That views and practises borrowed from paganism and not in accord with the monotheistic belief of Israel—as, for instance, witchcraft and sorcery—existed in Bible times is proved by the fact that they are prohibited. They are referred to as "the abominations of those nations," and the Israelite is warned against all of them in the words "Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God" (Deuteronomy 18:9 et seq.; Sifre, 171, 172; Tosef., Sanh. 10:6,7 [ed. Zuckermandel, p. 430]; Sifra, 90b, 91a, 93d [ed. Weiss]; Sanh. 65a, b). Although the penalty of death attached to the practise of sorcery (Exodus 22:18), such superstitions did not relinquish their hold upon the Israelites, as is shown by the invocation of Samuel's spirit by Saul (1 Samuel 28:8 et seq.), the witchcrafts of Queen Jezebel (2 Kings 9:22), and the doings of King Manasseh (ib. 21:6; 2 Chronicles 35:5 et seq.). All the Prophets preached against these and the immoral practises connected with them (comp. Micah 5:12; Nahum 3:4; Jeremiah 27:9; Isaiah 47:9,12; Malachi 3:5). All the practises which were prohibited, such as "cutting the flesh," probably savored of superstition, and Judaism in this way was the first religion to attempt to cast off its shackles.
With the absolute establishment of monotheism, superstition lost its idolatrous character and no longer led to immoralities, as in ancient times; but it still remained, underlying public consciousness. Prohibitory laws were published against the superstitious practises connected with sheḥiṭah (Ḥul. 40a), against incantations for wounds (Sanh. 90a), and the like. On the other hand, the Rabbis permitted some cures the pagan character of which was less manifest (Shab. 6:3), while they forbade others as savoring of the "ways of the Amorites" (Tosef., Shab. -; see see AMORITES). The custom of invoking the gods Dan and Gad is thus characterized, affording an interesting parallel to Amos 8:14 and Isaiah 65:11 (Shab. 67a). Many superstitions of Egyptian, Babylonian, andPersian origin found a place in the Talmud; many by a process of syncretism came also through the channel of Greek and Roman custom; though on principle the Talmud may be said to have opposed superstition as connected with idolatry (DEMONOLOGY). R. Ḥanina, for instance, answered a woman who desired to bewitch him. "It is written, 'There is none else beside Him'" (Deuteronomy 4:35; Sanh. 67b; Ḥul. 7b).
As instances of superstitions mentioned, if not countenanced, by the Talmud, the following may be referred to: "It is unlucky to be between two dogs, two palms, or two women; and it is equally unlucky for two men to be separated by one of these" (Pes. 111b). "Drink not froth, for it gives cold in the head; nor blow it away, for that gives headache; nor get rid of it otherwise, for that brings poverty; but wait until it subsides" (Ḥul. 105b). "If one of several brothers die, the others must beware of death. Some say death begins with the eldest, some with the youngest" (Shab. 106a). "It is dangerous to borrow a drink of water, or to step over water poured out" (Pes. 111a).
In the Middle Ages superstition was greatly strengthened, owing in large measure to Christian surroundings, trials for witchcraft being carried on under the protection of the Church, and particularly by the Inquisition. The ideas found their way into Jewish literature and even in a high degree influenced religious ceremonies. Jews and Christians borrowed from each other. Hebrew words, whose meanings were not known to Christians, especially the names of God, frequently occur in the great mass of Latin and Greek charms, magical blessings, and amulets, and in the same way Greek and Latin words, whose meanings were not understood by Jews, appear in Hebrew magical formulas and Hebrew prayers. A phenomenon frequent in the history of mankind is here repeated. Stupidity and superstition unite mankind more readily than knowledge and enlightenment. It was of little avail that influential rabbis sought to hinder the spread of such ideas and practises; only in modern times has it become possible to weed out the growths of superstition from the pure monotheism of Judaism.
Whatever be the fact with regard to Jews of ancient and medieval times, there can be no doubt that they share with their neighbors of the same stage of culture in that worship of luck which is at the root of superstition. There are found among uneducated Jews just the same class and amount of superstitious beliefs and practises as among their neighbors of Christian creed and of similar want of culture. Important collections have been made in recent years of such beliefs and practises among the Jews, chiefly of eastern Europe. How far these customs and ideas can be classified as specifically Jewish is another and more difficult question. In many cases they can be traced to the habits of their neighbors; in others, while they are common to most sections of the country, it is just possible that the Jews were the originators and the peasantry the recipients; but there has not been sufficient investigation to determine the degree and kind of indebtedness.
