Tree of Souls

by Howard Schwartz

  Then King Solomon uttered God’s name and commanded her to spin hemp for the ropes used to build the Temple in Jerusalem. He had her bound in a such a way that she was powerless, so that she had to stand day and night to spin the hemp.

  The Testament of Solomon serves as a comprehensive listing of demons and spirits. King Solomon invokes and then interrogates them. Here he invokes the spirit of an evil demoness, Onoskelis, who seduces and strangles men. She is a Lilith-like figure, but there are some distinct differences. While Lilith demonstrates seductive beauty entirely, Onoskelis has a beautiful torso but the legs of a mule. Like Lilith, she deceives men into believing she is a woman, when she is actually a demoness set on their destruction. Solomon’s punishment for her is like that of a fairy tale—she must endlessly spin hemp. This, of course, keeps her occupied, and forces her to contribute to the building of the Temple.

  Sources:

  The Testament of Solomon 4.

  276. THE WIDOW OF SAFED

  A widow living in Safed, whom everyone considered pious, suddenly began to speak with the voice of a man, until it became apparent that a wandering spirit, a dybbuk, had taken possession of her body. The woman was greatly tormented by this spirit, and she sought help among the disciples of Rabbi Isaac Luria, known as the Ari. Rabbi Joseph Arsin was the first to visit her, and when the voice addressed him by name, he was amazed. Then the dybbuk revealed that he had once been a pupil of Rabbi Arsin’s when they had both lived in Egypt, and he gave his name. Rabbi Arsin recalled that he had once had such a pupil and realized that the former pupil’s soul was now addressing him.

  Rabbi Arsin demanded to know why the soul of this man had taken possession of the pious widow. The dybbuk readily confessed that he had committed a grievous sin. He had caused a woman to break her marriage vow and had fathered a child with her. And because of this sin, he had been enslaved after his death by three angels, who had dragged him by a heavy chain and had punished him endlessly. He had taken possession of the widow’s body in order to escape this terrible punishment.

  Then Rabbi Arsin asked the dybbuk to describe the circumstances of his death, and the spirit said: “I lost my life when the ship on which I was sailing sank. Nor was I able to confess my sins before dying, because it happened so quickly. When the news of the wreck reached the closest town, my body was recovered along with the others who had drowned, and I was buried in a Jewish cemetery. But as soon as the mourners left, an evil angel opened the grave with a fiery rod and led me to the gates of Gehenna. But the angel guarding Gehenna refused to allow me to enter, so great was my sin, and instead I was condemned to wander, pursued by three avenging angels.

  “Twice before I tried to escape from this endless punishment. Once I took possession of a rabbi, but he invoked a flock of impure spirits, and in order to escape them I had to abandon his body. Later I became so desperate that I took possession of the body of a dog, which became so crazed that it ran until it dropped dead. Then I fled to Safed and entered the body of this woman.”

  Rabbi Arsin then commanded the dybbuk to depart from the widow’s body but the dybbuk refused. So Rabbi Arsin went to the Ari and asked him to perform the exorcism. The Ari called upon his disciple, Rabbi Hayim Vital, to do this in his name and gave him a formula, consisting of holy names, that would force the dybbuk to depart.

  Now when Rabbi Hayim Vital entered the house of the poor widow, the dybbuk forced her to turn her back to him. And when Hayim Vital asked the dybbuk to explain this, the spirit said that he could not bear the holy countenance of his face. Then Hayim Vital asked the dybbuk to tell him how long it had been cursed to wander. The spirit replied that its wandering would last until the child he had fathered had died. Finally, Hayim Vital asked to know how the dybbuk was able to enter the body of the widow. The dybbuk explained that the woman had made it possible because she had little faith, since she did not believe that the waters of the Red Sea had truly parted.

  Hayim Vital asked the woman if this was true, and she insisted that she did believe in the miracle. He made her repeat her belief three times, and on the third time Hayim Vital uttered the formula that the Ari had taught him. After that he commanded the dybbuk to depart from the woman by the little toe of her left foot. At that moment the dybbuk did depart with a terrible cry, and the woman was freed from the agony of that possession. The next day, when the Ari ordered that the mezuzzah on her door be checked, it was found to be empty, and that is why it did not protect against that evil spirit.

  The legends concerning Dybbuks, spirits of the dead who take possession of the living, multiply in the later medieval and Hasidic literature. There are scores of such accounts of possession in Jewish lore. “The Widow of Safed” records the history of one such case, revealing, in the process, the basic pattern to which all possessions are subjected. The dybbuk has been able to enter the house because the mezuzzah is defective and has been able to take possession of the woman because of her lack of faith in the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea. The latter was the standard test of true faith among Jews. Note that the Ari sends Hayim Vital to perform the exorcism in this tale, imputing to him powers similar to those of his master. Another early account of possession by a dybbuk is found in Ma’aseh Buch 152, also dating from the sixteenth century, suggesting that the superstitious conditions both in Eastern Europe and the Middle East were right for this belief. Earlier cases of possession did not involve spirits of the dead, but rather demonic possession, as recorded in Josephus (Antiquities, 8:2.5) and the Talmud (B. Me’ilah 17b). It is interesting to note that the majority of these accounts of possession include details of name and place that far exceed the usual anonymity of folklore. Gedalyiah Nigal has compiled a Hebrew anthology of dybbuk tales, Sippurei ha-Dybbuk (Jerusalem: 1983), and virtually every account includes the place and year where the possession and exorcism occurred and the names of the witnesses. The tales almost always follow the same pattern: (1) Someone becomes possessed by a dybbuk. (2) A rabbi confronts the spirit and demands that it reveal its name and history. (3) The dybbuk tells its tale. (4) The dybbuk is then exorcised, and the one who was possessed recovers. This suggests that the pattern established in the earliest of these tales, such as this one, was repeated in succeeding generations and became, in effect, a socially recognized form of madness. More recently, such possession has been identified primarily as a psychological aberration. In Legends of the Hasidim, the editor, Jerome Mintz, reports a case of such possession in which the Satmar Rebbe supposedly advised someone said to be possessed by a dybbuk to see a good psychiatrist (pp. 411-412).

  Sources:

  Ele Toledot Yitzhak in Sefer Toledot ha-Ari, pp. 253–256.

  Studies:

  Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism by J. H. Chajes.

  Magic, Mysticism and Hasidism: The Supernatural in Jewish Thought by Gedalyah Nigal.

  Dybbuk by Gershon Winkler.

  “Dybbuk and Maggid: Two Cultural Patterns of Altered Consciousness in Judaism” by Yoram Bilu.

  277. DEMONIC DOUBLES

  The kingdom of Satan is measure for measure like the kingdom of man. Every male child, when born, already has a double in the kingdom of demons. So too does every female, when she is born, have her shadow born there as well, in her precise shape and image, not unlike that seen in a mirror. And at the hour that a heavenly voice goes forth to announce that this one will be married to that one, a partner is also prepared at the same time in the spirit world. She sits and waits for him there from that time forward. And the man who is fortunate marries his partner from the family of man, but less fortunate is he who is found alone on the fourth night of the week or on the night of the Sabbath. For then he is in danger of being kidnapped by the sons of Satan, and led to a place that no man’s feet should ever enter, there to marry, not his intended, but his intended’s demonic double.

  The Talmud explains that “Forty days before a person is born, a heavenly voice goes forth to say that this one will b
e married to that one” (B. Sota 2a). This knowledge is available to the angels, but not only to the angels—the demons, too, overhear this voice and make evil use of the knowledge they obtain. Thus, in effect, the bashert tradition, where a person seeks out and marries his or her “destined one,” has been corrupted and effectively reversed by demons.

  In The Testament of Solomon King Solomon forces the demon Ornasis to explain how demons are familiar with future events. Ornasis tells him that “We demons go up to the firmament of heaven, fly around among the stars, and hear the decisions that issue from God concerning the lives of men.” This explains how the demons, as well as the angels, hear the heavenly voice that announces future events. Using future knowledge, demons create the demonic double of a person’s bashert—destined one—and trick people into marrying the demonic doubles. This serves to explain the many strange marriages that are found in the world.

