The Return of the Between Ritual Healing and Stage Performance Yoram Bilu

Figure 1. by S. Ansky, with Nava Ziv as Leah. Directed by Hanan Snir, Tel-Aviv, 1998. (Photo by Gerard Alon; courtesy of the Museum Habima Archive)

Introduction On Thursday evening, 22 April 1999, a dybbuk was exorcized by kabbalist David Basry in his religious academy, Yeshivat Ha-Shalom, in Jerusalem.1 The possessed was Yehudit Sigauker, a 38-year-old widow of Indian origin from southern Israel, and the possessing spirit was her late husband. The was videoed, received extensive media coverage, and stirred a heated debate regarding the authenticity of the case. The public’s excitement, short-lived but intense, was understandable: The Jewish variant of spirit possession illness that disappeared from the public eye in the beginning of the 20th century was resurfacing at the end of the millennium. Despite this long suspension, the term “dybbuk” was not foreign to many Israelis. Yet the news of this possession was uncanny; up to that point, most Israelis had only faced the Jewish

1. The term dybbuk derives from davok, to cling or to cleave in Hebrew.

TDR 64:3 (T247) 2020 https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00941 ©2020 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 33

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34 Yoram Bilu system constitutedbythetwoperformativegenresofdybbukasathree-actdrama. converged inthemindsofIsraelisatend20thcentury. Ihavechartedthereciprocal (exorcism) ontheonehandandasasuccessfulstageperformanceother, dramatically This dualreferenceofthedybbukasaculturalailmentrequiringritual-healingperformance TV screenswasakintoarideintimemachineback19th-centuryEastEuropeanshtetl. with averyrealandcontemporarycase. FormanyIsraelis, watching Yehudit’s exorcismontheir possession andexorcismthathadinspiredthewritingofplay, theywerenowconfronted theatre, Habima. While theymayhavehadfuzzynotionsaboutthepastcasesofdybbuk Dybbuk ­possession onstage, whentheywatchedorreadaboutoneofthemanyperformancesThe [email protected] In 2015he waselectedtotheIsraeli andanthropology. Academy ofScience. the Israel Prize insociology He asChairoftheIsraeli served Anthropological from 1989–1991.In Association 2013,hereceived healing), culture andmentalhealth,thesanctificationofspacein Israel, and Maghrebi . ofreligion (focusingonsaintworship,messianism, andreligiousinterests includetheanthropology Yoram Bilu isProfessor atthe Hebrew andPsychology Emeritus University. ofAnthropology His research the entryofaspiritintolivingpersonafterheorshewasborn. ­, expandingthegeneralnotionoftransmigration ofsoulsincoitusorbirthtoinclude 13th century, togetherhelpexplaintheemergence ofthedybbuk. Ibburwasanextensionof more sothedoctrineofibbur(impregnation), whichwasarticulatedinthesecondhalfof the transmigrationofsouls, introducedinthebeginning ofthesecondmillennium, andallthe cultural idiomsforarticulatingawiderangeofexperiences. The kabbalisticdoctrinesof­ other Mediterraneancommunities, esotericnotionsof becameexoteric, providing dybbuk germinatedintherichculturalsoilofJewishmysticism. In16th-centurySafedand Hacking’s fourfoldmodeltodiscussthedybbuk’srise, decline, andeventualresurfacing. tain psychiatricdisordersurgesforalimitedperiodinboundedgeographicsetting. Iemploy He basedhisanalysisonfourvectors, whichconstitutethe “ecological niche” inwhichacer sonal identityandunplannedtravelorwandering, becameanepidemicinfin-de-siècleFrance. and whydissociativefugue, anordinarilyrarepsychiatricdisorderinvolvingamnesiaofper of “transient mentalillnesses” (1998). Hackingdevelopedthisnotioninordertoexplainhow piousness (Bilu1985;Chajes2003;GoldishNigal1983). tribulations ofthespiritsinafterworldpropellingreaderstowardrepentanceandextra- texts haveanoverlymoralistictenor. Inboththe West andtheEast, thereportsdwell onthe the beginningof20thcentury(Bilu1985;Nigal1983:45, 186–227). out thisperiodaswell. The lastdocumentedcasesappearedinLithuania, Palestine, andIraqat mainly Hasidic(Nigal1983:229–63). CasesfromtheMiddleEastcontinuedtoappearthrough- and 19thcenturiesmostofthecaseswerein Ashkenazi communitiesinEasternEurope, Only towardtheendof17thcenturydidfirst Ashkenazicasesappear;butinthe18th other localesinthecircum-Mediterranean(Chajes2003;Goldish2003:99–214;Nigal1983). cism. The firstdocumentedcasescamefromSephardicommunitiesinSafed, Palestine, and sions were, theywereviewedasmanifestationsofanillnessthathadtobeterminatedbyexor dead, emergedonlyinthemid-16thcentury. Givenhowcoerciveanddistressfultheseposses- Jesus demonstrate(Mark5:1–20), butdybbukpossession, referringspecificallytospiritsofthe Jews werepossessedbydemonsaslongtwomillenniaago, asthebiblestoriesofexorcismsby The GenealogyoftheDybbuk-As-Illness Act I First, foradiagnosistothrive, itshouldfitinto a taxonomy, orsystemofclassification. The In accountingforthedybbuk’sboundedtemporaltrajectory, IfollowIanHacking’snotion The reportsondybbukpossessionandexorcismembeddedinavarietyofJewishreligious (1917), thepopularplaybyS. Ansky thatbecamethetrademarkofHebrewnational gilgul, - - - The Dybbuk 35 - which thrived in 16th- 2 –1572) was a revered Jewish mystic in the town of Safed. His teachings, teachings, His Safed. of town the in mystic Jewish revered a was –1572) a public ritual conducted ordinarily by a revered rabbi in front of a —

Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (1534 Ashkenazi Luria Isaac Rabbi Jewish modern of branches other and Hasidism on influence of source major a were kabbalah, Lurianic as known 2005). Klein 2003; (Fine mysticism Dybbuk possession as a rule was the outcome of a bad . The possessing agents were The possessing agents ibbur. the outcome of a bad as a rule was Dybbuk possession From a broader perspective, the growing salience of the mystical doctrines underlying the the growing salience of the mystical From a broader perspective, , the second vector in Hacking’s scheme, refers to how the behaviors asso- the second vector in Hacking’s scheme, polarity, Cultural Lurianic kabbalah the notion of cultural polarity. Dybbuk possession and exorcism embodies “In order for a form of behavior to be deemed a men- : The third vector is observability included agitated and impulsive behavior, The core symptoms of dybbuk possession 2. always spirits of the wicked who penetrated humans to avoid the torments of limbo. As spir of limbo. to avoid the torments penetrated humans of the wicked who always spirits its of sinners, they were doomed by the celestial court to remain in limbo, wandering between wandering between to remain in limbo, by the celestial court they were doomed its of sinners, and demonic forces. torture by both angelic exposed to endless while being earth, heaven and - for an improve as well as an opportunity temporary shelter humans gave the spirits Inhabiting constituted the by the victims-to-be transgressions committed Minor situation. ment in their the culture- ibbur, the mystical doctrines of gilgul and Without moral trigger for possession. dybbuk could not be enacted. specific ailment of the the rise of the individual in possession should be measured against cultural script of dybbuk and individual emotions, the body, and with it the growing concerns with early modern Europe, kabbalah, Lurianic [2011] 2016). Weinstein 2003; consciousness (Chajes

