HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: Hebrew Literature

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Esther Chazon

Coordinator Email: esther.chazon@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Thursday 12:15-1:15

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Esther Chazon

Course/Module description:
The course surveys the phenomenon and genres of Jewish magic through an examination of a broad range of apotropaic prayers and incantations against demons in magic books, amulets and magic bowls. The materials to be studied are representative of different countries, cultures and historical periods from the Hebrew Bible until Late Antiquity and the Cairo Genizah treasures.

Course/Module aims:
• To grasp the worldview and belief system inherent in magic.
• To examine the different types of Jewish magic and differentiate between them while identifying the common traditions.
• To gain fluency in a large selection of Jewish magic texts and objects from different locales and periods (from the Hebrew Bible through the finds from the early medieval period in the Cairo Genizah).

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
• To identify a magic text and enumerate its characteristic features.
• To explain the worldview and roots of magic.
• To classify apotropaic prayers and incantations according to the constituent elements of each genre.
• To summarize the content of the texts studied and to define their geographical and historical context.
• To identify the shared traditions and common traits in the magic corpus that cross generic, cultural, and chronological boundaries.
• To enumerate special features that are particular to certain groups, locales or historical periods.

Attendance requirements(%):
80%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: In the text-based sessions (sessions 2-12) students will take turns reading aloud the texts in the original Hebrew or Aramaic and explain them based on the required reading. The lecturer will supply additional information, broaden the context, and lead a comparative discussion. For the final two classes, students will read theoretical studies, classify the texts read during the semester and, with the lecturer's facilitation, discuss the broad spectrum of magic studied.

Course/Module Content:
1. Who are the demons and how does one gain protection against them?
2. The Priestly Blessing in an ancient Amulet from Jerusalem
3. The Priestly Blessing and the "Two Spirits" in Qumran Sectarian Ceremonies
4. The Source of Evil and the Birth of the Demons: The Sexual Union between the "Sons of God" and the "Daughters of Man" in Enochic Literature
5. The "Watchers" and Protection against them in the Book of Jubilees
6. Demon Possession and Exorcism in the Book of Tobit
7. Songs from Qumran to "Frighten Away" the Demons
8. Hymns and Incantations to Exorcise Demons in the Dead Sea Scrolls
9. The Use of Psalms against Demons in the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Medieval Jewish Literature
10. Apotropaic Prayers in the Second Temple Period Sources, Rabbinic Literature, and the Jewish Prayer Book
11. Magic Books from the Second Temple, Rabbinic, and Early Medieval Periods
12. Ancient Amulets from Palestine and Magic Bowls from Babylonia
13. Classifying Magic and Apotropaic Prayers
14. Conclusion: Between Magic and Apotropaic Prayers

Required Reading:
1. Who are the demons and how does one gain protection against them?
“Magic,” in The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade. Volume 9, pages 82-83.
2. The Priestly Blessing in an ancient Amulet from Jerusalem
ברקאי, גבריאל, "ברכת הכוהנים על לוחיות כסף מכתף הינום בירושלים," קתדרה 52 (תשמ"ט) 37-38, 46-59, 67-76. G. Barkay, in Cathedra, 1989
3. The Priestly Blessing and the "Two Spirits" in Qumran Sectarian Ceremonies
ליכט, יעקוב, מגילת הסרכים, 53-56, 63-73, 88-105 .The Community Rule Scroll

4. The Source of Evil and the Birth of the Demons: The Sexual Union between the "Sons of God" and the "Daughters of Man" in Enochic Literature
The Book of Genesis, chapters 5-6.
I Enoch, The Book of Watchers, chapters 6-11 and 19.
"Book of Watchers (1Enoch 1-36)," in The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader/Electronic Library, pages 456-461.
“Belial” and “Watcher” in The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD) ed. K. Van der Toorn, B. Becking, P. W. van der Horst.