  Sources:

  The Testament of Solomon 20; Tzefunot ve-Aggadot.

  278. THE UNDERWORLD

  There is a great and high mountain where the spirits of the dead assemble, in the place known as Sheol. There the spirits of the righteous are separated from the those of the sinners, where they will remain until the day of judgment.

  Meanwhile, the voices of the spirits of those who have died go forth from there to heaven, pleading for mercy. One of those spirits belongs to Abel, slain by his brother Cain, and he still makes his case against the seed of Cain, till they are annihilated from the face of the earth.

  This myth from 1 Enoch, dating from around the second century BCE to the first century CE, identifies the place of the dead as Sheol, as does the Bible. Later Sheol is replaced by Gehenna, Jewish hell, where the souls of the dead are punished and purified. This myth demonstrates that even after death the spirits of those who have been murdered continue to plead their case against their murderers. This belief can be traced to the verse Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground (Gen. 4:10), confirming the belief that such terrible deeds can never go unpunished. Also standing behind this myth is the concept of the seed of Abel and the seed of Cain. These are the descendants of Cain and Abel (or, in Abel’s case, the descendants of Seth since Abel had no descendents that we know of), in whose blood the conflict is carried on. And the spirit of Abel will not be satisfied until all of the spiritual descendants of Cain—traditionally identified as the enemies of the Jews—will be annihilated.

  Sources:

  1 Enoch 22:1-14.

  279. WHEN A MAN DIES

  Two angels watch over a man at the moment of his death, and they know whether he has ever been a thief, for even the stones and beams of his house witness against him, as it is said, For a stone shall cry out from the wall, and a rafter shall answer it from the woodwork (Hab. 2:11).

  Then the soul of the man who has died is brought before the patriarchs and they say to him, “My son, what have you done in the world from which you have come?”

  If he answers, “I have bought fields and vineyards, and I have tilled them all my life,” they say, “Fool that you have been! Have you not learned that The earth is the Lord’s and all that it holds” (Ps. 24:1). Angels then take him away and hand him over to the avenging angels, who thrust him into Gehenna.

  Then angels bring another before the patriarchs. They ask the same question, and if he answers, “I gathered gold and silver,” they reply, “Fool, have you not read in the books of the prophets, Silver is Mine and gold is Mine—says the Lord of Hosts (Hag. 2:8). Likewise, he is turned over to the avenging angels.

  But when a scholar is brought before them, they ask the same question, and if he answers, “I have devoted my life to the study of the Law,” the patriarchs say, “Let him enter into peace” (Isa. 57:2), and God receives him with grace.

  This account of what happens to those who die emphasizes the importance of the study of Torah in the eyes of the patriarchs, who are said to serve as judges, and in the eyes of God. The two angels who watch over a man at the time of his death are identified as the Angel of Death and the Angel who counts a man’s days and years.

  Sources:

  Gan Eden ve-Gehinnom in Beit ha-Midrash 5:48-49; Orhot Hayim.

  280. THE CREATION OF GEHENNA

  Gehenna, the place of punishment, was one of the seven things created before the Creation, but for a long time it was nothing more than a great void. Then, at the time that God separated Himself from Adam and ascended on high, God lit the fires of Gehenna, and made them alternate with periods where everything is covered by ice.

  This myth links the lighting of the fires of Gehenna to the exile of Adam from Eden. This implies that Adam’s sin created the need for the fires to be lit. Thus, while Gehenna may have been created before the creation, it was only initiated as a place of punishment after the Fall.

  Not all myths about the nature of Gehenna are consistent. Some describe it solely as a place of terrible fires, but other versions have it alternate periods of great heat with periods of the deepest cold.

  Sources:.

  B. Pesahim 54a; B. Nedarim 39b;Eliyahu Rabbah 1:3.

  281. THE PRINCE OF GEHENNA

  Before the souls of the wicked are taken to the netherworld, Arsiel, the Prince of Gehenna, waits for God’s order to take them there. Meanwhile, the Prince of Gehenna stands before the righteous, saying, “Give me the souls” (Gen. 14:21). In this way he does his best to distract the righteous, so that they will not pray for the wicked. For the Prince of Gehenna knows only too well the power of their prayers.