century Safed (in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria) and swiftly became influential in other Galilee region of Ottoman Syria) and swiftly century Safed (in the cope with these concerns (Fine 2003). provided a set of religious idioms to Jewish centers as well, after their expulsions from ideas practiced by Iberian Jews and crypto-Jews Cultivating mystical in Safed demanded strict piety the kabbalists the end of the 15th century, Spain and Portugal at Fear of sin was a major catalyst for imposing tight control over its members. of the community, The growing concern for the fate of the in the repentance and personal transformation. with the emergent sense of individual agency and afterlife and future transmigrations resonated exorcism were Dybbuk possession and vocabulary). personal accountability (cloaked in religious tribulations of the soul after death. performative displays of the vicissitudes and one highly to fall between two social phenomena, ciated with a transient mental illness tend fugue Hacking situated dissociative (“vicious”). esteemed (“virtuous”) and the other stigmatized the second feared in the first admired and “criminal vagrancy,” and “romantic tourism” between late-19th-century France. the individ- depicting Jewish medieval mysticism, accentuated dualistic conceptions found in the profane, the sacred and the of good and evil, ual as situated between the opposing domains Lurianic kabbalists trans- Fusing the metaphysical with the physical, divine and the demonic. possession is Dybbuk between these opposing forces. formed the human body into a battlefield a tangible realization of this dialectic. The mobility of (Hacking 1998:82). and noticed” disturbing, it has to be strange, tal disorder, to track; but with the rise of modern nation-states fugue sufferers made it relatively difficult moving to people could not disappear just by with checked borders and monitored subjects, another place. speaking in a strange voice (congruent bizarre vocalizations, odd bodily sensations, convulsions, and dissociation marked by amnesia. aggression, verbal and physical with the spirit’s gender), victim’s body, manifesting the presence of the spirit inside the This rich behavioral panoply, The symptoms became all the more and drew a lot of attention. disturbing, “noisy,” was visible during exorcism where the ritual involved the active The preferred arena was the synagogue, large audience. candles were scrolls were taken from the ark, Torah employment of Jewish sacred paraphernalia: The ritual was blown to facilitate the spirit’s exit. and ram’s horns were lit and extinguished, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

36 Yoram Bilu qualities oftheexorcism, werehighlypopular, stronglyimpactingreadersinremotelocales. cism intoadramaticspectacle. The writtenreports, whichdwelledonthedramaticandmoral by theparticipantsasenactmentofbattlebetweengoodandevil, transmutedtheexor buk’s departure. The confrontationbetweenthekabbalist-exorcistandimpurespirit, viewed sharp paininthebigtoe, anexplodingsoundintheair, orabrokenwindowindicatedthedyb- the victimimmediatelyregainedordinaryconsciousnessandnormaldemeanor. A smallscarora the afterlife, wasclimacticallydischargedwiththespirit’sdeparture. After asuccessfulexorcism the exorcism, particularlywhenthespiritconfesseditssinsinlifeanddistressfulexperiences of thebigtoes), andthentodepartforgood. The tensionthataccumulatedduringthestagesof specify itstermsofdeparture, togiveitsconsentleavethroughaminororgan(usuallyone confess thesinsitcommittedduringitslifetimeandpunishmentsreceivedinafterlife, to fumigating orbeatingupthedybbuk’svictiminordertomakepossessingspiritsuffer. way toadjurationsanddecreesofexcommunication, and, asalastresort, tocoercivemethodsof conducted inafixed, gradedorder, withmildermeasuresofverbalcoaxingthespiritgiving

behavior ofthepossessedmay reflect theescapefromtraumaticexperiencesofsexualabuse and significant roleoftraumaindissociative disorderswarrantsamorecomprehensivereading. The strictly regulatedandcurtailedtheirsexuallives(seeBilu1985). Butthevastliteratureon overtones asreflectingforbiddenwishesofyoungwomensubject toapatriarchalorderthat and Ketcham1994;McNally2003). The classicFreudian approachwouldviewthesesexual these experiencesisakintotheheateddebatesoverissue of repressedmemories(Loftus dybbuk wasavehicleforarticulatingsexualexperiences. The controversyoverthenatureof during exorcism;theirpenchanttoidentifyadulterersintheaudience the blatantlylasciviouslanguageofspiritsandsexualtransgressions theyconfessed of forcedintrusion, bespeakingrape;theselectionof vaginaasthepreferredorganforentry; respectively (Obeyesekere1981). itation oftwoentitiesinonebodyweremetaphoricalrepresentations ofcoitusandpregnancy Lewis [1971]2003). Symbolically, theactofbeingpenetratedbyamaledybbukandcohab- stresses, linkedtotheirinferiorstatusinmale-dominatedsocieties(Bourguignon1976, 1979; a powerful, vicious, andimpulsivemalespirit, womencouldgiveventtogender-specific role tern canbeaccountedforbothinstrumentallyandsymbolically. Undertheprotectivecoverof the victims, whilemostoftheintrudingspiritsweremales. The dominanceofthisgenderpat- anoid does. tim ofpossessiondidnotsuffertheconsequenceshisorherconditionas, say, a Western par entity withaspecialontologicalstatuswasculturallyconstitutedandsociallyshared, thevic- viewed asmanifestationsofillness, butsincethebeliefthattheywerecausedbyanexternal traumatic experiencesandunacceptable, conflict-precipitatingdesires. Dybbukepisodeswere 1977; Obeyesekere1970, 1981, 1990), spiritpossessionappearsparticularlyaptforcopingwith vice. As aculturalidiomforarticulatingdistressfulexperiences(CrapanzanoandGarrison ers, Hackingsuggestedthattheailmentgavethemamedicalreasontoescapemilitaryser people (Hacking1998:82). NotingthelargenumbersofFrenchdrafteesamongfuguesuffer ing, andnoticed” ailment. buk, itseemssafetoconcludefromthereportsthatdybbukwasindeeda “strange, disturb- Even thoughwecannotinferfromthedocumentedcasesstatisticalprevalenceofdyb- 3. During thestructuredstagesofritual, thespiritwascompelledtorevealitsidentity, to The documentedcasesofdybbukpossessionareredolentwith sexualthemes. The veryact As inmanyotherpossessionillnessesacrosstheglobe, womenwereoverrepresentedamong The fourthvector, release , indicatesthatthedisorderoffers “an invitingescape” toaffected (2015) present early reports from the Middle East and Europe respectively. For a comprehensive collection of written reports of dybbuk cases see Nigal (1983). Chajes (2003) and Zfatman — these indicatethatthe - 3 -

- - The Dybbuk 37 - This 4 –1906), he returned to his ethnic roots. he returned to his ethnic roots. –1906),

All translations from Hebrew are my own. my are Hebrew from translations All What were the personal and social circumstances underlying the emergence of the dybbuk What were the personal and social circumstances secularized Jewish culture grounded in Jewish her Ansky’s vision was to institute a modern, The gradual decrease in dybbuk cases during the second half of the 19th century, until their until their century, half of the 19th cases during the second decrease in dybbuk The gradual bone of contention in the strug- the dybbuk became a major on, From the mid-19th century 4. defamatory statement was entirely unwarranted, however, since Ansky’s purpose was not to since however, defamatory statement was entirely unwarranted, past but to commemorate it. depreciate or ridicule the Jewish traditional born in Ansky (the literary name of Shlomo Zanvil Rappoport), artistic guise? in its new, was a scion of the new wave of modernization 1863 in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), His clandestine activities and enlightenment that swept many young Jews in Eastern Europe. France in one of the revolutionary parties in Czarist Russia compelled him to run away to Affair (1894 under the impact of the Dreyfus where, before his in 1920 (one month Warsaw After his return to Russia in 1905 until his death in and cultural, Ansky devoted himself to intensive social, play was performed for the first time), 2006; scholarly activities within the Jewish world (Dvir Goldberg 2013; Safran and Zipperstein Safran 2010). in the years which, he established an ethnographic expedition, that end, To itage and folklore.