Many of these customs have been transplanted from the east of Europe to England and America, and a large number of them have been collected in the east side of New York city. In that city there is found a fully developed belief in the efficacy of the See EVIL EYE and the significance of DREAMS. One antidote for the former is to take a handful of salt and pass it around the head of the child who has been bewitched, to throw a little of it in each corner of the room, and the remainder over the threshold.
Another remedy against the evil eye, or any other evil, is for the mother to kiss her child three times, spitting after each kiss. At Brody, if a child has been "overlooked" with the evil eye the mother counteracts the effects by licking the forehead of the child twice, spitting, and repeating, "Ny hory ny hory ny buri ny kory," which is simply Polish for "Neither mountains nor forest nor barley nor oats." This must have been borrowed from the neighboring peasants ("Urquell," 5:20). Indeed, the efficacy of expectoration is fully recognized in Jewish folk-lore. When children are at odds, and one of them resorts to spitting tactics, the victim will often purposely allow himself to be spat upon because in so doing it is believed that the spitter takes upon his own shoulders the sins of the former. In order to stop a youth from spitting he need only be reminded that "Du nemst fun mir arop die sind" (You rid me of my sins). If one has a bad dream which it is desired to forget on waking in the morning, the advice is given to spit three times in order that the desired effect may be produced ("Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Jüdische Volkskunde," 10:114).
In Minsk traces of more subtle methods of removing sin are found in the process known as "sinsearching." When an epidemic occurs in a small Russo-Jewish community, search is instantly made for some guilty individual, whose sin, it is assumed, is the cause of the epidemic, and the rabbi issues an excommunication against any one refusing to give what information he may have on the subject. When the sinner takes upon himself due punishment, the epidemic, it is believed, will cease. It is considered by Russian Jews unlucky to dream of money, and it is a curious coincidence that Shylock, in "The Merchant of Venice" (Act , Scene ), says:
"I am right loath to go. There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest, For I did dream of money-bags to-night."
That some of the superstitions held by Russian Jews have been derived from their neighbors is clear from the following example: Russo-Jewish farmers have full belief that there are certain "maziḳim" who braid the manes of animals beautifully, and even the hair of men who sleep in stables. These are clearly the "domovickes," or brownies, of the Russian peasants. On the other hand, Jews sometimes derive their customs from the impulse to oppose Christian ones. Thus barley may not be eaten on Christmas eve, when Christians eat it. One can even watch thegrowth of superstitions among modern Russian emigrants. In Brest-Litovsk it is believed that the great frosts of 1903-4 in America were taken there by the Russian Jews; and that, on the other hand, the more moderate climatic conditions in southern Russia in that year were due to the large return of Russian Jews to Odessa, bearing with them the milder climate of the United States. Superstitions are found not alone among the more ignorant members of the congregation; even the rabbis, though perhaps not the better educated, encourage them. Thus it is stated that during the cholera epidemic of 1887 the rabbis told fathers of children under thirteen to bind red ribbon around their necks ("Ha-Meliẓ," 1887, col. 1730).
In the country places of Lithuania, when a fire breaks out, it is customary for the rabbi to go out and stand in front of a building that is not burning, and to extinguish the fire by speaking to it ("varreden dem feier"). Sometimes a Jewish turn is given to a general superstition, as in the case of the belief that it is unlucky to have the clothes mended on the person, as this will "sew up" (lose) the memory. If, however, it is absolutely necessary to do so, the side-locks ("pe'ot"), ẓiẓit, or some other article must be held in the mouth while the repairs are being made. It is curious to notice the mythopeic tendency at work even at the present day. Thus in Galicia it is recommended not to leave a tank of water uncovered during the Passover, even while pouring water into the tank, which should be done through a cloth. The object of this practise is supposed to be the prevention of the angel of leaven from spitting into the tank. The personality of Satan seems to be kept alive in the folk-lore of Russia and Galicia, for it is thought to be lucky if the shofar fails to emit a sound on New-Year's Day, the implication being that Satan is imprisoned therein (this is especially current among the Ḥasidim). The means adopted by peasants in Russia to evade drawing a number for conscription has certainly a Jewish tinge, as it consists in taking with them four pieces of maẓẓah, one in each corner of the Arba' Kanfot. In order to secure the full efficacy of the unleavened bread they claim the right to wear the arba' kanfot even when stripped for medical examination. It is still considered lucky to begin an undertaking or journey on Tuesday, because in describing the third day of Creation it is said, "God saw that it was good." For the contrary reason it is unlucky to commence anything on Monday, when this was not said at all. Steinschneider found that this belief was entertained by an eighteenth-century printer (Ersch and Gruber, "Encyc." section , part 28, p. 27), and it is mentioned as far back as the Talmud (Pes. 2a).
