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To: alt.magick From: "John B"Subject: Magic in the Middle Ages - Jewish vs. Christian Perspectives Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 10:35:36 -0800 My personal efforts in this area... -------------------------------------------- Magic in the Middle Ages -- Jewish vs Christian Perspectives by John Bilodeau (copyright 2001-2) ============================================ It is my purpose in this paper to analyse the perception of magic among Christians and Jews in the medieval period. This analysis suffers from some very real problems that should be addressed at the outset. It is my hope that through focusing on the perception of magic, rather than the belief in magic, or the practice of it, I will avoid some of the more complicated problems that this type of survey generally suffers from. If successful this paper will shed some light on the idea of magic in the middle ages within these two traditions, and give the reader insight into some of the reasons for the quality of certain representations of both Christian and Jewish figures in medieval tales and records of magical phenomena. The value in focusing on the perception of magic in the medieval period lies in the importance of perceptions, which can exist independently from beliefs in magic's reality, or in the practice of magic by specific groups or individuals. It is my belief that perceptions of magic can more easily be established through this type of survey, than could any real understanding of the variety of magical beliefs, or varieties of magical practice. Both of these more concrete aspects of magic rely on an initial belief about the quality of magic. A definition of magic must exist in the mind of the individual before belief in magic can grow or fade, and of course before any practice that is considered magical can be performed or persecuted. It is perhaps obvious from the preceding statements that my own definition of magic, for the purposes of this discussion, must be vague and plastic, if the medieval perception of magic is to be given a chance to express itself. In the interest of circumscribing the topic, I will consider magical any phenomenon that is considered supernatural that has an element of human involvement. I will not distinguish between a religious act and a magical one. A prayer that is answered will be considered as magical as a successful incantation, a prophet's dream of the future will be considered a diviner's successful augury. I propose that we allow the medieval Jewish and Christian authorities the privilege of creating the distinctions between magic and religion. From these distinctions we will perhaps be able to divine for ourselves what magic meant to both European Jews and Christians in this period. This paper is divided into three sections. The first deals with the Jewish perception of magic. The second deals with the Christian perspective. And the final section deals with the interaction of the two religions as influenced by their individual perceptions of magic. The first two sections will hopefully establish the roots and fruits of the concepts that surround the idea of magic in the medieval period in these two traditions. The third will focus on the use of these two religions' beliefs concerning magic and magical activity. Perhaps some insight into Jewish perceptions of Christianity, and visa versa, will arise from this analysis. Medieval Jewish Perceptions of Magic The Hebrew Bible, the Talmud and the various folk tales and legends that revolve around Hebrew scripture and authoritative religious texts served to inform a medieval Jewish understanding of the quality of magic in comparison to mainstream religious practices and to influence the growth of the beliefs about magic within the Jewish community of medieval Europe. Joshua Trachtenberg begins his analysis of the development of Jewish superstition with this disclaimer: " The Biblical allusions to the practice of magic indicate a widespread acquaintance with its manifold forms at an early time, but this can hardly be called 'Jewish' magic. It was merely a reflection of the superstitions of the Canaanites, reinforced by importations from Babylonia and Egypt." The magical beliefs of both Jews and Christians in the Middle Ages were influenced by the allusions which Trachtenberg makes reference to in the above quote. Scriptural authority has always been an important moral guide, and on the topic of magic, scripture is not silent. The Hebrew Bible makes several references to magic and its effectiveness that are of interest to those trying to understand the medieval Jewish understanding of magic: "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God give to thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, a soothsayer , or an enchanter, or a sorceror, or a charmer, or one that consulteth a ghost or familiar spirit, or a necromancer. For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto the Lord; and because of these abominations the Lord thy God is driving them out from before thee. Thou shalt be whole-hearted with the Lord thy God. For these nations, that thou art to dispossess, hearken unto soothsayers, and unto diviners; but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. A prophet will the Lord thy God raise up unto thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye harken; according to all that thou didst desire of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying: 'Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire anymore, that I die not.' And the Lord said unto me:' They have well said that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.' And if thou say in thy heart:' How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?' When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the lord hath not spoken; the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him. " This passage has several interesting elements that should be borne in mind as influencing medieval Jewish thought concerning magic. There was apparently a need to forbid certain practices, designating them as incompatible with Israel's ownership of the land and to her patron deity, and assignment of them to those nations which Israel had met as opponents. What becomes important later is the distinction between lawful and unlawful practices, designated respectively as magical and religious practices. The long list of magical titles ( sorcerors, charmer, soothsayers, etc...) is juxtaposed with the religious title of 'prophet', one whose powers spring from God alone. Also important to medieval Jewish understanding of