Act II The Dybbuk as a Stage Performance of the dybbuk-as-illness and its artistic The dialectic between the behavioral manifestations was , Worlds) Two The Dybbuk (Between Ansky’s play, representation onstage seems obvious. precisely at a time when actual cases of century, written during the second decade of the 20th that the author therefore, It is no wonder, public eye. dybbuk possession disappeared from the The Hasidim targeted modernists and traditionalists. was drafted into the culture war between the evil spirits that not long ago used to possess people. tantamount to Ansky as an archenemy, “heretic (may his name be damned) who transformed In a Hasidic text he was portrayed as a 1983:14). (Nigal in theatres and circuses” clownish performance [the dybbuk] into a silly, apparent disappearance in the beginning of the 20th century, had to do with the massive attri- do with the massive had to century, of the 20th in the beginning apparent disappearance - enlighten the impact of modernization, of life in Europe under traditional ways tion in Jewish and the science and medicine, the advent of modern With and emigration. secularization, ment, taxonomy that gave rise to Jewish the mystical epistemologies they promoted, secularized new, one the dybbuk was of Jewish traditional life, During the dissolution possession lost its power. arena where the ontological Note that dybbuk possession was a unique of its first casualties. presence of the spirits “sensory” The tangible entities had credence. validity of otherworldly trial that provided eviden- the ritual performance into a dramatic during exorcism transformed of the soul and personal such as the immortality core tenets of Judaism, tial confirmation of of the time viewed the dyb- the secularized intellectuals (Maskilim) No wonder providence. and made it one of their manifestation of ignorance and superstition, buk as the paradigmatic prime targets. The skeptics published satirical pieces in Europe. gle between Maskilim and Hasidim in Eastern rabbi-exorcists presenting the of Jewish possession, which they shattered the ontological validity The Hasidim fought back or imposters (Nigal 1983). as charlatans and the possessed as insane modernists, Jewish that the dybbuk was vanishing. but they too had to admit vehemently, thus dis- forsook the mystical nomenclature underlying the dybbuk, whether observant or not, niche in which the dybbuk thrived. the ecological in Hacking’s terms, rupting, coercion no less than the expression of forbidden sexual desires (see Elior 2008). Either of these Either of 2008). desires (see Elior of forbidden sexual less than the expression coercion no “release.” what Hacking called can aptly serve for explanations Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

38 Yoram Bilu 1922. (Courtesy of the Israeli1922. (Courtesy Center for the Documentation of the Performing Arts, Tel-Aviv University) they wereborn. united indeath, hadbeen promisedtoeachotherinapactmadebytheirfatherslong before but takesLeah’ssoulwithitwhile departing. Onlythenisitrevealedthatthelovers, now exorcism. At theendof theritual, whichisthedramaticapexofplay, thedybbukisexpelled stricken. The weddinghas tobepostponedandafamouskabbalistiscalledupon perform the to theweddingceremony, Khanan’sspirittakespossessionofherandshecollapses, dybbuk- God’s mostesotericname, theholinessofwhichheknowsto belethal. JustasLeahisbrought himself inadangerousmysticalsearch. Undeterred, he findshisreleaseindeathafteruttering a richbusinessmanwhilepoorKhanan, maddenedbyhis unfulfilledloveforLeah, immerses by Leah’srichfather. Forcedtoobeyherfather’swill, Leahissupposedtomarrythesonof ioning itsplot. The dramaconcernstwoyounglovers, LeahandKhanan, whoseloveisaborted doubt inspired Ansky inhisdecisiontowritetheplayfirst placeandcontributedtofash- obvious thattheformernurturedlatter. Dybbukstories, whichtheexpeditioncollected, no vision prophetic. and thepogromsthatensued, andultimately World War II andtheHolocaust half ofthe20thcentury extinction. Indeed, thesuccessiveupheavalsthatimpactedEasternEuropeanJewryinfirst He soughttosaveasmuchmaterialpossiblefromwhathedeemedacultureonthevergeof ditional existenceinthePaleofSettlement, Ansky viewedhisprojectassalvageethnography. end totheproject(Gonen2013;Schrire2016). Acutely awareofthefragilityJewishtra- of manuscripts, stories, folktales, folksongs, photographs, andartifacts, until World War Iputan the areatowhichJewishresidencywasrestrictedinRussia. The expeditioncollectedthousands 1912–1914, madeseveralforaystothedistrictsof Vohlin andPodoliainthePaleofSettlement, Figure 2. In spiteofthetemporalgapbetweendybbuk-as-illnessand TheDybbuk-onstage, itseems The Dybbuk by S. Ansky, with Hana Rovina as Leah. Directed by . , — World War I, the1917BolshevikRevolution, thecivilwarinRussia — proved Ansky’s The Dybbuk 39 ” (Zer- ” Habima in Dybbuk in Yiddish but at the terrible cost of two young but at the terrible cost As one of the first productions of the As one of the first 5 — , manifested in endless productions and Dybbuk, was reframed as a Zionist national symbol, emblem- Dybbuk was reframed as a Zionist national symbol, The ongoing vitality of The 6 , Habima created an identity-performance of young East European Jews moving between between moving Jews identity-performanceEuropean an East Dybbukyoung of created Habima ,

Ansky’s ethnographic project, which served as the mediating link between the dybbuk-as- Ansky’s ethnographic project, sought to “new Jews” the emerging community of where At least in Israel (then Palestine), In translating the play from Yiddish to Hebrew, the great poet made it more festive festive more it made Bialik Nahman Hayim poet great the Hebrew, to Yiddish from play the translating In 2009). (Shamir the though Even revival. Zionist the and orbit Hasidic the between world, modern the and world traditional the of symbolism Zionist the constituted it question, Zionist the to whatsoever reference had no play Zion 2009:74). 2009:74). Zion drew critical acclaim and large audiences wherever it was Dybbuk drew critical acclaim Ansky’s From the outset, Aside from the collected dybbuk stories that informed the major plotline (Nigal 1983:146), (Nigal 1983:146), the major plotline stories that informed the collected dybbuk Aside from When Habima moved to Palestine in 1931 after a short visit in 1928 and a lengthy tour of When Habima moved to Palestine in 1931 5. 6. “Through the adaptations, stems from its multilayered symbolism: as a modernist play in the genre of fantas- stems from its multilayered symbolism: as a modernist play in the genre adaptations, of Jewish identity torn for the lost Jewish world; as a reflection tic realism; as a lieux de memoire as a core Zionist symbol. between modernism and tradition; and finally, was motivated by (exorcism) and The Dybbuk-as-play, illness (possession) and dybbuk-as-ritual very sense of a vanishing world paved the way for an acute sense of impending doom; yet this required for cre- The aesthetic distance to the play. the new artistic sensibilities that gave birth reality was only possible when the spirits became ating the theatre’s enchanted (yet illusory) not nec- The fascination of varied audiences, having lost their ontological validity. transparent, inge- so Vakhtangov apparently stemmed from the expressionistic spectacle essarily Jewish, under as well as from the universal existential dilemmas the play invoked niously put onstage, Warsaw speakers in Yiddish whether But the enthusiasm of Jewish audiences, its mystical attire. or emigrants in New the socialist communes in Palestine (Rokem 2009), pioneers in Vilna, and with the was probably more specifically linked to their enchantment (Nachshon 2009), York revived onstage: a nostalgic voyage-in-time to the fam- Ansky momentarily which receding past, ilies and communities of whom many of the viewers were descendants. the enthusi- negating its values, build a national home by breaking away from the Diaspora, the part of astic acceptance of the reenchanted past onstage invoked ambivalent responses on to great success. Two years later, Habima, a young Moscow troupe led by the great director Moscow troupe led by the great director a young Habima, later, years Two to great success. the play onstage in Hebrew. put Vakhtangov, Yevgeny lives. In contrast to the affirmation of conservative values in the traditional reports, Ansky’s play the traditional reports, the affirmation of conservative values in In contrast to lives. firmly grounded in the mystical though modernist and rebellious, bespeaks a different morality, cosmology of the past. was ultimately regarded as a classic. and or Palestine, America, in Europe, whether performed, The performed Troupe Vilna where the Warsaw, 1920 in The premiere was in songs, aphorisms, and phrases from the stock collected by Ansky’s expedition were used in the expedition were used Ansky’s by from the stock collected and phrases aphorisms, songs, - patchwork to an existen from a folkloristic doubt elevated the play creativity no Ansky’s play. the Whereas 2017). twist (Chajes “heretical” even a modernist, drama with mythopoetic tial, over the evil spirit, virtuous rabbi-exorcist the triumph of the case reports celebrated traditional - in a tragic con trapped young lovers, with the agony of the viewers to identify Ansky steers as in the reports, In the play, self-realization and submission to tradition. flict between romantic and the social order is restored the spirit is expelled

emerging Hebrew National Theatre, and its greatest success ever, Habima’s Dybbuk attained ever, and its greatest success Theatre, emerging Hebrew National in the renaissance of modern Jewish culture near mythical status as a significant milestone 2009). 2009; Zer-Zion (Rokem 1996, The Europe and the United States, in their homeland (Kaynar 2009; Rokem 1996; atic of the cultural revival of the Jewish people 2009). Zer-Zion Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