The rule of the Turkish Jews not to mention the "shedim," or demons, by name (Garnett, "Turkish Life," p. 283, London, 1904) is analogous to the practise of the Scotch in speaking of the fairies as the "good folk." The local turn given to different superstitions is instanced by that current among the Jews of Salonica, who believe that the Messiah will appear first in Jerusalem and will then sail to Salonica; on the Day of Atonement, therefore, they collect near the water (ib. p. 286). This is possibly mistaken for the practise of TASHLIK; yet Ezra Stiles reports that the Jews of Newport, R. I., in his day used to open their windows during a storm for the Messiah to enter (G. A. Kohut, "Ezra Stiles," p. 24).
Superstitions may have quite a Jewish air without being specifically Jewish. Thus it is said that Adar is a lucky month because Moses was born in that month, but the inherent idea of one time being more unlucky than another is not specifically Jewish. It is said that a piece of AFIḲOMEN placed between two coins brings luck (Schiffer, "Galician Superstitions," No. 72), but the local superstitions must be examined before it can be proved that this was confined to Jews. The practise, mentioned in the "Sefer Refu'ot" (14b), of curing bleeding by baking the blood in bread and giving it to a pig can scarcely have arisen among Jews.
Such a specifically Jewish custom as that of plucking some blades of grass and throwing them behind one on leaving a cemetery (Landshuth, "Biḳḳur Ḥolim," ) can not be traced earlier than the twelfth century. Abraham ben Nathan, in his Responsa (No. 11), can not give any reason for it, yet it is almost certainly German, being mentioned by Wuttke ("Deutsche Aberglaube," pp. 93-145), and in Scheffel's notes to Ekkehard (No. 135).
The idea of kindling lights—in order to make the demons flee—before the death-rattle is heard (comp. Job 18:5; see "Ma'abar Yabok," 105b) has many folk-lore analogies (comp. J. G. Frazer in "Journal of the Anthropological Society," 15:90 et seq.). Even at the present day curious customs arise or are revived when epidemics make their appearance. During the cholera, marriages often take place in the cemetery, as that in Kovno of a lame young man to a deaf-mute or hunchback woman. At Pinsk, and in other communities, two orphans are married, under a black ḤUPPAH, on the graves of the parents of one of them, the idea being that the cholera is thus conducted to the graves. There is even a tradition in some remote communities that a woman may be married to the dead. Several curious customs are mentioned in the remarkable will of Judah Ḥasid. Thus, at the dedication of a cemetery, it was usual to kill a rooster and bury it as the first victim of death. If a man meets a ghost and it asks him to go with it, he should say, "It is God's will that I go not with thee." The next day he should go to the cemetery three times, fasting, and say: "As God wills life, do not come forth, thou or any messenger of thine, to carry away me or my children, or any Israelite, for I desire this, not the future world." Peculiar objection seems to be taken to being the first person buried in a cemetery. Small communities sometimes hire an old man to join them so that he may be the first to be buried in their cemetery. It is reported that an aged man was maintained by the community of Passaic, N. J., for ten years, being taken there in 1893, but not dying till 1903 ("The Sun" [New York], Jan. 14, 1903).
One of the most startling of the superstitions observed among modern Jews at Lemberg is the following: If a woman dies pregnant, it is supposed tobe undesirable for her sake and for that of the congregation that the fetus should remain within the body. The corpse is therefore bathed at midnight, and after half an hour the name of the dead is called seven times, and a shofar is blown seven times in her ear. The corpse, with many groans, will then give birth to a dead, undeveloped child ("Urquell," 2:192; comp. new series, 2:270).
The essence of superstition being that it obeys no rule, and, therefore, scarcely admits of classification, renders it desirable, perhaps, to give a certain number of examples culled from various sources. Most of the following instances have been collected in New York among Jewish immigrants from various districts of Russia. Where superstitions have been taken from printed sources, these are indicated either in full or with the following abbreviations: Sch. (= collected by Schiffer, in "Urquell," ); Grimm (= Grimm, "Deutsche Mythologie," , appendix on superstitions). Territorial sources also are indicated. In every case it must be understood that while the superstition has been observed among Jews, further and very difficult research is required before it can be determined whether it has been borrowed from neighbors or has arisen from peculiarly Jewish conceptions.
It is to be observed that Jews themselves recognize their tendency to superstition. A proverbial expression among the Russian Jews runs, "Last year's snow for headache"—a sarcastic reference to the impractical nature of folk-medicine. 'Alenu; BIBLIOMANCY; CHILDBIRTH; DEATH, VIEWS AND CUSTOMS CONCERNING; DIBBUḲIM; FOLK-LORE; FOLK-MEDICINE; GOLEM; HOLLE KREISH; NUMBERS AND NUMERALS; SALT; TEḲUFAH; TEN; TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS.