Jewish: magic in this belief world

Kabbalah, amulets, the golem and the folk customs against the evil eye.

Jewish tradition has a deep and contested history of magic. The Hebrew Bible forbids sorcery and divination in some texts, and the Talmud discusses amulets, charms and the evil eye. Medieval and later Jewish life produced Kabbalah, amulets, the golem legend and the folk figure of the ba'al shem. This page covers the main strands, as Jewish teachers and scholars describe them. Jewish practice varies between Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and secular communities, and by region of origin.

Amulets and the evil eye

Jewish communities have used amulets for protection of mothers, newborns and homes, often inscribed with psalms or divine names. The red thread, the hamsa, and the phrase kein ayin hara, no evil eye, are common among Jews of many backgrounds. The mezuzah on the doorpost is a religious obligation that some also regard as protective, a view that rabbis have often cautioned against. Early rabbis recorded amulets for illness and travel, and the Talmud mentions dream interpretation, charms and demons, and states that some of these practices are permitted while others are idolatry.

Kabbalah and learned practice

Kabbalah, the tradition of mysticism that grew in medieval Spain and France, includes teachings on divine names and the structure of reality. Practical Kabbalah concerned the use of names, and was controversial. The golem, a figure shaped of clay and animated, appears in stories about Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, a legend that dates from the nineteenth century rather than from his own time. Women who wrote or commissioned amulets, as well as midwives, held a quiet role in the community, and the mother and child received special protection at birth and through the first weeks.

Authority, gender and limits

Rabbinic opinion has differed over what is allowed. Maimonides rejected astrology and charms as foolish, while others accepted them. Access to Kabbalah was traditionally limited to older married men with prior study. Women kept domestic customs for birth, health and protection. Today, many Jewish women lead rituals and some study Kabbalah publicly. Many Jewish communities have rich folk customs for birth, marriage and death, such as the bedeken, and for the evil eye, and these vary between Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi families.

Diaspora, commerce and appropriation

Kabbalah centres, red string bracelets and celebrity interest have made Jewish mysticism a global product, which critics within the community call a distortion. Jewish folk practice has moved with migration from Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Eastern Europe and Ethiopia, each keeping its own amulets and healers. Scholars such as Gershom Scholem transformed the academic study of the field. Hasidic communities keep Kabbalistic ideas in daily life, and blessings from rebbes are sought by many visitors, including those from outside the community.

Jewish on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye A curse caused by an envious look and the charms used to block itBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptLucifer A Latin name for the planet Venus that became an epithet for the Devil in Christian traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreChristian Kabbalah A Renaissance effort to read Christian theology into Jewish mysticismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇱 IsraelUrim and Thummimהָאוּרִים וְהַתֻּמִּים Sacred lots used by the ancient Israelite High Priest to reveal divine judgment.Charm · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreChild sacrifice The ritual killing of children to appease deities or restore cosmic order in ancient culturesRite · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān) A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreJannes and Jambresיניס וימבריס Named Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in biblical traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptDemon A supernatural entity believed to cause harm or possess humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreBirkat haMinimברכת המינים A Jewish liturgical curse against apostates and Christians within the daily standing prayerRite · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreRahabרַהַב A Hebrew mythic sea monster and symbol of chaos, later used as a poetic name for Egypt.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇱 IsraelAgrat bat Mahlatאגרת בת מחלת A demon in Jewish tradition who rules over destructive spirits and night hours.Being · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelMessiah ben Josephמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreFiery flying serpentשָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף (sārāf mə‘ōfēf) A biblical creature described as a venomous winged snake in the Book of IsaiahFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreBalakבָּלָק A biblical king who sought a sorcerer's curse against the IsraelitesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSe'irimשעירים Demons of Hebrew tradition linked to wild goats and ruined placesBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelQlippothקְלִיפּוֹת Impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, opposites of the holy sefirotBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMahalathמָחֲלַת A queen of demons in Jewish mysticism and the mother of AgratBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelEisheth Zenunimאֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים A demonic epithet for Lilith in Kabbalah and Western esotericismFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreOrdeal of the bitter waterמֵי הַמָּרִים (mei ha-marim) A biblical test for a wife accused of adultery when no witnesses are present.Rite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Lotan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Ordeal of the bitter water: Charadron, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
Lucifer: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Urim and Thummim: Rijksmuseum, CC0, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
Demon: Martin Schongauer, Public domain, source
Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
Fiery flying serpent: דוד דוד.. Original uploader was Androctonus at he.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
Balak: Philip De Vere, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jannes and Jambres: Gerard Hoet, Public domain, source
Child sacrifice: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source