40 Yoram Bilu establishing apresencewithinit. traces (memories, possessions, unfinishedbusiness), withwhichitcaninfiltratethepresent, thus and despisedasitmightbe, wasfutile?Despitealleffortstoeraseit, thepastalwaysleaves a tacitacknowledgmentthattheexorcismhadfailed? That atotalwaragainstthepast, tarnished exorcist. Was thefactthatjudgesruled Ansky’s Dybbukcouldcontinuetobeperformed this sense, thepublictrialwasanexorcismofasort, withtheprosecutorinroleofhealer- past cametohauntthenew, future-orientedcommunityintheEasternMediterranean. In Leah, sotooonthecollectivelevelplayasspecterofEasternEuropeandiasporic to anintrudingspiritthathadbeexorcized. JustasthespiritofKhanantookpossession in tropesthatcollapsedthegapbetweentwoperformativegenreslikening Ansky’s Dybbuk ures, couldnotmisstheidiomaticequivalencebetweenplayandtrial. They indulged dissociate itself. past anditsbackward-lookingtraditions, fromwhichthenewcommunityinPalestinesoughtto gist oftheprosecutor’sargumentswasthat Ansky broughtbacktocenterstagethediasporic at stakewaswhetheritappropriatetoperformThe Dybbuk onapublictrial, conductedinfrontofthousandsviewers(Appelfeld2009). The issue serves asanaptillustrationofDerrida’shauntology. The 2003) modern worldatlarge, theyresurfacedasspecters the dybbukexistedasactualpossessionillnessandfromsecularizeddisenchanted ysis, thedeadarestrongerthanliving. Exorcizedtwice, fromtheirvictims’bodieswhen the caseofdybbukpossession, thevanquishedspiritsdidnotvanishaltogether. Inthelastanal- ruption ofpastontologiesreverberatesinthepresentformhauntologies. Indeed, in Batya Appelfeld cogentlyemployedinheranalysisofthepublictrial(Appelfeld2009), thedis- ories offorsakenhomesandparents. InDerrida’sintriguingterms(Derrida[1993]1994), which bly internallyconflictedthemselves, tornbetweenthevisionofanewlifeandpainfulmem- by confrontingmodernviewerswithadiscardedpast. And manyoftheseviewerswereproba- heaven andearth. ButThe Worlds,” referstothisbordercrossing:thespiritsareinaliminalposition, oscillatingbetween separation betweenthelivinganddead. The alternatetitleof Ansky’s play, “Between Two the possessed, theyoccupythesametemporalplane, defyingthelinearflowoftimeand phenomenon wherethelivinganddeadarecoeval(Lambek1993). Unitedinthebodyof success ofalocalproductionThe intellectuals andopinionleaders. In1926, evenbeforethearrivalofHabimain Tel-Aviv, the ates, Yehudit andhersignificantothers wereavailableforinquiry. Ididnotattendtheexorcis- intensified bymodernmediatechnologies, asthecaseof Yehudit amplyshows. of thepublishedstories. The impactofthenewcases, sparseastheyhavebeen, couldbefurther cism rituals, theoraltransmission ofdybbukstories, and, mostimportantly, thewidecirculation we knowthatthedocumented cases hadhighsocialimpact, giventhepublicnatureofexor tion. Inthesamevein, irrespectiveoftheactual frequency ofdybbukcasesinpreviouscenturies, eye. What isatstakeherepreciselythefactthat caseof Yehudit wonalotofpublicatten- the possibilitythatduring20thcenturydybbukcasesrecurred butdidnotreachthepublic cases, wecannotsayforsurethattheoldJewishpossession isbacktostay. Norcanwediscount Before goingbackto Yehudit’s dybbuk, acaveatisinorder. Giventhesmallnumberofnew The ReturnoftheDybbuk Act III Blurring theborderbetweenpastandpresentisemblematicofspiritpossessionatlarge The jury, theprosecutor, thedefenseattorney, andthewitnesses, allknownliteraryfig- Unlike theoldcases, studiedexclusively throughtextswrittenbytheexorcistorhisassoci- Dybbuk invariousadaptationsandartisticgenreseverydecadeorso over thepast50years — haunting theviewersof Ansky’s play. The factthattheIsraelitheatrekeepsperforming Dybbuk asastageperformancealsoobscuredthetemporalborder Dybbuk ledthe Association ofHebrew Writers toputThe — Freud’s uncannyother(Freud[1917] Dybbuk inthefirstHebrewcity. The — a - The Dybbuk 41 - - - contacted Rabbi David Basry, a known kabbal- a known contacted Rabbi David Basry, 7 the party’s greatest success ever. Shas deftly used Yehudit’s videoed videoed Yehudit’s used deftly Shas ever. success greatest party’s the —

exorcism in the election campaign (Peled 2001). 2001). (Peled campaign election the in exorcism Shas was founded in 1984. It primarily represents the interests of ultraorthodox Sephardi Jews, although the par- the although Jews, ultraorthodoxof Sephardi interests the represents primarily It 1984. in founded was Shas ancestry)African obser- strictly less are who North and Eastern Middle (of Jews Mizrahi includes population ty’s exorcism, Yehudit’s after fewa just conducted 1999, weeks May of elections national the In traditional. or vant parliament Israeli the in seats 17 won Shas The information thus gained could shed light on various aspects of spirit possession, about about possession, aspects of spirit shed light on various thus gained could The information He refused to go to the hospital for acute liver cirrhosis. husband was told Yehudit’s In 1997, husband’s presence and her children started to feel the late Yehudit A few months later, two local to get rid of the intruding spirit failed, After several attempts by various healers Since Yehudit’s exorcism was planned, Rabbi Basry and his staff could carefully design the exorcism was planned, Yehudit’s Since 7.

viewed two of Yehudit’s sisters and one of her daughters. Unfortunately, I could not convince I could not convince Unfortunately, and one of her daughters. sisters Yehudit’s of viewed two to collaborate. the exorcist, Rabbi Basry, personal history Yehudit’s was One such aspect remained mute. which past reports ordinarily immigrated to Israel from south- family Yehudit’s that led to her ailment. and the circumstances a peripheral town in south- She grew up in Dimona, two years old. ern India when she was without completing high school, married at 17 economic conditions, under shaky ern Israel, family was highly dysfunctional The 13 years gave birth to eight children. and in the following who abused his wife and chil- husband was an alcoholic and gambler Yehudit’s from the outset. the family by working as a cleaner had to provide for Yehudit welfare. dren and lived on social and drug abuse and served long two older sons drifted into delinquency Her in local schools. for her husband despite his abusive maintains that she harbored love Yehudit terms in prison. she family feuds became too much to take, when From time to time, and parasitic behavior. When the municipal welfare back. but she always came parents’ home, would run away to her Facing enormous diffi- she refused. battered women, agency offered to put her in a shelter for religion and over the years became more observant. found some comfort in Yehudit culties, would take care of promised him that she Yehudit after but eventually relented, to leave home, visited him kept her word, Yehudit but fell into a coma, The husband soon him in the hospital. that she was however, She could not forgive herself, him. and dutifully watched over every day, away from the hospital when he passed away. and later and movement of objects; shades, first through odd sensations of voices, at home, her mouth. and speak through Yehudit possession of when the husband’s spirit started to take prayer () and read from Psalms in order to He demanded his sons say the mourner’s He also threatening to take their mother with him if they refused. usher his soul to heaven, her Yehudit with drugs and other criminal behavior. beseeched them to quit their involvement noted in dismay how accu- but all attendants self did not the possession episodes, remember and hot-tempered bodily gestures, rately she enacted the late husband’s typical form of speech, drank like a male, she tried to put on his clothes and urinate During these episodes, demeanor. and even chased her children with a knife. alcohol, the Sephardi-orthodox party, activists of Shas, tic ritual at Yeshivat Ha-Shalom, but I did meet Yehudit a few weeks after the event and have the event and after a few weeks Yehudit but I did meet Ha-Shalom, Yeshivat tic ritual at rapport between As a token of the growing times since then. her at length several interviewed inter I also scrutinized. which I minutely of her exorcism, gave me a videocassette Yehudit us, ), and asked for his inter rectification of (tikkun), ist specializing in the mystical practice of accompanied by her parents Yehudit, activists brought the Upon Basry’s suggestion, vention. three hours long, more than The exorcism, in Jerusalem. to his religious academy and two sons, took place in the packed synagogue of the . They arranged for kabbalists and religious students to participate in the prayers ritual setting. - and incantations; for two teams of photographers to video the exorcism; and for ultraortho Many passersby poured into the dox radio stations to live broadcast the ritual’s high points. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

