dybbuk n : (Jewish folklore) a demon that enters the body of a living person and controls that body's behavior [syn: dibbuk] [also: dybbukkim (pl)]

English

Noun

dybbuk or dibbuk

1. A malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.

Etymology

From Hebrew דבק (dovek), through Yiddish, meaning cling.

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary

In Kabbalah and European Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. Dybbuks are said to have escaped from Gehenna, a Hebrew term very loosely translated as "hell," or to have been turned away from Gehenna for transgressions too serious for the soul to be allowed there, such as suicide. The word "dybbuk" is derived from the Hebrew דיבוק, meaning "attachment"; the dybbuk attaches itself to the body of a living person and inhabits it. According to belief, a soul that has not been able to fulfill its function in its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so in the form of a dybbuk. It will leave once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped.

References

See also

• Jewish mythology
• Kabbalah
• Ibbur
• Gilgul neshamot
• Qliphoth
• The Dybbuk (a play by S. Ansky, and later adaptations):
  • a 1937 film directed by Michał Waszyński
  • Dybbuk, a ballet by Leonard Bernstein
  • A Dybbuk, adaptation by Tony Kushner
• Song by Gackt Camui
• An all-female Czech rock group

External links

• Dybbuk by Ilil Arbel, Ph.D.
• Dybbuk - Spiritual Possession and Jewish Folklore

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