magic is the power of the name and words of God, which is clearly outlined in this passage. What is developed here is the conception of three groups of people; the general populace who do not have direct access to the commands of God, the prophets who are raised up by God and perform miracles in agreement with His commands, and the magicians who attempt to perform miracles either in the name of other deities, or presumptuously using God's name without His commands. The impact this had on later Jewish authorities regarding magic and miracle and the power of God versus other supernatural powers appears in various ways, primarily in seeing the wonder-workers of other nations as 'sorcerors', as opposed to holy men, and also in understand the name and words of God to have particular effectiveness in the hands of His elect, while being dangerous to the impure. In a discussion of rabbinic doctrine, Ephraim Urbach states the position of some rabbinic authorities in this way:" The rabbinic doctrine concerning God's all-embracing power has bearing on other concepts. It excludes the possibility of the existence of magic power capable of influencing the laws of nature and the decrees of God." He quotes Tanna R. Nathan , from the second half of the second century, who says, " If all the magicians of the world were to come together and seek to change morning to evening they could not to so" He also draws the connection made by the rabbis concerning idolatry and magic. " Magical acts were a concomitant of the nature of idolatry. Idolatry, in all its forms, believed in the existence of a source of power apart from the godhead, for it did not recognise a god who transcended the existential system, who controlled everything and whose will was absolute. Magic flows from the desire to utilize these forces, and idolatry associates man with the deity in the need for magic. Nor did the fact that there was opposition to sorcerors and sorcery affect the position. Idolatry forbade injurious magic, especially in the case of a rejected and defeated religion." However, according to Urbach, the religious authorities still had to deal with the reality of widespread magical practice within the body of Judaism, and so definitions were created, boundaries marked, and limits set on the kinds of practices that constituted magic and the types of magic that were acceptable. The dividing line was drawn, in the Mishnah, on the level of reality and illusion. Those who perform and real act through sorcerous means are guilty of sorcery and punishable, those who mere conjure an illusion of performing an act are not culpable. The decisive condition is the attitude of the practitioner towards what he is doing, if it is believed to be real, then the person is a sorceror. A thornier problem is the relationship between miracle and magic. Events , sometimes commanded by a human being, that run counter to the laws of nature; the sun halting in the sky, bodies of water parting, the walls of cities collapsing, etc... Scriptural accounts of supernatural events need some explanation if they are to be distinguished from magical inference in God's order. The explanation that arises from the rabbinic sources, again according to Urbach's portrayal, is that while the means may be similar there is a " clear, basic difference. God in the Bible does not employ, in contrast to the other gods, magical devices. Those who makes use of them are only his messengers. The wonders of the Egyptian sorcerors emanate from their magical arts, which influence supradivine forces. Moses' wonders are a finger of God, who commanded him to perform them; thus they stem from His will. It is God who works miracles." This is the distinction that is made, and from within the tradition which made it perhaps it is indeed clear and basic, unfortunately from the outside it is a subtle distinction. However, it is a distinction that is popular in medieval religious polemic, in which the power of one group derives from the mightiness of the deity and the power of the other ascends from the trickery of magical arts. One example that illustrates the problem of distinction between magic and miracle lies in the story of a first century BCE man, by the name of Honi the Circle Drawer. The story goes that Honi was requested to pray for rain by the leaders of the community, when his prayers were not answered Honi was moved to greater measures. He drew a circle on the ground, stood in the middle of it and yelled up into the sky " O Master of the Universe! Your children have turned to me because I have access to You. Now I solemnly swear by Your Holy Name that I will not move out of this circle until You have mercy on Your children." It then began to rain a little and Honi's disciples suggested that it was an insufficient amount of water. Honi then told God he had had a heavier rainfall in mind, at which point it began to rain very heavily. Honi's disciples then informed him that there was too much rain. So Honi told God that this was more than he had wanted, at which point God made it rain in a more moderate way. After the event Simeon ben Shetah sent Honi a message saying, " Had it been anyone else but you I would have had him excommunicated for practicing witchcraft. But what can I do to you after you implore God and He accedes to your requests? You are like a child before an indulgent father who begs his father one moment to give him a warm bath, then asks for a cold shower. Then the child requests nuts, almonds, peaches and pomegranates. Whatever he wants his father gives him." This story records something of the uncertainty which surrounded wonder-working. It is only Honi's reputation as a holy man that raises him above suspicions of witchcraft, and even then he is criticized by Simeon ben Shetah for his somewhat presumptuous demands on God's mercy. In any event there are permitted and forbidden 'wonders', those which spring from God are miracles and those which spring from magical devices are forbidden. Joshua Trachtenberg deals with these distinctions as they appear in the medieval understanding of the Talmudic discussion of the legality of certain forms of magic. The distinction is made here between acts requiring spiritual aid and those that do not. Interestingly, it is the magical acts that do not involve the aid of spirits that are considered the worst and are punishable with the Biblical penalty of death. Those which required the aid of spirits and were completely illusory were still forbidden, but were not punishable by death. And finally there is a third form of magic that is permitted, the use of the Laws of Creation, " a term which was