42 Yoram Bilu from thesignificant socioculturalandpolitical changesthatIsraelhasundergone inrecent and shoutsofelation. without tremblingabit. Rabbi Basrydeclaredhercuredandthecrowdrespondedwith songs Psalms. Lookingexhausted yetreassured, thistimeshereadfromthebookinaloud firm voice, the spirithadindeeddeparted, RabbiBasryaskedheragaintoreciteachapterfromtheBook of over, shewasassistedtoherplaceonthesofaandslowly regainedhersenses. To make sure that ing herpalmstoearsinadesperateattemptstopthevocal assault. When theturmoilwas Yehudit, coveredwithablankettosafeguardhermodesty, rolledviolentlyonthefloor, press- induce thespirittocomply. The uproarinthesynagogue atthesemomentswasdeafening;and manded toexitthroughoneofherbigtoes, andaritual quorumof10blewram’shornsto Her spasmsgrewwildtowardtheclimacticendofexorcism, whenthedybbukwascom- ing animatedlyover Yehudit, shebecameagitated, moanedandcried, andcontortedviolently. a coma. Butinthe “hot” parts, whentheexorcist raisedhisvoiceinpleasandshouts, sway- the exorcism, Yehudit sprawledonthesofa, eyes shutandalmostmotionless, asifasleeporin was clearlycalibratedtomatchtheexorcist’slevelofexpressivity. Inthelessexcitedpartsof embodied presencewasstronglyfeltthroughouttheritual. The energylevelofthedybbuk lighting candlestorectifythedybbuk. by theexorcist, thecrowdactivelytookpartinritual, joiningintheprayersandpsalms, and ished fortheirsins...”), andhigh-pitchedthreatslaunchedattherecalcitrantspirit. Orchestrated for repentance(“BigcryfromJerusalem:therearesoulsaround, therearespirits, theyarepun- Rabbi Basrydeftlyalternatedbetweenheartfeltmoaningandsobbing, impassionedentreaties nered fromtheunfoldingscene, callingforrepentanceandremorse. Inhisemotionaldiscourse, withdrew tothesynagogue’spulpitandenflamedcrowdwithmorallessonsjustgar incantations designedtorectifythedybbukandpropelitsdeparture. Fromtimetohe of theexorcism. RabbiBasry, swayingovertheseatedwoman, showeredherwithprayersand to becementedandimplementedbyaricharrayofritualmeasures, whichconstitutedthegist spirit wasmadetoutteritsreadinessdepart. ameliorate itsstatusintheafterworld. The introductorypartoftheexorcismendedwhen exchange, thespiritwasledtoregretitssinsandaskedforrepentance “ascent” inorderto son foritwastingedwithempathy: “because shesufferssomuch.” At theendofatenseverbal Yehudit, theanswerwasstraightforwardlybrutal: “I cametotakeherwithme”;buttherea- that ithadbeenanalcoholicanddesecratedtheSabbath. When askedwhyitwasharassing sive aboutthenatureofthesesins. Onlyafterrepeatedquestionsdidthespiritadmitreluctantly ensued, thespiritreportedthatithadbeenpersecutedbydemonsforitssins, butremainedeva- from hermouth, loudandclear, inadistinctivelycoarsemalevoice. In theinterrogationthat ordered thespirittorevealitsidentity. Stunninglythenameof Yehudit’s husbandcameout book fallfromherhands. her”) tosecond-person(“Iamtalkingyou, thespirit”), did Yehudit closehereyesandletthe Basry movedfromthird-personterms(“Whatdoesthespiritwant?Heisnotallowedtodisturb the spiritremainedunresponsive, despitetheRabbi’sattemptstoaddressit. OnlywhenRabbi reading, Yehudit startedtotrembleandtwitch voked thespirittoinhabit Yehudit), heorderedhertoreadfromtheBookofPsalms. Upon previous possessionepisodeshadbeentriggeredbyrecitingPsalms(thesanctityofwhichpro- therefore RabbiBasryhadtosummonthespiritintoherbody. Havinglearnedthatsomeofher family fromthecrowd. Yehudit wasinherordinaryconsciousness, albeitdazedandconfused, one sideandherchildrenontheother. RabbiBasrystoodinfrontofher, separatingtheseated arrived withherfamily, shewasseatedonasofaadjacenttotheholyark, withherparentson synagogue followingtheexcitingrumorsthatlong-gonedybbukwasback. When Yehudit Put succinctly, thereemergence ofJewishpossessionaftersomanyyearscannotbedivorced While thedialoguewithdybbukstoppedwheninquiry wasover, itsvocaland Given thetreacherousnatureofintrudingspirits, thedybbuk’sverbalsubmissionhad The louduproarinthepackedsynagogueturnedintoelectrifyingsilencewhenRabbiBasry — clear indicationsofthespirit’sproximity — - but The Dybbuk 43

9 One possible source for this knowledge were popular One possible source 8

Since the dybbuk is steeped in Jewish kabbalistic doctrines, it seems unlikely that someone entirely estranged estranged entirely someone that unlikely seems it doctrines, kabbalistic Jewish in steeped is dybbuk the Since doctrines these with familiarity the But possessed. the of role the enact properly could mysticism Jewish from could questions, suggestive highly its with inquiry structured the since exorcist, the by overstated, be not should - tradi the of knowledge their without even answers, appropriate culturally “right,” the to possessed the prompt veryher from stemmed mea- exorcism Yehudit’s during replies evasive and laconic spirit’s the that believe I tions. husband’s her to related matters intimate betray to unwillingness her from also but kabbalah of knowledge ger behavior. abusive that suspected interviewed exorcism, I the sisters, whom after The weeks few a Dimona in homes their in authentic. not was dybbuk Yehudit’s What were the motivational bases for Yehudit’s dybbuk? Yehudit herself, reflecting upon her reflecting herself, Yehudit dybbuk? Yehudit’s What were the motivational bases for She felt guilty him despite his abusive behavior. loved her husband and cared for Yehudit TV news pro- and on dailies and magazines, dybbuk made the headlines in Israel’s Yehudit’s To assume the role of the possessed and to enact it adequately, Yehudit had to be familiar, at at had to be familiar, Yehudit and to enact it adequately, assume the role of the possessed To 8. 9. situation in my interview with her, emphasized the instrumental side of her possession episodes: situation in my interview with her, he tried to put things in order; I could control my children “He [the husband] gave me power, rela- it seems that her ambivalent perspective, From a psychodynamic (Sigauker 2017). then” relations were ambiv- That the couple’s factor. tionship with her husband was a major causative oxymoronic excuse for taking possession of alent could be understood from the late husband’s just because he cared for he claimed, world of the dead, He came to take her to the his widow. empathizing with her suffering. her, well aware of his many transgressions, died and, for being away from the hospital when he Whether or not the posses- soul in the afterworld. was seriously concerned with the fate of his by husband, fantasy to be intimately reunited with the late Yehudit’s sion episodes articulated for rectifying his soul and ushering it to a becoming one with him she created the opportunity in which by her children long after the exorcism, Yehudit Dreams reported to heavenly refuge. to her contributed and content, well-dressed, their father appeared to them in good health, a resting place in heaven. assurance that eventually his soul found itself which intrigu- was marked by two moral crusades, The public controversy that erupted grams. 100 years ingly resonated with the fin-de-siècle culture war between Hasidim and modernists The controversy accentuated the theatricality inherent in dybbuk possession and further earlier. blurred the gap between ritual and stage performances. preachers whose live, audiotaped, and broadcasted talks included vivid depictions of the fate of and broadcasted talks included audiotaped, preachers whose live, exposed to such talks as she became was Yehudit (Bilu and Goodman 1997). souls in the afterlife Even though she was a young less important was her Indian background. No more observant. and her family preserved at home, she grew up speaking Marathi to Israel, child when she came had at her disposal a domestic model Yehudit More to the point, culture. much of their Indian relatives were told and retold in of male spirits that penetrated female as stories of possession, where popularized versions movies, she was an avid consumer of Indian In addition, the family. included and humans, demons, with its porous boundaries between gods, of Hindu cosmology, sisters believed that her susceptibility to possession Yehudit’s flamboyant cases of possession. and impressionable, lively, They described her as easygoing, was reinforced by her personality. skilled imitator. and a a good dancer, and also as a born performer, naïve,

