Jewish Magic and Superstition, by Joshua Trachtenberg, [1939], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER IX

THE MAGICAL PROCEDURE

1. Raziel, 3a, 4a; cf. Gaster, Sword of Moses, 28, 48;—Ms. S. Gematriaot, 36a, 47a, 48b, 57a.

2. See Thorndike, I, 162; Montgomery, 46 f., 56; Marmorstein, JJV, I (1923), 295.

3. Shab. 66b; Nishmat Ḥayim, III, 25; Landshuth, p. vii; Ta‘ame HaMinhagim, I, 46b, §353; Lauterbach, CCAR Yearbook, XLII (1932), 347 f.; Casanowicz, Journal Amer. Or. Soc., XXXVI (1917), 165, n. 28; cf. Montgomery, 49; Grunwald, MGWJ, LXXVII (1933), 161; Frazer, The Magic Art, I, 65; Lewy, AR, XXIX (1931), 189 ff.

4. Blau, 147-49; Steinschneider, Cat. Munich, 109, and Grunwald, MGJV, V (1900), 80 ff.; cf. Gaster, op. cit., 35, 42; Wuttke, 183-4; MGWJ, loc. cit.

5. A. Z. 12b and Rashi; Ta‘ame HaMinhagim, II, 44b; Perles, Etym. Studien, 78; Heller, REJ, LV (1908), 69-71; Gaster, Studies and Texts, III, 228; Raziel 33b, 40b; Gollancz, Clavic. Sal., 36.

6. Shab. 66b.

7. Blau, 13, 77; Tos. R. H. jib; Rashbam, Pes. 110a; Kaufmann, JQR, OS, IV (1892), 559; Tashbeẓ 550; S. Ḥas. B 59; cf. Elworthy, 404 ff. R. Samuel h. Meir felt that while the fifth cup might be unnecessary so far as fear of demons was concerned, it might still be effective against magic (Rashbam and Tos. Pes. 109b, s. v. Raba).

8. Testament of Judah, 25, 29-36, 38-40; S. Ḥas. B 59, 477; Kol Bo 60; etc.

9. Rashi Shab. 66b; Gaster, Sword of Moses, pp. 35, 38, 43; S. Ḥas. 377, 815. See Franck, 134 f. and Ginsburg, 148 ff. on the Kabbalistic doctrine of numbers; cf. Aristophanes, The Frogs, trans. by Gilbert Murray, N. Y. 1925, p. 86:

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10. Blau, 73-4, 82; Gaster, op. cit., pp. 36, 37, 39; Shimmush Tehillim, Ps. 4, 19, 22, 121, 125; Raziel, 42a; Perles, Graetz Jubelschrift, p. 28.

11. S. Ḥas. B 1153; cf. Singer, Proc. Brit. Acad., 1919-20, 353 f.; Wuttke, 90; Grimm, I, 503, 505, III, 469, §950; Löwinger, Der Traum, 30 f.; Kugler, Hilprecht Anniversary Volume, 308. There are many examples of nine in medieval Jewish magic and superstition; see, e.g., S. Ḥas. 1468; B 1146; Güd. I, 117, n. 7, 206, n. 2; Grunwald, MJV, XIX (1906), 114, 116.

12. E.g., numbers associated with the divine names, as 72 (MJV, XIX [1906] 114); 10, connected with the Ten Commandments (Gaster, Studies and Texts, III, 228; MJV, XIX, 116); 6 (Shimmush Tehillim, Ps. 8, 122), 21 and 24 (MJV, XIX, 1 14); etc.

13. San. 101a and Rashi; Blau 162 f.; Wellesz, MJV, XXXV (1910), 117; Thorndike, I, 93, 174; Wuttke, 184.

14. Ta‘anit 19a and 23a ff. (Yoḥasin, Fkft. 1924, p. 63, contains a Geonic statement relating Me‘agel to a town of that name); Ẓiyuni 22b; Levita, Tishbi, s. v. Lilit; cf. Daiches, p. 32; Scheftelowitz, Stell. Huhnopfer, ch. 6; De Givry, 104 f.; Knuchel, Die Umwandlung, Basel 1919; Bischoff, 76, 97, 182 ff.

