Jewish magic and superstition : a study in folk religion / Joshua Trachtenberg ; foreword by Moshe Idel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trachtenberg, Joshua, 1904-1959.

Contributor:

Idel, Moshe, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Folklore.

Jews.

Jewish magic.

Superstition--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Superstition.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxx, 356 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

Paperback edition.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

Alongside the formal development of Judaism from the eleventh through the sixteenth centuries, a robust Jewish folk religion flourished-ideas and practices that never met with wholehearted approval by religious leaders yet enjoyed such wide popularity that they could not be altogether excluded from the religion. According to Joshua Trachtenberg, it is not possible truly to understand the experience and history of the Jewish people without attempting to recover their folklife and beliefs from centuries past.Jewish Magic and Superstition is a masterful and utterly fascinating exploration of religious forms that have all but disappeared yet persist in the imagination. The volume begins with legends of Jewish sorcery and proceeds to discuss beliefs about the evil eye, spirits of the dead, powers of good, the famous legend of the golem, procedures for casting spells, the use of gems and amulets, how to battle spirits, the ritual of circumcision, herbal folk remedies, fortune telling, astrology, and the interpretation of dreams.First published more than sixty years ago, Trachtenberg's study remains the foundational scholarship on magical practices in the Jewish world and offers an understanding of folk beliefs that expressed most eloquently the everyday religion of the Jewish people.

Contents:

Frontmatter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

PREFACE

Chapter 1. THE LEGEND OF JEWISH SORCERY

Chapter 2. THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LEGEND

Chapter 3. THE POWERS OF EVIL

Chapter 4. MAN AND THE DEMONS

Chapter 5. THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD

Chapter 6. THE POWERS OF GOOD

Chapter 7. "IN THE NAME OF ... "

Chapter 8. THE BIBLE IN MAGIC

Chapter 9. THE MAGICAL PROCEDURE

Chapter 10. AMULETS

Chapter 11. THE WAR WITH THE SPIRITS

Chapter 12. NATURE AND MAN

Chapter 13. MEDICINE

Chapter 14. DIVINATION

Chapter 15. DREAMS

Chapter 16. ASTROLOGY

APPENDIX I: THE FORMATION OF MAGICAL NAMES

APPENDIX II: MS. SEFER GEMATRIAOT, pp. 43a-44b, ON GEMS

ABBREVIATIONS AND HEBREW TITLES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GLOSSARY OF HEBREW TERMS

INDEX

Notes:

Originally published: New York : Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1939. With new introd.

Revision of the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--Columbia University.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781283898812

1283898810

9780812208337

0812208331

OCLC:

843080489