least rudimentarily, with the spirit world. least rudimentarily, years. The secularized collectivist and statist ideologies that guided Israel in its formative years in its formative that guided Israel and statist ideologies secularized collectivist The years. of The ascent traditionally inclined. more Jewish and more the country became declined as religious of popular and more pertinently, sentiments, of national-religious Jewish orthodoxy, niche in which to the ecological 2010) have all contributed to kabbalah (Bilu practices related who in particular Yehudit why it was In order to understand could germinate again. the dybbuk on her we have to zoom in possession, the new wave of dybbuk paradigmatic case of became the individual life circumstances. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

44 Yoram Bilu 12. 11. reported fromthesceneonsameradiostation: expel itfromthebigtoestarted.” woman isinfrenzy, tremblingallover, thespiritactsmadlyinherbody, justastheprayerto imagine, dearlisteners, whatisgoingonrightnowintheyeshiva. Inthisverymomentthe they werebeseechedtorepentatonce. Oneofthereportersdescribedwhathesaw: “You can’t cism. Manypeoplelistenedtothelivebroadcastofdramawithimmediacyandurgency, as Reporters ofanultraorthodoxradiostationdeliveredbreakingnewsfromtheunfoldingexor amplified the “show” aspectoftheexorcismandwithitpoliticaldimensionspossession. ous centuries. Butthemoderncontextofnewcase, withalloftheavailablemedia, nodoubt to bringpeoplebackthefoldfollowingithadtheirprecedentsindybbukcasesfromprevi- her furtherfueledthepublicdebateregardingdybbuk’sontology. Yet thefactthatshewasonlyactorwithnoorjustfuzzyknowledgeofwhatexpected dence thatRabbiBasryand Yehudit haddiscussedtheirrespectiverolespriortotheexorcism. through thekabbalist’sfamily, ity playwithafixedscriptthatwasbasedonmanualofexorcismhadbeenpasseddown 10. left unheeded. than fourweeksbeforetheelections, wasinthisunfavorablesituationanassetthatcouldnotbe to courtfortakingbribes. The exorcismofthedybbukbyRabbiBasry, whichtookplaceless for 17May1999foundthepartyinaproblematicsituation, sinceitsleader, Deri, wasbrought seen asaforerunnerofthedybbukcontroversyoneyearlater. The nationalelectionsscheduled by theCentralElectionsCommitteetostopdeliveringamuletsaspartofitscampaign, couldbe Kadouri. The heated “amulets controversy” thaterupted, attheendofwhichShaswasordered of copiesaspecialamuletpreparedbythecountry’soldestlivingkabbalist, RabbiItzhak Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. Duringthe1998municipalelectionscampaign, Shascirculatedthousands matic kabbaliststothatend, despitethereservationsofShasfounderandspiritualauthority, tional votersofMizrahibackground. The party’spoliticalleader, Aryeh Deri, enlistedcharis- party’s stronginvolvementwithfolk-mysticalandmagicalpracticesdesignedtoattracttradi- rabbinical leadership. Shas’scentralroleintheexorcismanditsaftermathwasrelatedto to hisyeshivawerelow-levelfunctionariesintheparty. RabbiBasryiscloselyrelatedtoShas’s activists whomadetheconnectionbetween Yehudit’s familyandRabbiBasrybroughther 22 April 22 April 1999. broadcast from a Haredi (channel) 2000, in collaboration with Radio Kol radio station, Arutz Halev, from The reporters’ quotationsand the quote from exorcist’s son were transcribed from an audiocassette of the live in Baghdad in the beginning of the 20th century. 1979). His book Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya, Rabbi Basry’s maternal grandfather, was a famous kabbalist and exorcist in Baghdad (Bilu cism, but was reaffirmed by the interviewees. cent. Embarrassingly the spirit insisted fessions, andatthisverymomentshefelldownonthe floor [...]. moment becauseallofus, oldandyoung, aresitting andcryinglikebabies, makingcon- tried tostrangleher. [...]It’sabsolutelydreadful. [...]Iamveryexcitedtalkingtoyouthis and herlegsareinterriblepain. He[thespirit]wanted toleavebutthencamebackand moving backandforthinsideherbody[...E]verysecondanother organgetsswollen, It ishorrifyingtoseethewomanrollingonfloor, seizedwithpain, andthespirit Both thetheatricalelementsin Yehudit’s exorcismandtheorchestratedmoralcampaign From theoutset, RabbiBasryandhisaidescarefullydesignedtheexorcisticritualasamoral- The firstcrusadewasinitiatedbyreligiousactivistsmostlyassociatedwithShas. Thetwo Rabbi Basry interrogatedRabbi Basry the dybbuk 10

Min’hat Juda’s Yehuda ( Gift [1933] 1959) includes vivid depictions of he conducted 11 completewithassignedrolesandstagedécor. We havenoevi- 12 about Deri’s trial, The exorcist’sson, anaspiringyoungkabbalisthimself, also that Deri was guilty. This exchange was omitted from the videoed exor- hoping to gain a public announcement that he was inno- - The Dybbuk 45 - sec years. Seeking to years. nothing but a cynical ploy to pre- —