later interpreted to signify the mystical names of God and the angels." Trachtenberg quotes R. Eliezer of Metz who states: " invoking the demons to do one's will is permitted from the outset, for what difference is there between invoking demons or angels?... An action may not be characterized as 'magic' unless it consists of taking hold of a thing and manipulating it, that is, if it is the performance of a deed, or an incantation that does not include an invocation of spirits, but invoking demons is permitted ab initio." Trachtenberg describes this, later on in the same section as a convenient dodge to get around the legal problems of the theurgy present in the medieval period, identifying it with the Laws of Creation and thereby giving it an air of respectability. We are left with the interesting suggestion that the summoning and command of demons differs in no substantial way from the command of angels, all accomplished through the use of the divine names and therefore permissible. There were other methods used to navigate around the Talmudic and Biblical injunctions against magic. The Encyclopedia Judaeica mentions some of these in its treatment of the subject of medieval Jewish magic. " Works on magic neither use nor are identified by terms denoting magic, but were written under the guise of concepts which neither reveal their special character nor their contents. There are hundreds of collections on magic, in print and in manuscripts, appearing under such names as simanim, refafot, refu'ot, goralot and segullot. These works are usually devoted only to one branch of magic or popular superstition, but to a variety of practices such as dream interpretation, popular medicine, and amulets." The suggestion of the author of this article is that magic, while apparently universal in medieval society, was of little importance to the religious authorities, that it did not constitute a serious ethical, ideological or social problem. That it is barely referred to, and when it is it is a minor point, compared to the mystical practices that formed the body of Kabbalah, which the author distinguishes clearly from magical practice. Trachtenberg makes a similar claim, although granting the relationship between magic and Kaballah a bit of a closer character. He seems to reduce the relationship to an accidental meeting rather than any close affinity between the two systems. He refers to the magical use of divine names derived from Kaballah's gematria as an 'accidental offshoot' . Regardless of its relationship to mystical Judaism or its legal status in respect to Talmudic law, The Jewish magical tradition had many popular manifestations, and the Jewish people's desire to manipulate unseen forces was considerable. Through the use of 'signs' , simanim, from external events, feelings, or various types of bodily discomfort ( itching, etc...) the near future could be predicted. Charms and incantations could be used to prevent malevolent future occurrences. Dream interpretation was part of this category, and apparently there were magical means by which bad dreams could be prevented from being realised in real life. The segullah was a second important form of the Jewish magical tradition, the central element of which is "a name or series of names which is considered holy". The amulets frequently referred to in studies of Jewish magical tradition, constitute a written form of segullot. Both of these manifestations do not constitute 'magic' from the legalistic perspective of the Talmudic injunctions. All of the effective principles rely on the power of the name of God, his words , or his angels. On a popular level however, they may have indeed seemed magical. But it is impossible to say how the Jewish authorities viewed these practices and beliefs. The fact that they were permitted is not the same as saying they were encouraged, or considered worthwhile by the religious elite. The medieval Jewish perception of magic is informed by their understanding of miracle, of God's power to reveal himself in creation. Magic cannot supercede divine power, nor can it be seen as emanating from a similar, if opposed, source. For this reason, the medieval view forbade in the strongest terms any magic that sought to effect real manipulations of reality without reference to the Jewish cosmology of supernatural powers. Any operation that was understood to manipulate accepted spiritual forces, even demonic ones, was less threatening to the cosmological whole, particularly if the effects were considered to be purely illusory. An operation that attempted to cause real change through the agency of the power of God's name, or through accepted esoteric formulations, blurred the line between 'magical' and 'religious' activity. If successful such an act could be perceived as miraculous evidence of God's power, rather than the successful manipulation of supernatural forces by a learned magical adept. Medieval Christian Perceptions of Magic As I have done with Judaism, I would like to look first at some scriptural sources of Christian understanding of magic, and although the Old Testament preserves the message of the Hebrew scriptures regarding magic and those who practice it, I'd like to focus on a couple of New Testament formulations of the quality and value of magic. The New Testament has several references to magical activity and here again the discussion is often on the grounds of miracle vs. magic. A slightly different tone begins to operate in the texts of the Gospels, revolving around the concept of exorcism, the magical healing of illness and dysfunction. An interesting discussion is Jesus' ability to cast out demons is presented as having taking place between the itinerant teacher and the Jewish authorities of the time: " But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons. "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. " The effectiveness of the exorcist is presented as potentially satanic, and Jesus asserts the blasphemous quality of this interpretation of his power. In an interesting difference from the rabbinic understanding of the nature of magic, here there are only two options regarding an effective magical act, tapping into the power of one or another side of a sharply dualistic spiritual hierarchy. In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul gives a powerful speech at Ephesus and the story continues: " And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily." This passage strikes me as a blatant subversion of spiritual authority. The message here is one of total dominance in supernatural power, over both the 'exorcists' of the Jewish tradition, who