dybbuk
Wandering soul possessor
A dybbuk is a malicious spirit in Jewish folklore—the dislocated soul of a dead person that enters and possesses a living body.
The possessed person speaks in the voice of the dead and behaves erratically until the spirit is exorcised, typically by a rabbi.
The concept appears in Yiddish literature and theater: The old woman was convinced a dybbuk had taken hold of her nephew.
Jewish mystical tradition
Innermost animating essence
- ghostApparition of the dead
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- shadeDarkness from blocked light
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
disembodied · wandering · restless · dead · departed · afterlife · transmigration · liminal
Gripping without release
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- inhabitingLiving in a place
- obsessionPersistent, intrusive preoccupation
- intrusionUnauthorized entry into space
control · takeover · domination · bondage · entrapment · malevolent · parasitic · overpowering
Jewish prayer quorum
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- incantationSpoken magical formula
- banishmentForced removal from place
- expulsionForced permanent removal
deliverance · shofar · amulet · talisman · purification · conjuration · command · release
Unverified traditional tale
- folktaleTraditional narrative passed down
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- cautionaryServing as warning
tragic · wandering · unrest · transgression · sin · retribution · ancestral · storytelling
kabbalah
Jewish mystical tradition
soul
Innermost animating essence
apparition · disembodied · wandering · restless · dead · departed · afterlife · transmigration · liminal · otherworldly
clinging
Gripping without release
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- inhabitingLiving in a place
- obsessionPersistent, intrusive preoccupation
intrusion · control · takeover · domination · bondage · entrapment · malevolent · parasitic · overpowering · infestation
minyan
Jewish prayer quorum
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- incantationSpoken magical formula
- banishmentForced removal from place
expulsion · deliverance · shofar · amulet · talisman · purification · conjuration · command · release · departure
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- folktaleTraditional narrative passed down
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
cautionary · tragic · wandering · unrest · transgression · sin · retribution · ancestral · storytelling · superstition
dybbukexorcist
Expels demons ritually
liberator · healer · free will · self-possession · bodily autonomy