The impact of Yehudit’s exorcism spread further when the audio- and videocassettes of the the audio- and videocassettes spread further when exorcism Yehudit’s of The impact told me she was upset when she amnestic about the exorcistic ritual, who remained Yehudit, found herself involved in the counter-crusade Yehudit In this unfortunate state of affairs, The secularized liberal attempt to exorcize the dybbuk from the collective body of Israeli The secularized liberal attempt to exorcize the dybbuk from the collective body of and the monetary reward were just another indica- both the rabbi’s threats For the skeptics, ular liberalism in Israel, which decried the return of the dybbuk as emblematic of the irrationality which decried the return of the dybbuk as emblematic of the ular liberalism in Israel, throughout the country in recent and religious fundamentalism that had spread - the 15th national elec a few weeks before exorcism took place Since the released. ritual were - well as in religious con by Shas as in political rallies organized videos were screened the tion, fused as the moral Politics and religion back to the fold. to bring followers vocations designed the audio- and abridged, Edited and these two settings overlapped. messages invoked in into a Yehudit and transformed popular items for sale at gatherings ­videocassettes became of which she could not foresee. the consequences the star of a show, reluctant celebrity, was mitigated by the flattering her embarrassment At first, onscreen. “performance” saw her a complementary role to Rabbi Basry enacting under the limelight, stage, appeal of being center would draft her to talk in pub- even entertained the hope that Rabbi Basry She in the exorcism. But when people as dybbuk. derived from her dramatic experiences lic about the moral lessons how stigmatic were the conse- to avoid her or called her crazy she realized on the street started The notoriety and bitterness. and her pride turned into rage exorcism, quences of the videoed Whenever she had another town and go into hiding. she unwillingly won made her run away to In her despair, she would put on a wig and heavy makeup to avoid being recognized. to go out, The dis- videotapes for infringing on her privacy. she threatened to sue the distributors of the reward for giving away the rights to which tributors responded by offering her a monetary but accepted, She grudgingly of the possession video. “star” she was entitled as the unwilling too late to forestall her general sense of frustration the compensation was too small and came and discontent. and academ- journalists, by anticlerical politicians, against the authenticity of the dybbuk issued the bastion of , the dybbuk was the daily Haaretz The spearhead of the crusade against ics. The reporters’ live accounts had their desired effect: many listeners contacted radio stations to radio stations many listeners contacted their desired effect: live accounts had The reporters’ vows to repent. make impassioned reporter managed to locate Yehudit Yehudit reporter managed to locate a Haaretz dybbuk, undermine the ontological validity of the stigmatized by the feeling exploited and Yehudit, in her hiding place and interviewed her there. She claimed was easily coaxed into embracing a skeptical perspective. exorcist and his partners, of the exorcism when she was brought into the that she was entirely clueless about the nature thought that the best way to come out of the situation she Confused and stressed, synagogue. In she argued. “I felt as if I were hypnotized,” was by complying with Rabbi Basry’s queries, voluntarily emitted the same vocaliza- Yehudit order to prove the inauthenticity of her dybbuk, put the vocalizations on its Haaretz the exorcism. tions that the spirit supposedly made during The from the dybbuk’s original utterances. website to prove that they could not be discerned 1999). dybbuk was a fake (Bar-Mocha Yehudit’s newspaper triumphantly concluded that Upset by the dire conditions of her society was complicated by yet another twist in the plot. back to underground life and frightened by the rabbi’s threats that the dybbuk might come A reconcili- began to rethink the skeptic perspective she had adopted earlier. Yehudit harass her, ation meeting with Rabbi Basry paved her way back to the believers’ camp. were fabricated possession and exorcism Yehudit’s tion that I tend Following Ian Hacking again, more equivocal. My perspective is serve irrational beliefs. I would like to avoid the In other words, “true.” even if not “real” dybbuk as Yehudit’s to view epistemo- ontological certitude of either doubters or believers and approach the issue at stake articulated Yehudit seeking to understand the attributional processes through which logically, her incoherent experiences as dybbuk. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

46 Yoram Bilu allegiances of herincoherentsituation, lookingforclueswherever shecouldfindthemandchangingher Yehudit withaclearscript. Caughtbetweentwomoral crusades, shedidherbesttomakesense 13. (or preciselybecause)itisjustthepresenceofabsence. Eveniftheontologicalcertaintiesthat atre’s enchantedrealitybeestablished. However, transparencycanbehauntingeventhough when thespiritsbecametransparent, couldtheaesthetic distancerequiredforcreatingthe- appeared fromthepubliceye. Onlywiththedisenchantment oftheJewishtraditionalworld, The the DialecticsofHealing The Two Faces oftheDybbuk and more structuredthan Yehudit’s. between therespectiverolesofpossessedonstageandinsynagogue, Leah’srolewasfar the directorofHabima’sDybbukinMoscow. Itshouldbenotedthat, amongotherdifferences Stanislavski’s student, eventhoughhemovedontodevelophisownsystembeforebecame to hypnoticmanuals(Stanislavski[1938]2008). Yehudit’s intheexorcisticritual. Stanislavski’sinstructionstoactorsbearsurprisingresemblance the Stanislavskimethod, arenolessseriousand “real” thanotherroleenactments, including onstage mergewiththeirrolesviaprocessesofidentificationandabsorption, particularlyin within thisscheme. Fromaperformancestudiesperspective, thepracticesthroughwhichactors of theinteractionalmatrixwecallsocialreality(Parsons1951). Yehudit’s self-reflectionsfit which, asthebuildingblocksofinterfacebetweenindividualandsociety, areconstitutive Spanos 1989). Inthissense, thesebehaviorsarenotdifferentfromotherroleenactments, 1995; conformity-enhancing cuesfromanauthorityfigureinacarefullydesignedsetting(Sarbin ness butrathernormalsocialpsychologicalprocessesofrole-takingemittedinresponseto behaviors underhypnosisdonotreflecta “special,” neurologicallytraceablestateofconscious boundary between “staged” and “authentic” isnotalwayseasytodemarcate. Admittedly, eventhisderangedperformanceandtheensuingamnesiacouldbestaged;but out ofhersensestwohourslater, whenshewasconvulsingandrollingviolentlyonthefloor. exorcism (ashypnoticsubjectsareatthebeginningoftheirinduction), sheappearedentirely the spiritdirectlyforfirsttime. Butevenifshewerefullyawakeattheinitialphaseof began; andsheclosedhereyesalmost “by invitation,” preciselywhenRabbiBasryaddressed “entranced” or “hypnotized”? Itcannotbedeniedthat Yehudit wasfullyawakewhentheexorcism employed thepopularidiomofhypnosistodepicthervagueexperiences. Butwasshereally suggestions asapointofreference. unknown territorytoher, shefocusedonandeasilysuccumbedtotheexorcist’squeries ation. Feelingillateaseanddisorientedinfrontofthecrowdsynagogue, aforeignand Basry strikesmeasplausible, reflectingasincereattempttomakesenseofanincoherentsitu- to RabbiBasry. Second, Yehudit’s descriptionofherconditionwhenshewasbroughttoRabbi sodes hadstartedspontaneouslyathome, beforeshemetwiththereligiousactivistswholedher sion withtheexorcist, seemsincompatiblewiththemultiplereportsthatherpossessionepi- Finding ourselvesinthetheatreagain, itisinterestingtonotethat Yevgeny Vakhtangov was From asocialpsychologyperspective, specificallyroletheory, theseeminglydistinctive In theabsenceofsemanticcategoriessuchas “trance” or “dissociation,” Yehudit cogently First, theassumptionthat Yehudit’s dybbukwasasheerfabrication, theoutcomeofcollu- 2009). Hana Rovina, the first lady of the (TartakowskiHebrew theatre, in exactly the same way for about half a century Beyond the obvious fact that Leah’s role was precisely defined by the playscript, it was played by the same actress, Dybbuk-as-play occupiedcenterstagepreciselyatthetimewhen dybbuk-as-illness dis- — from creduloustoskepticandback 13 While theexorcisticritualwaswelldefined, itdidnotprovide

— with changingcircumstances. -

The Dybbuk 47 - - might — has possessed him/ possessed has dybbuk even before exorcism was performed — , and its Hebrew translation by H.N. Bialik, both the term term the both Bialik, H.N. by translation DybbukHebrew its and , The In other words, through the mediation of Ansky’s play, the dybbuk Ansky’s play, the mediation of through In other words, 14

