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Practical Kabbalah in Israel

Yuval Harari

Jewish magicthat is, the Jewish cultural system based on the use of spells, adjurations, amulets and segulot (charms), as well as other ritual means that are not part of Jewish ritual commanded by God, and aimed at manipulating the world according to one's wisheshas never died out and is still practiced today. While much of it has traditionally been preserved, some changes have occurred with time. Several of them result from the transmission of magical traditions, both oral and written, from generation to generation, and from one geographical region to another. Others are the result of the adjustment to the cultural and technological reality of Israel in the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Practical Kabbalah (Kabbalah Ma'asit)

Jewish magical culture is attested as early as biblical times, and continued to develop throughout the following generations. From its early beginnings, particularly in Late Antiquity and the early Muslim period, its potency was associated with the aspect of reality that is beyond the visible world: God, His names and His angels.

From the Middle Ages onwards, Kabbalah developed as the main mystical teaching in Judaism. Magic was then often associated with this mystical teaching and was referred to as kabbalah ma'asit (practical kabbalah); that is, the performative aspect of Kabbalistic theoretical knowledge. In its wider sense, the term kabbalah ma'asit relates to the practical use of esoteric knowledge, which, like all the mystical teachings from the thirteenth century onward, was defined by the term Kabbalah.

The term kabbalah ma'asit and similar terms became common following the development of the Safed School of Kabbalah in the sixteenth century. Kabbalah ma'asit, like the terms kishuf (magic or sorcery) was also used to indicate ritual activities that, according to the one who indicated them, were incompatible with Jewish faith or law, and were therefore forbidden. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and Rabbi Chaim Vital mention practical Kabbalah in their writings as a domain that one is forbidden to enter. From their works, as well as from later writings, it appears that these practices were mainly based on the use of holy namesthose of God and the angels, and names derived from biblical verses and other essential textual sources in order to "do wondrous things" (in the words of Rabbi Chaim Vital). However, as Gershom Scholem claimed, kabbalah ma'asit is no more than a new name for ancient magical practices, at the core of which is the use of names and adjurations well-known to us from pre-Kabbalah Jewish culture.

On the other hand, typical kabbalistic names and symbols, in particular charts of the sephirot (the 10 attributes/emanations of Kabbalah), as well as authoritative sources to which this knowledge is related and the textual environment where we find magical recipes from the fourteenth century on, occasionally imply that the scribes themselves recognized magic as part of kabbalistic knowledge. However, only very seldom did they call this practice kabbalah ma'asit. Segulot (charms), hashbaot (adjurations) and shemot (names) are the common terms used to indicate such activities,

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and ba'alei shemot (masters of names) is the term habitually employed to denote those who knew how to activate them and produce efficacy for the person involved.

Practical interest in holy names and the ritual ways for activating them, gave rise to a wide corpus of magical recipes. Evidence of this literature dates from Late Antiquity, but examples become more numerous with the march of time. Dozens of magical manuscripts from the Middle Ages, and hundreds from modern times, from both east and west, indicate long-term interest in this practice. Many of these writings made their way to Israel, and are found today in private collections, libraries and museums. Often they are used as the basis for creating renewed, current literature of segulot/magic.

The Clinic: Practitioners and Patients

Despite constant objections by various religious authorities to the use of names and adjurations, dozens of practitioners in present-day Israel continue to serve clients who seek healing, protection, success and sometimes even the harming of others, through writing methods and charms in general. This is the continuation of the Practical Kabbalah tradition that existed in Israel in the past few centuries. Prominent figures in this tradition included Rabbi Shalom Shar'abi (Rashash), Rabbi

Manuscript of Practical Kabbalah

Paper

Yemen, 1875

Height: 19 cm, width 13.5 cm

GFC YM.011.083

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Chaim Yosef David Azulai (Ha-Khida) and Rabbi Yehuda Petaya. Recent generations have yielded famous practitioners, such as Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (Baba Sali), Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, Rabbi David Basri, and Rabbi Ya'akov Ifargan (known as "Ha-Roentgen" "the X-ray"). In addition there are many other practitioners who are unknown to the wider public, but have achieved local fame. Figures such as Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and the Lubavitcher Rebbe continue to inf luence their believersmostly through blessings, but also in other more materialistic means. We learn about this from writings published by their followers, internet sites dedicated to them, huge public posters that publicize phone numbers that the public can call to receive a blessing, or items, such as water from the mikveh of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, or an amulet inscribed with the chant "na nach nachma nachman meuman", available without charge or against payment, to people seeking their inherent powers of protection and healing.

The practices of these rabbis and kabbalists are backed-up by both oral and written literature that enhances their holiness, emphasizes their uniqueness, and describes their achievements. However it reveals very little about their practices with names and charms. Even less is known among the general public about the activity of those who have not become famous. Nevertheless, unlike the famous practitioners, their door is open to the scholar to study their practices and learn how they comprehend their skills.

Among these practitioners, some see themselves as living messengers of God, and sense a close connection with Him. From the strength of this intimacy, the power of God f lows through them, as if they were a channel connecting the upper and lower spheres. In the case of these practitioners, this internal power is transferred via their hand to the written word, and imbues it with potency and protective healing powers.

Some practitioners began their involvement in the writing of spells and amulets after a more modest revelation of an important figure such as Elijah the Prophet, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, or other righteous individuals from recent generations. From that revelation, they realized their mission in life. These figures often continue to accompany the practitioner, to bestow their power on him, and help him throughout his whole life.

Other practitioners base the efficacy of their writing on an ancestral birthright, passed on from one generation to the next. This close familial connection with earlier famous practitioners is what gives their writing authority. In these latter cases, the ancestors sometimes reveal themselves to their descendants, either on their own initiative or by invitation from the living, to assist the practitioner in dealing with the cases he is asked to handle. Some of these practitioners also use professional knowledge that has been preserved in the family for generations in extant manuscripts of Practical Kabbalah. These manuscripts are taken out as needed, and are used both in prognosis and treatment.

Finally, there are those who base their power on professionalism alone. In the absence of revelation or birthright, or ownership of prestigious manuscripts, their efficacy is based on

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professional knowledge that they have amassed by collecting and carefully studying books of charms, in particular manuscripts of Practical Kabbalah. This is the other side of the professional scale, where the hand is not the most important aspect but rather the knowledge actualized through it. According to this perception, the activation of spells is a complicated and demanding matter, but essentially technical. Those who master it can perform it for any purpose, for their clients' benefit.

The clients, however, are not strongly interested in the professional qualification of the "rabbi"or "Kabbalist" to whom they turn, but are more concerned with the practitioner's reputation. Therefore, they are prepared to wait their turn, often for hours, to disclose their most personal problems and aspirations. The reputation of the practitioner is almost always a direct result of his ability or more correctly, the clients' belief in his ability to help. The mechanism that feeds the long-lasting relationship between the practitioners and their clients is the spreading of rumors and recommendations from one client to another. In this context, the crucial parameter is ultimately pragmaticthe rate of success.

On the shelf: Books and websites

The large number of published titles dealing with amulets, charms, and various ceremonial practices for medicine, protection, empowerment and success, are proof of the Israeli public's interest in this field. Most of these books are new publications based on old works of repute. The traditional contents remain the same, and only the combination of works published changes from one edition to the next. In other instances, mainly in the past decade, we are witnessing new versionsadapted and updatedof Jewish magical literature.

Books of this type are divided into two parts according to their target audience. Some of the books preserve the linguistic and visual printing of the traditional literature of segulot and refu'ot (charms and remedies), while others address their public in more contemporary language, in a style and idiom that sometimes resemble "New Age" discourse. In both cases, the writers claim to have collected professional knowledge from trusted sources. They classify and organize this knowledge and offer it to the reader in an up-to-date version. However, while the former group preserves the language and appearance that ref lects the past, and emphasizes its part in the publication, the latter group combines old and new.

These two juxtaposed trendstradition and modernityare commonly seen on many websites that relate to magic, charms, healing, amulets, etc. The sites offer internet surfers broad and varied information regarding "Kabbalistic" ritual practices, books on charms and healing, blessings, spells, amulets and various effective materials and objects. They also suggest personal help in solving problems and fulfilling wishes. Often they are structured around a particular figure (either alive or deceased), from whom they derive their authority. This figure is boldly represented

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on the website's homepage, which is adorned with traditional Jewish symbols of holiness and/or with written texts. Almost all such sites feature chatrooms where surfers discuss their problems and aspirations, various occult matters, the figure to whom the website is connected, and also discussions on the connection between all these and "mystical" knowledge from non-Jewish sources (in the New Age spirit). In most cases, these sites have risen to the dual design and marketing challenges of the spiritual marketplace on the internet, with all the economic implications.

Along with textual materialsuch as personal stories, sermons, general and personal consultations, and users' chatsmuch of the information on websites concerns the sale of objects, spells, and various substances. These are either identified with the central figure of the site, or simply believed to have healing powers according to "Kabbalah" or "Jewish tradition". As in other areas of internet commerce, the items are presented in a colorful, appealing manner, with explanations, prices (and sale prices), instructions for use, and so on. Some websites focus on the sale of the products themselves, often as an aspect of a broader marketing field for example, Kabbalah jewelry sold as a sub-section of a general jewelry collection. There are sites that enable free downloading of one item or another, such as an amulet for success or healing, alongside the sale of other products. Other sites act as mediators for the pronouncement of blessings or the recital of psalms for the customer's benefit, in exchange for a donation. Sites run by the practitioners themselves, or others on their behalf, feature their successes, recommendations, and "amazing stories" in the form of permanent advertisements or the on site chatroom. The aim is to encourage people to phone and arrange a personal meeting.

Thus the web has become the contemporary arena for practitioners, ceremonial therapeutic practices, and interested customers. In this context, it concentrates on the wide variety of magical and para-magical materials which formerly were acquired at hilulot (public celebrations marking the anniversary of a spiritual leader's death), in markets and spiritual centers, or directly from the practitioners. The web has not, however, entirely replaced all of the above. "Segulot" (charms), blessings, amulets and other commercial objects used either for protection and success, or sometimes for the purpose of coercion and inf licting harm, as well as literature on these subjects, are still sold directly. They are available for purchase on the outskirts of events attracting huge crowds (particularly religious or others with modern spiritual tendencies, such as the New Age trend), in Judaica stores, shops of "Kabbalah" and "mysticism", and in practitioners' clinics. Once purchased, items meant for personal private use disappear from the public eye, while those intended for public display are commonly seen in Israels private and public spheres.