It’s Hanukkah time for those of Jewish faith, an eight-day commemorative celebration in honor of the Jewish people driving the Syrians-Greeks out of Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE to reclaim the Holy Temple.
When they went inside to light the menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, they found only enough oil to last one day of lighting. They managed to make it last eight days, thus beginning the Hanukkah tradition.
Many outside of the faith equate it a sort of Judeo Christmas with games, food, and presents, usually in the form of money. What stands out the most between Hanukkah and Christmas is the lighting of the nine-branched menorah, with each branch being lit every day of Hanukkah. The ninth branch, the taller middle branch, is used to light the other eight.
While Christmas has its fair share of ghost stories centered around the holiday, A Christmas Carol being the most well-known, Hanukkah seems to be without any. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any Jewish Folklore centered around ghosts and the supernatural.
So, in Ghost City fashion, we’re here to give you some of the most petrifying Jewish ghost stories that surely chill you to the bone this holiday season. And from all of us at Ghost City to everyone celebrating Hanukkah this year, Chag Urim Sameach.
The Hebrew Bible, like that of the King James Bible, tells of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman that God put on Earth.
Yet some folklore and ancient writing tell of a wife before Eve that God gave to Adam. She was named Lilith, born of the same clay as Adam.
Unlike the subservient Eve, Lilith was independent and strong. She believed to be equal to Adam since they came from the same clay. She refused to mate with Adam, and for that, she was cast out of the Garden of Eden.
There are several versions of what happened to Lilith after she left the Garden. One of these versions makes her out to be the vilest and most notorious demon of them all.
As a demon, Lilith would kill women in the middle of the night and take their newborn infants away from them. Other stories tell of Lilith killing both the mothers and babies to drink from their blood.
Lilth was also known for her sexul appetite and would sneak into the beds of men who slept alone to have her way with them. She would use the men to birth hundred of demon offsprings each day.
Today, Lilith is less known as a demon and more known as a feminist icon for her independence and strength as well as her unwillingness to give in to the demands and wants of men.
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The Hebrew Bible tells of Saul, the first king of Israel, anointed by the prophet Samuel. As king, Sual faced a great war with the Philistines. The King was losing greatly, so he sought advice from God on how to vanquish his enemies.
He sought Him in dreams, in prophecies, and even deviation stones. But God did not answer Saul. He lost – battle after battle and men after men. The King was becoming desperate; God was not giving him what he needed.
The Heavens would not help him, so Hell would have to instead.
Unfortunately, Saul had banished witches and necromancers from Israel some time ago, so he would have to go into the bowels of society to find a caster of the dark arts. Donning a disguise, he traveled to places where one dare not travel and met with the Witch of Endor.
Saul begged for the spirit of Samuel to aid him on his quest for victory against the Philistines.
Yet, while the spirit of Samuel did come to Saul, he berated him for turning his back on God. Instead of helping Saul, Samuel told him that he and his men would die in battle the next day.
And died, they did.
These spirits are essentially the two halves of the proverbial coin – if that coin had to involve possessing someone. In this instance, it involves a good possession and a bad possession.
In Jewish folklore, the dybbuk is described as a wandering spirit who sins and inhabits the body of a human body, effectively taking them over. Some stories tell of a dybbuk possessing a human to complete a certain task for the dybbuk to move on.
Other dybbuk just inhabit someone’s body to continue existing in a physical sense.
A dybbuk always enters a body without the consent of the human host and will often not leave the body unless exorcised by a rabbi.
Mental illness and multiple personalities were once linked to the idea of possession by a dybbuk. It’s no surprise, given that these spirits use the host’s mouth to speak – as if the person was a completely different person.
An ibbur is essentially a dybbuk, but good.
While a dybbuk is a malevolent spirit who possesses a body without consent, an ibbur is a righteous soul who, for some reason, is unable to pass on. They require a human body to possess in order to complete a task, like a dybbuk.
Unlike a dybbuk, an ibbur always asks for consent to possess a body and will only possess a body if consent is given. While a dybbuk takes full control of a body, an ibbur and the host’s soul will fuse into one.
Often, it’s called the ibbur impregnating the human soul. Once the task is complete, an ibbur will leave the body.
A thoughtful gesture indeed.
It’s good to know that through all of the blood sucking demons and conniving witches of Jewish folklore, there’s still a friendly spirit. It may not be scary, but it’s good to have some light during this festival of lights.