism, by Howard Schwartz, pp. 229–230, Oxford University Press, 2004</ref> These accounts advocated orthodoxy among the populace as a preventative measure.<ref name="Falk" /> Template:Lang's 1937 film The Dybbuk, based on the Yiddish play by S. An-sky, is considered one of the classics of Yiddish filmmaking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar rebbe (1887–1979), is reported to have supposedly advised an individual said to be possessed to consult a psychiatrist.<ref name="Schwartz" />
Traditionally, dybbuks tended to be male spirits. According to Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, women could not become dybbuks because their souls did not participate in gilgul.<ref name=":0">Template:Citation</ref> Sometimes these spirits were said to possess women on the eve of their weddings, typically in a sexual fashion by entering the women through their vaginas, which is seen in An-sky's play.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, men and boys could be possessed as well.<ref name=":0" />
In psychological literature, the Template:Lang has been described as a hysterical syndrome.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Expulsion
In traditional Jewish communities, the concept of the dybbuk served as a socially acceptable way of expressing unacceptable urges, including sexual ones.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Within Jewish mysticism and folklore, particularly in Kabbalistic traditions, protective practices were also used to ward off these malevolent spirits. One such practice involves affixing a mezuzah—a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Torah verses—to the doorposts of a home. While the mezuzah primarily serves as a reminder of faith and adherence to God's commandments, it is also viewed as a protective amulet against harmful spirits, including dybbuks. The Zohar, a foundational Kabbalistic text, suggests that a properly affixed mezuzah can prevent such entities from entering a home.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, Jewish folklore includes accounts where neglected or improperly maintained mezuzot were believed to make homes susceptible to dybbuk possession.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These perspectives emphasize the mezuzah's dual role in Jewish life: as both a symbol of faith and a spiritual safeguard.
Dybbuk in popular culture
- The novel Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer, which portrays the appearance of a dybbuk in the fictional Jewish town of Goray, serves as an early literary version of the well-known motif in Jewish mythology.
- The film A Serious Man (2009), directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starts with a preamble about a dybbuk who visits a poor family living in a stetl. The dybbuk in the film may or may not be a rabbi who is either alive or dead. After being stabbed by the wife of the man who encountered the rabbi and invited him for a meal, the dybbuk walks out of their house and disappears into the snowy night. Whether he was or was not a dybbuk remains unanswered.
- The film The Possession (2012), directed by Ole Bornedal, is a supernatural horror film centered around the concept of a dybbuk. The story follows a young girl who becomes increasingly possessed by an evil spirit after discovering an antique dybbuk box at a yard sale.
- The Polish film Demon is typically interpreted as a story about dybbuk possession.
- The young adult novel The City Beautiful (2021) by Aden Polydoros features a gay teenager possessed by a dybbuk in 19th century Chicago.
- The novella To Clutch a Razor (2025) by Veronica Roth features a chapter in which a young woman found wandering in the woods is possessed by a dybbuk.
See also
- [[Dybbuk box|Template:Lang box]]
- Golem
- Kabbalah
- Shedim
- Zombie
References
Further reading
External links
- "The Dybbuk" by Ansky Jewish Heritage Online Magazine
- "Dybbuk – Spiritual Possession and Jewish Folklore" by Jeff Belanger, Ghostvillage.com
- "Dybbuk", Encyclopædia Britannica