15. Marmorstein, JJV, I (1923), 283.

16. HeḤaluẓ, XII (Vienna 1887), 96; Kerem Ḥemed VI (Prague 1841), 5; Marmorstein, MGWJ, LXXI (1927), 48; JE, V, 46; Güd. I, 52-3; Isserles, Yore Deah 340:3 (cf. Krauss, MJV, LIII [1915], P. 18);—Shimmush Tehillim, Ps. 2, 5, 7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 37, 92, 109, 119, 125; Raziel, 41b, 42a, 45a; Ms. S. Gematriaot, 56b, 70a. According to Schudt (II, VI, 6:5), Nu. 11:2, written on a bread-crust, was thrown into a fire to extinguish it.

17. Raziel, 45b;—Frazer, The Magic Art, I, 55 ff.; De Givry, 191 f.; Murray, 116 f.; Lea III, 451 ff.; Grimm III, 420, 430;—Gaster, Sword of Moses, 39, §68; Güd. I, 207, n. 2.

18. Ms. S. Gematriaot 27a-b, 55b, 68a, 71b (cf. Daiches, 21);—Grunwald, MGJV, V (1900), 82.

19. Güd. loc. cit.; S. Ḥas. B 1159, 1162; Ḥochmat HaNefesh 29d; Ẓiyuni 5c; Thorndike II, 350.

20. Samter, 121 ff.; HERE, VII, 747; Blau, 157 f., 164; Marmorstein, JJV, I (1923) 291 ff.; Rashi Shab. 57b; Gandz, Isis, XIV (1930), 194; Gaster, op. cit., 51; Wohlstein 16; Rokeaḥ §316, p. 83a; Nishmat Ḥayim III, 18; J. Lipez, 35; cf. Montgomery, 52; Grimm II, 983; Wuttke 461; I. Scheftelowitz, Das Schlingen- and Netzmotiv im Glauben and Brauch der Völker, Giessen 1912; cf. also S. Ḥas. 380, 1162, 1566, 1910; Pa‘aneaḥ Raza 67a. For the use of asar with this special meaning in older Jewish literature see Targum Jon. Deut. 24:6; Aggadat Bereshit, Introd. 38; L. Ginzberg, Geonica (1909), p. 152.

21. Grunwald, MGJV, V (1900), 83; MJV, XIX (1906), 108, 110-111. Schudt, loc. cit., reports an interesting instance of sympathetic magic: to put out a fire, one would go to a spot where he could overlook the entire conflagration, and, while slowly reciting Nu. 11:2, pour with each syllable a drop of water into a pan of burning coals.

22. Tos. Niddah 17a; S. Ḥas. 683; Lipez 105; cf. Shab. 75b.

23. Frazer, op. cit., 148 f.; Strack 77 ff.; Wuttke 134 ff.; Scheftelowitz, Stell. Huhnopfer, ch. 9, 12; Grunwald, JJV, I (1923), 19; JE, III, 260;—Raziel 41a; MGJV, loc. cit., MJV, XIX (1906), 112; Pa‘aneaḥ Raza 86b; cf. Gaster, op. cit., 39, §64, 46, n. 6; Gollancz, op. cit., 25-6. It should be noted that the inclusion of sweat in these prescriptions ran counter to a strong belief that human perspiration (except that of the face) is poisonous (cf. Yore Deah 116:4). On the "egg laid on a Thursday" see ch. III, n. 52, above. These lines from Hans

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[paragraph continues] Vintler's Blumen der Tugend (Grimm III, 422) may be compared with the final recipe:

24. Grunwald, MGJV, V (1900), 25, §14; Perles, Graetz Jubelschrift, 29; Ms. Raziel 31 a-b; cf. Gaster, op. cit., 47, §12. A few like recipes are also to be found in the Talmud; cf. e.g., Ber. 6a: "If one wishes to see the evil spirits, he must take the afterbirth of a first-born black cat, which is the daughter of a firstborn black cat, burn it and grind it to a powder, and put the ash in his eye."

25. Hadar Zekenim on Ex. 22: 17; Raziel, 3a-b, 6b; Ms. Raziel, 24b f.; cf. Yore Deah 179: 19.