Magic, Mezuzahs, Spooks and Spice Boxes

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1 Magic, Mezuzahs, Spooks and Spice Boxes by Manuel Gold When you are concerned about demons, the demons concern themselves with you, but if you are not concerned about demons, then the demons are not concerned with you. In any event be careful. Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 110b Symbols are memories with power-an almost magical power-to evoke feelings. They can reinforce what we already feel or stir up emotions we once felt. They can inspire hope in a time of despair, courage in the face of danger, and belonging in the midst of loneliness. The image of a dove with an olive branch in its beak, for instance, has become a universal symbol for peace. Without words it expresses its message of hope. The Statue of Liberty has the symbolic power to remind us of the dream that made America the home of the tempest tossed yearning to breathe free, where the homeless could find welcome, freedom, and comfort. And a photograph of Martin Luther King marching with ministers and rabbis has the symbolic power to give courage to those who continue the ongoing struggle to eliminate inequality and prejudice. Personal Symbols Personal symbols can also evoke strong feelings. A ring may stir memories of a school attended or the loving partner in a marriage. It reminds us that we are not alone, that we are part of a large group or part of a relationship that strengthens our lives. Jewish symbols are memories that have an additional power. They help us to feel part of the Jewish people past, present, and future imbuing our lives with a sense of purpose and meaning. Jewish symbols include such specific objects as matzah (freedom from slavery), the Hanukkah menorah (religious freedom), the Magen David (the Jewish people), the tallit (prayer), the mezuzah (the Jewish home), or the braided challah (Shabbat rest and renewal).

2 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 2 They also include sounds such as the call of the shofar (repentance) and the melody of Kol Nidre (that signals the introspection and forgiveness that infuse Yom Kippur). The symbol may even be a person such as Abraham (the beginning of the Jewish people), Moses (the beginning of the Jewish religion), or a prophet such as Isaiah (the vision of the future where our values and ideals will guide our lives). Shared Memories All of these symbols awaken in us memories of shared experiences and ideals. How did these Jewish symbols get their power? During the biblical and later the talmudic period, it was generally believed that the world was filled with demonic powers and evil spirits. Before modern science began to explain the causes of natural phenomena, demons and spirits were blamed for the dangers and traumas of life. Magic was used to control these evil forces. Signet ring bearing the name of King Solomon, associated with magic. Today we no longer believe in the powers of magic and often ridicule the superstitious practices of ancient times. But people in every age are beset by fears, real and imagined. In our day the psychotherapist is employed to exorcise these terrors, while the people of earlier times sought the help of their magician, medium, oracle, exorcist, or maker of amulets. Believing that demons were the cause of many of their problems, they sought to render them harmless through an elaborate system of tying, shackling, binding, or braiding them with real or imagined cords, or by locking them up with a magical seal such as the Seal of Solomon. The Seal of Solomon (often a ring engraved with the words Seal of Solomon ) was used by Jews as well as non-jews. Perhaps his great wisdom or the magical practices of the foreigners in his court led to the association of Solomon with magic. (In the Arabian Nights tale of the Fisherman and the Jinnee, the bottle containing the Jinnee is sealed with the Seal of Solomon.)

3 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 3 Magical Words Words had power, too. The many names of God and verses from the Bible were inscribed on amulets and recited in magical incantations. Once the demon was rendered harmless by the magical powers of the words or acts, it was driven away through a ritual of exorcism. Many of our Jewish symbols had their origin in this world of magic. Whereas today the power of a symbol is in the ancient tradition that the symbol evokes, it was once believed that the symbol itself had the power to protect. The mezuzah probably had its origin in the ancient magical practice of making a mark or writing a formula on the entrance of a home to protect those living within. Although we do not regard the mezuzah as an amulet today, by the twelfth century C.E. it had become so entwined with amuletic magical illustration and practice that Maimonides was compelled to write in the Mishneh Torah: There is no harm in writing Shaddai on the outside, but those who write on the inside names of angels or holy names or verses or other formulas are those who have no share in the world to come: For these fools turn it into an amulet for their own selfish interest. (Hil. Tefillin 5:4) From that time on, most of the magical formulas disappeared from the mezuzah, but even today some of its past magical usage remains. The word Shaddai, found on the outside, is one of the names of God most commonly found in magic. Every mezuzah parchment includes the Shema, the word Shaddai, and the code words Kozo Bmoksz Kozo. Was the mezuzah used as a magical amulet?

4 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 4 Secret Code Written on the inside of the mezuzah parchment is the Shema, On the other side of the parchment behind the third, fourth, and fifth words of the Shema is a formula of three code words: Kozo Bmoksz Kozo. Each letter stands for the previous letter in the Hebrew alphabet. When decoded we discover Adonoy Eloheinu Adonoy, three words from the Shema. The coded phrase was used in Jewish magic as a fourteen-letter name for God that was intended to make the mezuzah into a magical amulet. This formula still exists on every mezuzah in use today. While we do not regard the mezuzah as an amulet, there are others even in our time who believe it has the magical power to protect the house and its occupants from evil. To most Jews, however, it is regarded as indicating that beyond the door lives a Jewish family trying to create a Jewish home inspired by the teachings of the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:9, 11:20). A nineteenth-century amulet from the Middle East. Tying Demons The tefillin (phylacteries, from a Greek word meaning protection ) are worn by traditional Jews on the forehead and on the upper arm during the morning worship service (Shaharit). They, too, appear to have originated as an amulet with the power to protect the wearer from evil forces. Vestiges of that usage still remain. The leather thongs are wound around the forearm seven times. In the world of magic the number seven has magical power. The thongs are tied in knots on the head and arm. Knots and such binding thongs were believed capable of tying up the demons and evil spirits that threaten the wearer. The letter Shin on the tefillin

5 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 5 worn on the Forehead is the first letter of Shaddai, one of the protective names of God. Two ancient depictions of chained demons (from Jewish Aramaic incantation bowls from Talmudic Era homes in Nippur, Babylonia), and an amulet for the protection of a newborn child showing Lilith with outstretched arms bound in fetters. The text on her body says, Protect this newborn from all harm. Tying Knots Today tefillin are devoid of magical meaning. They are instead a symbol of the teachings of Judaism, reminding the wearer of the uniqueness of the Jewish religion and awakening a feeling of belonging to the Jewish people.

6 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 6 The tallit is a large, rectangular, outer cloak with fringes (tzitzit) attached to its four corners (Numbers 15:38-39 and Deuteronomy 22:12). On each fringe the threads are wound and knotted in a predetermined sequence: five sets of double knots separate four sections of wound threads of 7, 8, 11, and 13 turns in each section. Originally each wearer may have arranged the knots and turns differently so that they formed a personal signature identifying the owner, which he could press onto a wet clay tablet as his personal seal when concluding a business transaction. As with tefillin, the knots and turns were also believed to protect the wearer from demons and evil spirits. According to the Bible, the fringes are supposed to remind us of the teachings of the Torah. Today the tallit is a symbol that has the power to evoke memories of prayer and the feeling of belonging to the Jewish people. Demon Busters The Kol Nidre, in spite of its haunting melody, is not a prayer at all. It is a formula whose purpose has been misunderstood since it was introduced sometime after the sixth or seventh century. The Kol Nidre is usually considered to be a legal formula by which a person can cancel all vows or promises that were made in haste. Yet the Kol Nidre does not follow the accepted rabbinic procedure spelled out in the Talmud for canceling such vows. All the clues point to a connection with the world of magic. First, the Kol Nidre is chanted three times, reminiscent of magical praxis. Second, the cantor who leads the Kol Nidre is directed by traditional practice to increase the voice volume each time the formula is repeated. This, too, resembles common magical practice. Finally, the words of the Kol Nidre are similar to the magical incantations written in Aramaic which come from this same period in Babylonia. In ancient times, when a person made a vow or took an oath. it was usually accompanied by a curse inviting demons and evil spirits to attack him if he failed to carry out the vow or oath. After such a vow was canceled by the rabbinic court, the accompanying curse had to be canceled too. The demons that had been invited to attack the oath taker had to be rendered harmless. The words of the Kol Nidre had the magical power to do that, so they were recited repetitively before the start of the Yom Kippur service in the hope that the demons would not interfere with God s determination of who will live and who will die. Today the solemn melody of the Kol Nidre helps to set the mood for the Yom Kippur observance. As a symbol it reminds us to guard against the harm we bring upon ourselves and of our need to change our lives to reduce those dangers.

7 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 7 Challah Power The Shabbat challah is a braided bread which we cover with a cloth napkin before the Kiddush on Friday night. In the world of magic, demons were believed to be particularly active on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings (Genesis Rabbah 11:5). Loaves of bread would often be put out on the table to appease those evil forces. The bread (or challah) was braided in order to incapacitate demons attracted to it. It is likely that rabbinic opposition to the magical use of the challah was the reason for the rule that required a cloth napkin to be placed over the challah, which removed it from magical usage (since demons, it was believed, either could not get at or ignored covered foods). Today the challah has the symbolic power to remind us of the Shabbat meal shared with family and friends and of the blessings we hope the Shabbat will bring us. The traditional braided challah carries memories of magic and superstition. Havdalah The Havdalah ceremony, with its spice box, braided candle, and overflowing cup of wine, separates the Shabbat from the rest of the week. Because demons were believed to be active on Saturday night, protection was needed, and the Havdalah met that need. The braided candle was meant to bind the demon, and the spices served to protect us from the foul smell of the underworld. Wine was poured onto the ground as a libation to the demons and as a good omen for the new week. Staring at the fingernails was a way of divining the future, while mentioning the

8 Manuel Gold The Magic of Symbols 8 prophet Elijah had the power to protect one from evil spirits as did the recitation of Psalm 91, the classic anti-demonic psalm. Today Havdalah is one of the most beautiful Jewish rituals, and the only magic that remains is in its symbolic power to dramatize the transition from Shabbat to weekday. Purity of the Past For many Jews, the widespread existence of so much magic, even in the past, is an embarrassment. To them magic is pagan idolatry or superstition. Discovering that a Jewish spiritual symbol of our day began as a magical formula to neutralize demonic forces makes the modern, rational person uncomfortable. We want our past to be as spiritually and ethically pure as we imagine our present to be. Most books do not publish such information, and most rabbinical schools won t teach it. But we all need to see where we ve been in order to better understand how hard it was to get where we are, and to help us figure out where we are going. Jewish symbols today help us cope with the problems and mysteries of life. Their only magic is the wonderful way they help us recover memories that can lessen our loneliness, help us feel part of a diverse people, and give us hope for the future. Rabbi Manuel Gold is an author and has lectured throughout the US and Canada.