In discussing a present-day dybbuk case, Tamar Alexander notes: “As a consequence of the popularity of the the of popularity the of consequence a “As notes: Alexander Tamar case, dybbuk discussing a present-day In [...], An-ski S. by written Yiddish drama - flow and change of the dynamic is an illustration return of the dybbuk-as-illness The recent Yehudit’s case gives us the opportunity to contemplate further the therapeutic value of dyb- case gives us the opportunity to contemplate further the therapeutic value Yehudit’s Turning the limelight on the exorcism as a therapeutic ritual highlights the multidimen- the limelight on the exorcism as a therapeutic Turning Students of possession embracing the naturalist-instrumental paradigm (Bourguignon 1976, paradigm (Bourguignon 1976, Students of possession embracing the naturalist-instrumental and the phenomenon became widely disseminated, along with the Hebrew idiom, A idiom, Hebrew the with along disseminated, widely became phenomenon the and (2003:309). her” 14. ability of historical processes and cultural milieus. In hindsight, as Israeli society became more society became more as Israeli In hindsight, cultural milieus. processes and ability of historical cultural ecology in receptive to the it gradually grew more mystically oriented, Jewish and way back to ontol- has paved the Hauntology thrive again. possession could which dybbuk play in itself kept the spec- that the ongoing popularity of the canonical It seems unlikely ogy. that this however, It is possible, alive throughout the 20th century. ter of dybbuk possession the connotative breadth and cog- bolstering nuanced and indirect effect, popularity had a more it an available cultural idiom dybbuk as a semantic category and making nitive salience of the for contemporary Israelis. nurtured dybbuk cases in the past were ruptured, their shadows, the specter of specters, might might of specters, the specter shadows, their were ruptured, cases in the past nurtured dybbuk us. return to haunt have had therapeutic value. The traditional case reports are redolent with sexual, aggressive, aggressive, case reports are redolent with sexual, The traditional have had therapeutic value. embedded in the intruding spirit’s dis- or subversive themes, “deviant” and other antireligious, that this from a psychological perspective, assume, course and behavior; and it makes sense to some of the pos- according to the reports, In addition, verbal acting out was cathartic in nature. by eliciting by becoming the focus of attention, “secondary gains” sessed entertained significant and by being cared for. sentiments of pity and awe, the spirit’s pres- On the instrumental level, ritual. irrespective of the exorcistic buk possession, gave her more leeway to confront her children albeit compulsory and noxious, ence in her body, the exorcism gave her a chance to ameliorate and rec- No less important, and keep them at bay. She was about which she was highly concerned. tify her husband’s spiritual status in heaven, in her attempts to garner symbolic capital by transforming her however, much less successful, The gap between to bring people back to the fold. serving self into a respectable moral agent, remained “in the air” even for people like Yehudit who never set a foot in the theatre. set a foot in the theatre. who never Yehudit even for people like “in the air” remained possession in all its complexity. nature of the healing process in dybbuk sionality and dialectical the background of the previous can be evaluated in this respect against Yehudit The exorcism of exor Yehudit’s of individual therapy, As a traditional variant Ansky’s play. case reports as well as cism appears as a success story. This has been true for most of the previous case reports, where of the previous case reports, This has been true for most cism appears as a success story. an end to the victims’ agonizing dissociative state and the expulsion of the intruding spirits put the rep- Admittedly, premorbid selves. and restored them to their normal, associated symptoms, the all-too-familiar tendency to publicize successful resentability of our corpus is suspect given and highly But it makes sense to assume that the emotionally charged cases and ignore failures. had the based on a widely shared cultural logic, structured ritual performance of the exorcism, granting the Far beyond from their acute distress. suggestive power to extricate many victims this cultural logic authoritatively dictated the sequence possessing spirits ontological validity, situate them where they ultimately belonged accord- of steps designed to rectify the spirits and “natural” the in exorcism, “ex” As indicated by the prefix ing to accepted cosmological premises. body. culturally enjoined) location of the possessing spirit is outside the victim’s (that is, have claimed that under the aegis of the intruding 1979; de Heusch 1981; Lewis [1971] 2003) wishes the possessed could give vent to otherwise inexpressible experiences of forbidden spirits, through the the very articulation of the distressful experiences Thus, and traumatic memories. idiom of the dybbuk in possession episodes Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on 27 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00941 by guest on27 September 2021

48 Yoram Bilu that recurred her loverinthelandofdead. InTheDybbuk, thelovingbondbetweenLeahandKhanan aborts thearrangedmarriageimposedonherbyfatherchoosingtouniteherselfwith ethos of Ansky’s play, takesthefeministlogictofruition. Leahdefiesthepatriarchalorderand kill itshost. Unlikeinthesecases, Leah’sdeath, groundedasitisinthemodernistandromantic three earlycases(Bilu1985), althoughinothers, including Yehudit’s, thespiritthreatenedto cism didappearinthetraditionalreports;butitwasanuncommonphenomenon, limitedto the protagonist, meetsherdeathattheendofritual. Deathofthepossessedfollowingexor voice thepossessedwasgrantedbyintrudingspirit(Elior2008). ted toherinapatriarchalsociety. Exorcism, performedbyamalespecialist, isaboutmutingthe the profligatemalespirit, endswithpushingherbacktotherestricteddomesticterritoryallot- of thefemalevictimtobreakouthergenderedroleconfines, undertheprotectivecoverof cess oftheritual, endingwiththeexpulsionofspirit, isself-destructive. The daringattempt healing inexorcismatlarge. Itmightbeargued, fromafeministperspective, thattheverysuc- status andgetridofthestigmashecontractedproblematizesmeaningimplications Yehudit’s symptomaticrelieffollowingexorcismandherfailuretoimprovesocioeconomic and rebellious. absent fromthestageperformance ofThe show withclearmorallessons. These conservative, conformity-enhancingmoral lessonswere cles brought Yehudit’s storyto manyhomes, transformingitintoareality(orsuper-reality) t tury, itsinherentrhetoricalandmoraldimensions couldbefurtheramplifiedbyadvancedmedia or ongiantscreensinreligious andpoliticalrallies. TV newsprogramsandnewspaper arti Yehudit’s exorcism. Lateron, theycouldwatch thevideocassettesofexorcismathome rabbinical authorities. healing processthataffectedthecommunityasawhole viewers ofdybbukexorcismandthereadersreportscould bedeemedpartofabroader ing peopletorepent. The revivalistsentimentsand spiritualreawakeningexperiencedbythe cist andthepossessed, deviantbehaviorscouldbeused as conformity-enhancingdevices, urg- principle ofpersonalprovidence. Inthisway, through apeculiarcollusionbetweentheexor evidential confirmationforthebasictenetsofJudaism, such astheimmortalityofsoulsand strong impactontheviewers. The spirits’recitationsduringtheritualconstitutedadramatic cism evolvedinmanycases, fromthe16thcenturyonward, intoanexcitingspectacle, witha and evil, thesacredandprofane, thelivinganddeadvividlycollided. As such, theexor the invadingspirits, theexorcisticritualwasamoraltheatre, acaptivatingdramawheregood of individualtherapy. Whether ornotthepossessedwere “really cured” bytheexpulsionof transforming thisbondingintoapermanentstateinthekingdomofdead. seemed toentertainasimilarsentiment ing ittoheaven vent toherwishreintegratehim until theend. Inbeingreunitedwithherhusbandduringthepossessionepisodes, Yehudit gave could notforgiveherselfforkeepingherpromisetostaynearmoribundhusband’sbed matrimony hehadmadewithKhanan’sfatherlongbeforethetwoloverswereborn. Yehudit ise between victimandspiritisuniqueamongpossessioncasesreportedsincethe16thcentury. draws thetwofemaleprotagonistsclosetoeachother. This kindofaffectionateattachment echnology. PeoplealloverIsraelcouldhear, intheliveradiobroadcast, highmomentsfrom — The therapeuticaspectsoftheexorcismarefurtherproblematizedin Ansky’s play, asLeah, As thecaseof Yehudit amplyshows, whenthedybbuk returnedattheendof20thcen The socialimplicationsoftheexorcismweretoofar-reaching tobeexhaustedatthelevel Note alsothatinbothcases, thepossessionepisodeswereprecipitatedbyaviolatedprom- a motifalmostnonexistentinthetraditionalcorpus. Leah’sfatherdisregardedthepactof — — albeit withalotofambivalence into thefamilyframeworkhehadleftprematurely(seeCaciola2016). Leah — at leasttemporarily, beforerectifyinghissoulandlaunch- — Dybbuk, thetenorofwhichwas modernist, romantic, bonding withherdeadlover — in thecaseof Yehudit andherlatehusband — at leastfromtheperspectiveof — but wentfurtherby - - - - - The Dybbuk 49

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