aren't even recognised by the demons, and the pagan beliefs of the area. Whatever the political thrust of the message being given here by the emergent Christian religion, the consequence of it to the perception of magic is a declaration of cosmological distance, that the spiritual power of the Christian is bound to the understanding of the true nature of God. Here the agent of magical activity is the servant of the true religion, and in this there is little to choose between the Christian formulation and that of the Talmudic discussion of miracle and magic. The difference that lies in the Christian scriptural message lies in the power granted to the non-divine sources of supernatural power, namely that of the demonic. Christian cosmology allows for a powerful evil spirit, capable of real manipulation of reality, in opposition to God, although inferior to Him. Satan is the 'lord of this world' and his darkness is such that it blinds people to the light. This duality creates for the Christian a very plausible source of real power that stands in opposition to God's will, and implies that if God maintains mortal servants on whom He bestows supernatural power, the evil spirit may have servants of its own. In Acts 13 Paul meets such a man, identified as a " a magician, Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus" and Paul blinds him while rebuking his satanic ways," You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?" Here the line is clearly drawn, non-Christian wonder-workers are not simply blasphemous because of a denial of God's absolute power, but because of their direct relationship to anti-divine power. A slight difference that will cause interesting developments in the medieval perspective regarding magic. Legends that grew up around the stories in the New Testament reflect something of this dualistic character. As an example take the story of Simon Magus. In the Acts of the Apostles, he is identified as a magician of great power, who had amazed the population of Samaria with his abilities, of course Simon is amazed by the powers of the apostles and converts to Christianity, after making his disastrous offer to Peter to buy the Holy Spirit off of him ( Acts 8:9-24). A different version of the story has Peter and Simon compete against each other, at one point Simon flies into the air, soaring through the clouds by the use of his powers. Peter mutters a prayer and Simon's powers leave him and he plummets to his death. Peter's ability to negate Simon's ability to fly not only declares the superiority of divine power, but also highlights the effectiveness of Simon's powers in normal circumstances, and their negation by a holy power indicates a less than holy source. From this smattering of New Testament accounts two important things may be discerned about Christian understanding of magic. First, that within the Christian cosmology their is a place for the servants of Evil whose powers, whether deceitful illusions or true manipulations of reality, are inferior to the gifts of the Spirit. Second, that the gifts of the Spirit are the only source of divine power, and that non-divine power is malevolent power of the Opposer. There is very little room here for 'natural power' or for power generated through some kind of art, as children of God, the apostles partake of something of God's power without artifice or special learning. The miracles of other religions, the magic of other people, all hide the movements of demonic opposition to Christian truth. This explosion of statements in the Hebrew Scriptures regarding the demonic quality of the gods of other nations feeds directly into the harsher dualism of the Christian cosmology, making the wonder-workers of other faiths not simply deceived practitioners of illusory arts, but rather active participants in demonic opposition to Christian revelation. " From the earlier periods of which records have reached us there have been practitioners of magic who were credited with the ability of controlling the spirit world, of divining the future, and of interfering with the ordinary operations of nature. When this was accomplished by the ritual of an established religion it was praise worthy, like the oracular and augural divination of classical times, or the exorcism of spirits, the excommunication of caterpillars, and the miraculous cures wrought by relics or pilgrimages to noted shrines. When it worked through the invocation of hostile deities, or of a religion which had been superceded, it was blameworthy and forbidden. [...] With the triumph of Christianity the circle of forbidden practices was enormously enlarged. A new sacred magic was introduced which superceded and condemned as sorcery and demon worship a vast array of observances and beliefs, which had become an integral and almost ineradicable part of popular life." Christianity did not dismiss the supernatural powers belonging to other religious traditions, rather it equated them with the negative supernatural forces of its own cosmology, understanding foreign belief as the product of the Christian Devil's malevolent pursuits. The first centuries of Christian growth maintain this position of magic as anti-religion, and the non-Christian magician is denied a place within the new community. An extract from the instruction to catechumens of Hippolytus (215 AD) states: " A magician shall not even be brought for consideration. A charmer or an astrologer or an interpretor of dreams or a clipper of the fringes of clothes or a maker of amulets, let them desist or be rejected." Notice that there is some distinction being made here between a magician and other types of magical pursuit, by the middle ages these distinctions have faded and these practices have been swallowed into the larger category of maleficia, the dark arts, which included magic, sorcery, necromancy, divination, and witchcraft . The power of the dark arts lay in the hands of Satan, and the importance of this evil spirit in the minds of Christians determined the amount of fear which the prospect of these arts would generate. The power of the dark arts lay at the heart of one of Satan's many campaigns to claim Christian souls for himself, the temptation of forbidden power. Satan offered many powers to those who were willing to worship him among them the indulgence of all physical appetites ( for food, sex, comfort through riches, etc..) the ability to foretell the future, the discovery of hidden things, and the control of other human's emotions. Christians desiring these powers however had to undergo a kind of inverted baptism, renouncing God and swear allegiance to hell. It resembles