In Jewish mythology, a dybbuk is a possessive and evil demon. It is believed to be the broken spirit of a deceased person. It apparently leaves the host body once it has achieved its purpose, sometimes after obtaining help.
1. Etymology
“Dybbuk” is an abbreviation of (“a neckline of an evil spirit”), or (“dibbuk, which is found on the outside, in which man is found”). The word “dybbuk” comes from the Hebrew word dibbuq, which means “the act of sticking,” and is a nominal form derived from the verb daḇaq, “to adhere” or “to cling.”
2.
Accounts of possession (such as that given by Josephus) were of demonic possession rather than ghosts. These accounts advocated orthodoxy among the population as a preventive measure. For example, it was suggested that a neglected mezuzah or entertaining doubts about Moses’ crossing of the Red Sea opened one’s house to dybbuk possession.
Very precise details of names and locations have been included in accounts of dybbuk possession. It is reported that Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Rebbe Rebeca (1887-1979), allegedly advised an individual said to be possessed to consult a psychiatrist.
Ansky’s play is an important work of Yiddish theater and has been adapted several times by writers, composers, and other creators, including Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, and Tony Kushner. In the play, “a young bride is possessed by the ghost of the man she was to marry, had her father not broken a marriage agreement.”
There are other forms of spirit or soul transfer in Jewish myths. Unlike the demon, the ibbur (which translates as “saturation“) is a good possession, which happens when a spirit or soul that is whole, righteous, and honest temporarily takes possession of a body.
This is always done with consent, so that the soul can perform a mitzvah. Gilgul (literally meaning “rolling“) posits the idea that a soul must live many lives before gaining the wisdom to reunite with God.
In psychological literature, the Dybbuk has been described as a hysterical syndrome.
3. In popular culture
In popular culture, the Dybbuk has been portrayed, personified, symbolized, and characterized in various films, plays, and TV series. Here are some examples:
Movies
- The Malayalam film Ezra (2017) revolves around a Dybbuk box, with references to Kabbalistic traditions and occultism.
- The 1937 film “The Dybbuk,” based on the Yiddish play by S. Ansky, is considered one of the classics of Yiddish cinema.
- The dybbuk appeared as the main antagonist in the horror films The Unborn (2009) and The Possession (2012).
- The dybbuk was also the main antagonist in the short film Dibbuk (2019).
- In Love and Death, Woody Allen’s 1975 satire of Russian literature, Boris (Allen) flirts with Sonja (Diane Keaton), who is with the fisherman she is going to marry. The bride continues to thwart Boris’ advances, prompting him to ask Sonja, “Did you have to bring the dybbuk?“
- In Christopher Guest’s 1997 film Waiting for Guffman, dentist Allan Pearl talks about his family history in show business.
- In the film To Dust (2018), the protagonist’s children suspect that he is possessed by a dybbuk (most likely that of his deceased wife).
Novels
- In Romain Gary’s 1967 novel The Dance of Genghis Cohn, a concentration camp guard is haunted by the evil demon of one of his victims.
- In Ellen Galford’s 1993 novel, The Dyke and the Dybbuk, lesbian taxi driver Rainbow Rosenbloom is haunted by a female dybbuk who pursues her as a result of a curse placed on her ancestor 200 years earlier.
- The dybbuk appears in Chris Moriarty’s fictional novel The Inquisitor’s Apprentice (2011).
- In the comic book series Girl Genius, the forced insertion of Agatha’s mother’s mind, the main villain Lucrezia Mongfish / “The Other,” was compared to a demon by one of her followers when reporting the situation to another person.
- Richard Zimler’s 2011 novel, The Anagrams of Warsaw, is narrated by an evil spirit desperately trying to understand why it has remained in our world. This is in line with the Kabbalistic belief that dybbuks do not pass on to the Other Side because of a mitzvah or duty they have not fulfilled.
Television
- The Dybbuk is mentioned in the paranormal television show Paranormal Witness, season 2, episode 4, “The Dybbuk Box” (US 2012).
- The “Dybbuk Box” was featured in the first episode of Deadly Possessions (a spin-off of Ghost Adventures), in which the son of a relative of a Holocaust survivor recounts the story of the alleged involvement of Dybbuks in the deaths surrounding the box.
- In the TV show Difficult People, season 3, episode 3 “Code Change,” Billy helps his sister-in-law Rucchel exorcise what she believes is a Dybbuk from her basement.
- Grandpa Boris tells a terrifying story to the babies involving a Dybbuk in an early episode of Rugrats.
- In the Legends of Tomorrow episode “Hell No, Dolly,” the team pursues a demon (voiced by Paul Reubens) trapped in a creepy doll, using the alias “Mike the Spike.” The demon later inhabits a puppet belonging to Martin Stein. At the end of the next episode, “Mike the Spike” is subdued by the Legends and detained at the Time Bureau.
- In The Good Fight, Season 3, Episode 6, Marissa Gold (played by Sarah Steele) refers to a particularly evil and disturbing character.
- In “Documentary Now!”, Season 2: Ep. 7 “He’ll chase that demon out of your room,” is a line from the movie Detective Rabbi.