  Several figures are identified as the Prince of Gehenna—the angel in charge of the souls of the wicked, who are being punished in Gehenna. Among them, Satan is the best known angel, along with Samael. The demon Ashmedai is said to rule the Kingdom of Demons. The Prince of Darkness is another name that is used. Here the Prince of Gehenna is identified as the angel Arsiel, who plays the satanic role of confronting the souls of the righteous to distract them from praying for the souls of the wicked. Then, when God gives the order, he takes them down to Gehenna. Note that God is at the head of the chain of the orders that send the wicked to the netherworld. All that remains to save the wicked from their fate are the prayers of the righteous. But they are a potent force. For more on the efficacy of the prayers of the righteous, see “The Ashes of Sinners,” p. 242.

  Sources:

  Midrash ha-Ne’elam, Zohar Hadash 25a-b.

  282. THE HISTORY OF GEHENNA

  Where is Gehenna? Some say it is above the firmament, others that it lies below the earth. Still others say that it lies behind the Mountains of Darkness. How big is it? As big as the Garden of Eden, and that is said to be boundless.

  Some say that Gehenna predates the creation of the universe. Others say that the space for Gehenna was created first, but its fires did not begin to burn until the eve of the first Sabbath. Still others say that the fires of Gehenna were created on the second day, while ordinary fire was not created until after the end of the Sabbath. So powerful are the fires of Gehenna that they make the sun red in the evening, as it passes over them. It is said that those fires will never be extinguished.

  But the fires of Gehenna are not the only punishment, for Gehenna is half fire and half hail. The fires of Gehenna are bad enough, but the hail is much worse.

  Gehenna is the place of punishment in Jewish lore, the Jewish equivalent of hell. It has much in common with the Christian concept of hell, except that in the Jewish view punishment in Gehenna never lasts more than a year, while in the Christian view it is eternal. It is usually described as being under the earth—when the earth opened and swallowed Korah, he and his followers fell into the fires of Gehenna.

  But there is also a tradition that heaven and Gehenna exist side by side, and that the wall separating them is no more than a hand’s breadth.

  The concept of Gehenna grew out of the Valley of Gehinnom in Jerusalem, which was regarded as a place of evil, as children were once sacrificed in pagan ceremonies there.


  Sources:

  B. Pesahim 54a; B. Tamid 32b; B. Bava Batra 84a; Tosefta Bereshit 6:7; Ecclesiastes Rabbah on Ecclesiastes 3:21; Midrash Tehillim 11:7, 51a; Exodus Rabbah 51:7; Zohar 2: 150b; Zohar Hadash 57b; Tanna de-vei Eliyahu; Yalkut Shim’oni, Kohelet 57b.

  Studies:

  Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature by Martha Himmelfarb.

  Hell in Jewish Literature by Samuel Fox.

  “Early Jewish Visions of Hell” by Richard Bauckham.

  Jewish Views of the Afterlife by Simcha Paull Raphael.

  283. THE OPENINGS OF GEHENNA

  Some say that there are three entrances to Gehenna, one in the wilderness, one in the sea, and a third in Jerusalem. Others say that there are two date trees in the valley of Gehinnom where smoke ascends, and that is the entrance to Gehenna. Others say that there are four openings to Gehenna on each side of the universe, sixteen in all. Whatever direction the wicked may take in trying to escape Gehenna, they only run into another of its openings. Still others say there are fifty gates to Gehenna, each of which has holes in which the feet of the wicked are locked.

  Then there are those who say that the mouth of Gehenna can be found anywhere in the world, and should it be needed, the mouth opens and swallows whatever is standing there.

  Various sources describe different entrances to Gehenna, and this myth attempts to resolve the contradictions by stating that Gehenna has three entrances. An alternate explanation suggests that the entrance to Gehenna can be found anywhere, and that the ground can open up and swallow a sinner, just as it did for Korah and his followers when they challenged Moses in Numbers 16:32. See “The Punishment of Korah,” p. 235. See too “The Door to Gehenna,” p. 240.