a reenactment of the Devil's temptation of Jesus in the desert, in which the key to Satan's ability to aid Jesus lies in Jesus' renunciation of God . It would follow from this, perhaps, that those who have already renounced the Christian religion have already entered into this deal with the Devil. The first order into which the ecclesiast was initiated was the minor Order of the Exorcist, and his first studied texts were of those rituals designed to invoke and banish demonic forces. The belief in demonic influence and in the priest's ability to control demons was the foundation on which each member of the clergy began his spiritual career. It perhaps shouldn't be amazing then that there is evidence of wide-spread involvement in magical practice among the clergy. Richard Kiekhefer , in his Forbidden Rites discusses his theories about the clerical underground that existed in medieval Europe. " A society that had a surplus of clergy inevitably spawned an underemployed and largely unsupervised ' clerical underworld' capable of various forms of mischief, including necromancy, and indeed this underworld seems to have been the primary locus for this explicitly demonic magic. Not all those accused of conjuring demons were clerics; the charge was attached at times to laymen and occasionally women. But the examples cited already suggest that cleric were disproportionately represented, and when we examine the Munich Handbook of Necromancy in the following chapters what we will find there is a characteristically clerical form of magic, using Latin texts and presupposing knowledge of mainstream ritual." Within the clergy the charges of sorcery appeared with disturbing regularity, suggesting that there was a fine line between wielding benevolent supernatural power and falling into the temptation of personal power offered by the demons. Popes John XXI and Boniface VIII in the late thirteenth century were charged with having familiar spirits. The Knights Templar were accused of wantonness with the devil. Manuals of legalistic procedures to be used in uncovering and prosecuting sorcerors date back to 1270. The stories that I have selected that represent the interaction of the clergy with magic also deal with the Jew as a magician and therefore will appear in the next section. From this short survey of Christian approaches to the phenomenon of magical belief, it can be seen that there is a wide acceptance within the tradition of the effectiveness of magic, of its reality as a force which, from a Christian standpoint is, distinguished from the powers given to the servants of Godby its moral quality. In the act of demonizing the faiths of others, the wondrous powers of adherents to different religious paths become for the Christian an expression of diabolical agency. This moralizing treatment seems to be difference from the Jewish dialogue already discussed, which approached the topic in terms of reality and illusion, from a legalistic stand-point. The moral neutrality which allowed Jewish authorities to find the invocation of spirits, angelic or demonic, a permissible act, finds only a faint echo in the practice of Christian exorcism. On the whole medieval Christianity was prepared to see the machinations of the Devil not only in those groups who opposed Christian faith, but also in individual members of the Christian establishment itself who had fallen into corruption of the spirit. Jews and Christians: the Interaction of Perceptions of Magic The interaction of Jews and Christians in medieval Europe cannot be reduced to the extreme manifestations of either harmony or disorder, love or hate. A huge group of individuals segmented by national, religious and economic differences cannot be effectively treated as two units which can easily be opposed to each other . For the purposes of this analysis I plan on focusing on two figures, literary character types so to speak, and suggest that the manner in which these characters are used in different legends and tales reflects something of the medieval understanding of supernatural power and spiritual figures of authority. It is also my contention that the differences between medieval Jewish and Christian conceptions of magic appear in these tales and highlight the function of magic within the two cosmologies. The two figures that I will focus on are the Christian priest, and the Jewish rabbi, or more generally put, the figures of religious authority from both traditions. The similarities that exist between the two traditions, the shared histories and scriptural antecedents, are the cause of much of the suspicion and fear that manifests itself in these accounts of Jewish and Christian folklore. The two religions are not so alien to each other that no understanding is possible between them. At the same time they are not so similar that misunderstanding is easily avoided. Shared language with differences in meaning cause real problems to arise in the dialogue between the two faiths, and in the extreme cases of the use of magic, these misunderstandings are sometimes of the most fatal kind. The figure of the Jewish rabbi and of the Christian priest in tales of magic are in some ways very similar, and some of these similarities should be explored at the outset in order to set the stage. The Rabbi and the Priest are both figures that are associated with a particular type of magic, as befits certain social realities of their relative position in society. Their magic is a learned, book magic, a magic of words , spoken and written. It is a form of magic whose presentation in popular tales depends directly on the social image of their office. It expresses not only the power of spiritual authority, but the power of learning. " One may define the Jewish magician as a scholar by vocation, a practitioner of the mystical-magical arts by avocation. Every mystic, properly trained, could practice magic as a sideline. Indeed, the dangers of invoking spirits without an adequate education in mysticism were frequently stressed, and the possessor of esoteric traditions and writings was sternly counseled to keep them hidden from the common glance, lest they be misused, and to pass them on only to a select circle" Similarly the Christian Priest: " But in the later Middle Ages certain forms of magic were increasingly assimilated to liturgy and increasingly written, so that a magical act was the performance from a script, or the observance of a rite whose details were enshrined in a text. This development surely owed much to the spread of literacy among the laity, but even more to the practice of magic among the clergy, particularly those on the fringes