According to Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is a ghost or disturbed soul that possesses the body of a living being. In early biblical and Talmudic accounts they are called "ruchim," which means "spirits" in Hebrew. During the 16th century spirits became known as "dybbuks," which means "clinging spirit" in Yiddish. There are numerous stories about dybbuks in Jewish folklore, each with its own take on the characteristics of a dybbuk. As a result, the specifics of what a dybbuk is, how it is created, etc, vary. This article highlights characteristics that are common to many (though not all) of the stories
told about dybbuks. In many stories a dybbuk is portrayed as a disembodied spirit. It is the soul of someone who has died but is unable to move on for one of many reasons. In stories that assume there is an afterlife where the wicked are punished, the dybbuk will sometimes be described as a sinner who is seeking refuge from the punishments of the afterlife. A variation on this theme deals with a soul that has suffered "karet," which means that it has been cut off from God because of evil deeds the person did during their life. Yet other tales portray dybbuks as spirits that have unfinished business among the living. Many stories about dybbuks maintain that because spirits are housed inside bodies, wandering spirits must possess a living thing. In some cases this can be a blade of grass or an animal, though frequently a person is the dybbuk's preferred choice. The people most often portrayed as being susceptible to possession are women and those living in homes with neglected mezuzot.
The stories interpret the neglected mezuzah as an indication that the people in the home are not very spiritual. In some cases a spirit that hasn't left this world is not called a dybbuk. If the spirit was a righteous person who is lingering to serve as a guide to the living, the spirit is called a "maggid." If the spirit belonged to a righteous ancestor, it is called an "ibbur." The difference between a dybbuk, maggid and ibbur is really in how the spirit acts in the story. How to Get Rid of a Dybbuk There are probably as many different ways to exorcise a dybbuk as there are stories about them. The ultimate goal of an exorcism is to release the body of the possessed person and to release the dybbuk from its wanderings. In most stories, a pious man must perform the exorcism. Sometimes he will be assisted by a maggid (beneficent spirit) or an angel.
.jpeg)
.jpeg&description=The Dybbuk Box){kind=link}