Between Worlds

This book offers a deep dive into Jewish beliefs about spirit possession, revealing the complexities of this phenomenon and its cultural significance in early modern society.

Adopting a comparative historical approach, J. H. Chajes uncovers a strain of Jewish belief that has received little attention. Between Worlds offers intriguing accounts of possession cases and an analysis of the magical techniques used by rabbinic exorcists to remove these ghostly entities.

After nearly two thousand years, and during a time when Christian Europe was experiencing the great Witch Hunt, accounts of spirit possession began to emerge in the Jewish community. Initially concentrated in the Near East, these accounts quickly spread westward, with spirit possession becoming a defining aspect of early modern Jewish religiosity, encompassing both benevolent and malevolent spirits.

Chajes seeks to understand spirit possession in all its complexity, examining its ideational framework, particularly the doctrine of reincarnation, while also contrasting it with contemporary Christian and Islamic beliefs. He highlights spirit possession as a religious expression largely influenced by women, prompting a significant reassessment of their roles in Jewish mysticism. In the concluding section, he investigates the reception of prominent Hebrew accounts of spirit possession, particularly how these narratives were utilized in the struggle against skepticism within the turbulent Jewish community of seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Between Worlds maps a crucial feature of the early modern Jewish religious landscape, revealing the intricate connection between the living and the dead.