of the clerical elite. Judicial and anecdotal evidence suggests that explicitly demonic magic, called 'nigromancy' or 'necromancy', was largely the domain of priests, perhaps especially those without full-time parish employment, as well as ordained monks with some education and esoteric interests, university students and others who received the minor orders." "Men like Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon were popularly charged with being wizards. Bacon, enlightened beyond his age, pronounced some of the popular beliefs delusions, but, far form denying the reality of sorcery and magic, he tried to explain the efficacity of spells and charms by their being made at seasons when the heavens were propitious." So education, privileged knowledge, and recognised social status as religious experts, these factors combine to create the potential for a figure of a certain type of magical power. The suspicion that haunts those in power is often the suspicion of corruption. Medieval Jewish tales of magical phenomenon that involve Christian figures generally take the form of a competition between the two figures of my focus. The Rabbi is presented as a holy figure who superior knowledge of the laws of creation allow him to defeat the Christian Priests who are usually referred to as 'sorcerors'. Remember that, as a Jewish term, sorcery consists of magical activities that do not involve the aid of God or subordinate spirits . The first tale I would like to look at is the popular Golem Legend involving Rabbi Loew of Prague. Only a small portion of the story is relevant to my purpose here:" There was one man in the Kingdom of Bohemia of whom the Maharal stood in great dread. This was the priest Thaddeus. He was not only an implacable enemy of the Jews, but a clever sorceror besides. He was determined to carry on a war to the death against the Maharal." The story continues with the Rabbi's creation of an artificial being through the power of a magical ritual, in order to have a powerful defender of the community against the threat of those who oppose Judaism. Although the priest is not described in the story as performing any type of magic operations or supernatural feats, he maintains the title 'sorceror', and while Rabbi Loew not only imperfectly replicates God's creation of man but also crafts an amulet by which the golem is rendered invisible, no mention of magic is ever attached to the hero of the tale. In the story of Adam Baal Shem, a Jew is saved by the Rabbi from a priest who wishes to marry the Jew's wife, and is therefore plotting against his life through magical means. The Baalei Shem (wonder-worker) is challenged by the sorceror/priest to a contest of magical power. The Rabbi goes first in the competition, breaking apart a piece of fruit, at which point the sorceror is decapitated by unseen forces. The threatening figure of the sorceror never manages to perform a successful act of magic in the entire story, but his murder through magical forces by the Baalei Shem is not remarked upon . Apparently death of the sorceror/priest was a common finale in this types of legends generally arrived at through some colorful means: pecked to death by ravens, strangulation, decapitation, crushed by the slow pressure of collapsing walls or windows. The sorceror was considered to be capable of changing his shape into that of a wolf, a hare , a donkey, or a cat, and they were reputed to do the same to their victims. They could project their souls long distances from their bodies, perform an errand and return to their bodies in the blink of an eye. For their part, Christians' representations of the Jew as magician are not peaceful affairs either. As far a certain Christians were concerned Jews were the children of the Devil, making secret pacts with him and performing obscene rites, they stink of the pit, have their eyes fixed on the earth, sport the goat's beard, the men have horns, the women tails, and they sacrifice innocent life to prolong their own. The story of Theophilus relates the importance of the learned Jew to the magical process. Theophilus was, the story goes, was a bishop seneschal, and on the death of the bishop he entered into competition for control of the bishopric with a more politically powerful opponent. To achieve his much-desired new position, Theophilus desired to acquire some magical aid, so he enlisted the services of a Jewish magician who got him an appointment with the Devil, with whom he signed a pact according to which Theophilus would deny Christ and the Virgin and deliver his soul to the Devil upon death, in return for the desired ecclesiastical position. Perhaps this story relates something of the usurious reputation which the Jews had, as the conditions of this contract seem grossly in favor of the Devil, however the Priest cheats the Devil through devotion to the Virgin so I suppose the Devil and his Jewish servant got taken advantage of in the end. " The belief in the eternal damnation of all non-Christians is not greatly stressed nowadays. But the medieval Church was emphatic in its assertion that all who did not seek salvation in its bosom served Satan. Romance and history combined in presenting those outside the pale of the Church as the personal vassals of Satan, who worked his deceptions among them. Jews, Turks and heretics, in addition to the heathen, were believed in all Christian lands to be the allies of the infernal powers. The Jews were supposed by Christians to worship the Devil and to accumulate their wealth with his aid. The Jewish synagogues were regarded by Christians as temples of Satan." Meanwhile the Jews took a bit of a dim view of Jesus and his supposed divinity. " It is noteworthy that in the scant reports about Jesus and his disciples in Rabbinic Literature they are primarily described as enchanters and sorcerors...the books of the Minim are diviner's books, that is, works on witchcraft. Minim here denotes Christians or Gnostic sects. Past enemies of Israel - Pharaoh, Balaam, Amalek- appear as sorcerors... It is noteworthy that in the Midrash to the Scroll of Ester, Haman - he is the spokesman of all the revilers and blasphemers of Judaism, and sometimes the reference is not to the historical Haman- is made to say: There arose a sorceror unto them called Moses the son of Amram,..." On the one hand Jesus and his followers are sorcerors, on the other anyone who suggests that Moses was a sorceror is identified with the archetypal blasphemer. What appears a little in the Theophilus story, is an interesting element of the dialogue on the topic of magic . Everyone appears to prefer the other group's