Spirit Possession in Judaism: A Brief History
Zoom Webinar
This lecture will explore the history of spirit possession in Jewish culture, looking especially at the fundamental transformation of its understanding that took place in sixteenth-century Safed. We will consider the phenomenon in relation to kabbalah, magic, and the history of medicine.
Do You Believe in Magic?
In this online lecture series, expert speakers unravel the esoteric and occult in Jewish history. How have widespread magical traditions coexisted with mainstream Judaism, and what, if anything, makes Jewish magic unique? Dive into the kabbalistic ideas, spells and potions, demons and spirits, and more that have made up the rich tapestry of Jewish magical practice from the ancient world up to today.
Featuring
J. H. (Yossi) Chajes
University of Haifa
J. H. (Yossi) Chajes (Ph.D., Yale University 1999) is Sir Isaac Wolfson Professor of Jewish Thought at the University of Haifa. Chajes’s research focuses on the intersection of Kabbalah, magic, and science in Jewish cultural history. Chajes’s first book, Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism (2003) was listed by the Wall Street Journal as among the top five books ever written on spirit possession, alongside Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudun. Chajes’s foundational book, The Kabbalistic Tree, was published in November 2022 by Penn State University Press and has been lauded as a “monumental achievement that will be valuable to scholars and general readers interested in Judaism, religion, and art history.” In November 2023, The Kabbalistic Tree was awarded the Jordan Schnitzer Book Prize of the Association for Jewish Studies in the category of Philosophy and Jewish Thought. It is also a 2024 National Jewish Book Award finalist.