5. The "Watchers" and Protection against them in the Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, chapters 4:15-5:11, 7:20-25, 10:1-14.
Segal, Michael, The Book of Jubilees: Rewritten Bible, Redaction, Ideology, and Theology. סיגל,מ', ספר היובלים :שכתוב מקרא, עריכה, אמונות ודעות, 85-97, 102-5, 135-143

6. Demon Possession and Exorcism in the Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit.
Eshel, E. - אשל, אסתר, "האמונה בשדים בארץ-ישראל בימי הבית השני" (1999) 154-157
Flusser, D. - פלוסר, דוד, "טוביה, ספר טוביה," בתוך: אנציקלופדיה מקראית, כרך ג, 367-374

7. Songs from Qumran to "Frighten Away" the Demons
"Songs of the Maskil 4Q510-511" in Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library, Part 6
ניצן, בלהה, "שירי שבח 'לפחד ולבהל' רוחות רשע (4Q510 ו4Q511)” תרביץ 55 (תשמ"ה)
19-46. (לחלופין, ניצן, תפילת קומראן ושירתה, 170-203). – Nitzan, Tarbiz (1985)

8. Hymns and Incantations to Exorcise Demons in the Dead Sea Scrolls
11Q11 Apocryphal Psalms, in Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library, Part 6
F. García Martínez et al., Qumran Cave 11 II 11Q2-18, 11Q20-31 (DJD 23) 185-205.
אשל, "האמונה בשדים", 306-308, 270-283. – E. Eshel:1999.
ניצן, תפילת קומראן ושירתה, 165-170. – Nitzan, B., Qumran Prayer & Religious Poetry
9. The Use of Psalms against Demons in the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Medieval Jewish Literature
Hebrew Bible: 1Sam 16:13-23, 19:8-10; 1Kgs 5:9-14
J. A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert IV) 92-93 &eq; "David's Compositions".
P. Schaeffer & S. Shaked, Magische Texte aus der Kairoer Geniza, Band III.338-345.

10. Apotropaic Prayers in the Second Temple Period Sources, Rabbinic Literature, and the Jewish Prayer Book
David Flusser, “Qumran and Jewish ‘Apotropaic’ Prayers, Israel Exploration Journal 16 (1966) 194-205 or in Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem, 1988).

11. Magic Books from the Second Temple, Rabbinic, and Early Medieval Periods
נוה, יוסף, "על ספר מרשמים מאגיים יהודיים בימי קדם," היהודים בעולם ההלניסטי והרומי: מחקרים לזכרו של מנחם שטרן (ערכו אופנהיימר, גפני, שוורץ) 453-465. Naveh in M. Stern Memorial
Naveh, J. and Shaked, S., Amulets and Magic Bowls (1987), 221-229 + Plates 34-35 (Geniza Amulets #3, #4; Fragments of Magic Book from Geniza #5).

12. Ancient Amulets from Palestine and Magic Bowls from Babylonia
Naveh, J. and Shaked, S., Amulets and Magic Bowls (Jerusalem, 1987) 13-18, 24-25; 44-53 +Plates 2-3 (Amulets #2, #3); 146-147, 158-161, 172-174 + Plates 20-21 (Bowls #3, 5, 8).
Shaked, S., Ford J. N., Bhayro, S., Aramaic Bowl Spells: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls, Volume 1 (2010), 29-37 ("The Art of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls") 107-9, 152-154.

13. Classifying Magic and Apotropaic Prayers
Harari, Y., in Daat 48 (2002) - הררי, יובל, "דת, כישוף, והשבעות – עיונים מתודולוגיים לקראת הגדרה מחודשת של המאגיה היהודית הקדומה," דעת 48 (תשס"ב) 33-56.

14. Conclusion: Between Magic and Apotropaic Prayers
Eshel, Esther, “Apotropaic Prayers in the Second Temple Period,” Liturgical Perspectives, 69-88.

Additional Reading Material:
none

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 80 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 20 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
Active participation in at least 80% of the classes includes preparation of the text to be studied in class, participation in the discussion of the texts and of the bibliography, in-class presentation of two texts and one secondary reading.