magic to his own in certain cases: " The man who wished to enter into business relations with the Devil generally applied to a Jew to act as intermediary. It was believed that only Jews could enter into communication with the Devil through the arts of magic." While at the same time," As a result magic [ sorcery by the definition used in this paper ] was not a legitimate and commonly accepted profession in medieval society and the religious convictions of a man who practiced magic were suspect. Formulas were written down since there was no oral transmission within a special class of practitioners of magic. Many Jews, especially in the East, usually consulted non-Jewish magicians rather than Jewish magicians." One difference between the two traditions lay in the Christian recognition of some non-liturgical Christian magical practices, as equally demonic as those of other faiths. Thereby producing parallel trends of both internal and external persecution, which the Jewish perspective on magic avoided." Magic was proscribed by the Church, and Hunted down by the Inquisition,... Jewish magic during this period never strayed from the fold, observing closely the tenets of faith, merely extending and elaborating certain accepted principles, so that, as we shall see, the magician remained a pious and God Fearing Jew." Perhaps we are now in a position to ask some questions regarding why these representations appear in the manner that they do. Purely on the level of the perception of magic in these two religions, what sense is there in these beliefs about Rabbi and Priest engaged in magic and diablerie? Is it simple hatred and religious bigotry? a lack of tolerance and understanding of the beliefs of our neighbors? From the Jewish perspective, is there any sense in the derogatory title of sorceror applied to the Christian clergymen? If we remember the two types of forbidden magic, discussed by Trachtenberg, the first was magical acts that do not rely on spiritual aid, the second was acts of illusion that rely on spiritual aid of some kind. Exorcisms performed in the name of Jesus (which, as I understand the Jewish position, wouldn't count as use of the Divine name) would qualify in the first category I believe, as perhaps would most the liturgical magic (again presuming the trinity has no divine status for the Jews). Also considering the amount of evidence which, in Kieckhefer's opinion, points to wide-spread necromancy among a certain class of clerics, the Christian priest reputation as a sorceror may not be entirely undeserved from the Jewish perspective. Their wonder workers were not magicians in their view, if they possessed the power to alter reality it came from God, and was a function both of their learning and their piety. Outside of the Jewish faith, though, Jewish learning and piety was understood to have a different character. From the Christian perspective, why are the Jews depicted as the servants of Satan, possessors of vile and demonic powers? Remember the moralized duality of the Christian cosmology, Satan had a great importance to Christianity, and it was from him that all non-divine power flowed. This being accepted for the moment, how does one enter into the power of Satan? "The Devil, notwithstanding the great power he possesses over the bodies and minds of mortals, is, however not potent enough to put a man to death, unless his victim has blasphemed or renounced the Lord... In view of this limitation of his power over the body of man, Diabolus exacted from his partner in the bond, which assigned the victim's soul to hell, a formal denial of the Christian faith, a rejection of Christian symbols and a renunciation of the Lord and his saints". Although it is offensive to consider in our modern atmosphere of religious tolerance, I believe that the medieval Christian may have been able to see in Jewish unwillingness to convert to Christianity, exactly this type of 'rejection' and 'renunciation' of the Lord. From the believer's perspective that would drop the entire Jewish community into the lap of the Devil. Consider also that the Talmud was periodically seized and poured over by the Christian authorities. Two important points arise from this: first, the Jewish attitude toward magic may have been known to the Church, second the unflattering characterization of Jesus and the Apostles as sorcerors might have been tripped over. If a pious clergyman, read " invoking the demons to do one's will is permitted from the outset, for what difference is there between invoking demons or angels?... An action may not be characterized as 'magic' unless it consists of taking hold of a thing and manipulating it, that is, if it is the performance of a deed, or an incantation that does not include an invocation of spirits, but invoking demons is permitted ab initio." I doubt that it would have improved diplomatic relations. Unfortunately in medieval Christianity demons may only be evoked and banished back to the hell they came from. The difference between invocation and command of demons and evocation and dismissal of demons might be cloudy to the outsider, but I imagine it was fairly obvious to the Christian cleric. It is tempting to take the position, in defense of one tradition or the other, that only the most uncharitable interpretation of the situation , whatever the differences in meaning between these two religions, would justify demonizing and vilifying the spiritual authorities of a particular religion. It is sheer unwillingness to see the positive aspects of other traditions that would lead someone to classify others as demon-worshippers and sorcerors. Perhaps, this is correct. My response to this would be that an effort to understand medieval perceptions of magic perhaps should allow for the possibility that no one was trying to be particularly charitable or even-handed in their treatment of other religions. At the very least everyone was at about the same level of intolerance. Conclusions There is a significant difference in meaning attached to the idea of magic as it appears in these two religious traditions. Unfortunately for the apologist of either tradition, there is some validity to the charges that both traditions level against each other. Their perception of each other is philtered through their own personal understandings of the supernatural, its successful manipulation and the source of such power. The Jewish perception of magic, defines the problem not in terms of effectiveness but in terms of the legality of certain actions, the implied consequences on Jewish faith of magical practice. Because of the omnipotence of the deity, no supernatural force exists that can contradict his Will. Magical acts, then, are conceived of as attempts, unsuccessful or illusory, to challenge God's power. Any manipulation of spiritual forces or beings that draws its effectiveness from the power of God are not magical but religious, and effective only because of the practitioner's piety and agreement with the divine Will. Christian priests practice a similar form of supernatural manipulation, the learned magic of texts, names, and spirits. The priest however earns the title of sorceror because he, unlike the pious Jewish wonder worker, is not in agreement with God's will. He blasphemously attempts to manipulate reality without reference to the celestial hierarchy of God, but rather bases his power on the false name of Jesus the enchanter. Whether or not the priest has any success in doing so is irrelevant, it is the priest's seriousness in the attempt that makes him culpable. And in competition with a true servant of God, the biblical punishment of death is justly handed down on the clerical sorceror. The Christian perception of magic draws on a sharp duality existing in their moral cosmology. Magic is defined not by its effectiveness, nor by the intentions or attitude of the practitioner, but rather by the source from which supernatural power flows. The evil spirit's power in the world is not questioned. As much as Christ, and His followers, suffer for the salvation of humanity, so too do Satan and his followers toil to bring about its damnation. As a corruption that flows from the Devil, supernatural power lies in the hands of those who reject Christ, who focus their attention on the things of this world, Satan's dominion. Internally, renunciation and rejection of Christ manifests itself in the heretic, and in the excommunicant. Externally, the one community of faith that has both renounced Jesus, during his incarnation, and continues to reject him can only be the servants and children of Satan, himself. Thus every religious act of the Jew constitutes a magical act for the Christian, a communion with the demonic ruler of the world. The Jewish wonder-workers' ability to manipulate supernatural forces is derived from their blasphemous attitude toward Jesus, the support of Satan in opposing Christian truth, and their willingness to consort with the demonic on order to satisfy their greed and worldliness. As offensive as the logic of both of these positions may be to the twenty-first century reader, it remains logic of a kind. Bigoted, intolerant and self-referential, but logical nonetheless. Wherever and whenever the religious cosmology dominates the minds of humanity, this type of logic will be appear, and we are not free of religious bigotry in our society. Rosemary Ruether's comments on the problem of Christian anti-Semitism seem to apply directly to the medieval situation although she is speaking of modern times: " The Christian anti Judaic myth can never be held in check , much less overcome, until Christianity submits itself to that therapy of Jewish consciousness that allows the 'return of the repressed.' This means establishing a new education for a new consciousness, the sort of new consciousness that would make us grapple with the need for a new way of formulating Christian identity that allows space for the Jewish brother to live- live not on our terms, but on his. " I would suggest that in the medieval period no one had gone through the 'therapy of consciousness' which Ruether refers to, and that everyone was perceived in everyone else's terms. In the case of magic, while the terms were the same, the meanings were different. The Jewish opponents of magic and the Christian opponents of magic would never have agreed on who their enemies were, or why. Bibliography: - Ausuhel, Nathan A Treasury of Jewish Folklore ( Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1948) - Ayerst, David and Fisher, A.S.T. Records of Christianity vol 1 Blackwell & Mott, Oxford, 1971) - Encyclopedia Judaica ( Kether Publishing House, Ltd. 1971) - Falk, Gerhard The Jew in Christian Theology ( Mcfarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, and London, 1992) - Hsia, R. Po Chia The Myth of Ritual Murder ( Cornall University Press, London, 1988) - The Holy Scriptures: according to the Masoretic Text ( the Jewish Publication Society of America, Philedelphia, 1955) - Kieckhefer, Richard Magic in the Middle Ages ( Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York, 1990) - Kieckhefer, Richard Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century, ( Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 1997) - Lea, Henry Charles The Inquisition of the Middle Ages vol 3 ( Harper and Brothers, Franklin Square, New York, 1888) - Lesses, Rebcca Mary Ritual Practices to Gain Power ( Trinity Press, Int. Harrisburg Pennsylvania, 1998) - Nigal, Gedalyah Magic Mysticism and Hasidism: the Supernatural in Jewish Thought ( Jason Aronson Inc. Northwale N.J., London. 1994) - Pearl, Chaim ( translation, annotation and selection by) Stories of the Sages vol 2 ( DVIR Publishing House, 1988) - Rivka, Ulmer The Evil Eye in the Bible and in Rabbinic Literature ( KTAV Publishing House, Inc. Hoboken N.J., 1994) - Robbins, Russell Hope (editor) The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology ( Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1959) - Rosenberg, Stuart E., The Christian Problem: A Jewish View (Deneau publishing, 1986) - Rudwin, Maxmillian The Devil in Legend and Literature ( AMS Press, New york, 1970) - Russell, Jeffrey Burton Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages ( Cornell University Press, London 1984) - Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church vol 5 ( WM.B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, Michigan, 1910) - Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church vol 6 ( WM.B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, Michigan, 1910) - Synan, Edward A. Disputation and Dialogue ( Ktav Publishing House, Inc, New York, 1975) - Synan, Edward A., The Popes and the Jews in the Middle Ages ( the Macmillan Company, New York and Collier-Macmillan Limited, London.) - Thompson, R. Campbell Semitic Magic: Its origins and Development ( KTAV Publishing House, Inc. New York, 1971) - Trachtenberg, Joshua Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion ( Meridian and the Jewish Publication Society, Cleveland, New York and Philedelphia, 1961) - Urbach, Ephraim E. The Sages: Thier Concepts and Beliefs vol.1 ( Hebrew University, Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1979)
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