Our Talmud starts talking about Demons on Page 3 – but I sure never learned about them in Hebrew School! What did our sages and folklore know about these spirits? What would it take to re-mysticize our world?
An exploration of Jewish Demonology looks into where demons come from, their lives alongside the sages, and some key figures such as:
Lilith – The Baby-Snatching Demon Queen Turned Feminist Icon
Agrat bat Makhlat – The Demon Queen of Tuesday nights and Friday nights, accompanied by 180,000 Angels of Destruction. Pictured below!
Ashmodai/Asmodeus – A Demon King and rival to King Solomon. Unlike the earthly king, he was known to study in the Study Hall in Heaven every day!
Yosef Sheyda/Joe The Demon – friend to the sages, a teacher of demon lore
Angels
The Angel of Death – Known best from Chad Gadya, the Malach HaMavet is winged and entirely covered in eyes. Fearsome, but literal enough to be duped by a well-timed name change.
HaSatan – “The Devil You Don’t Know” is no arch-nemesis of the Divine, but rather G⚖D’s chosen prosecuting attorney in the Heavenly Court. Still quite the trickster!
Elijah the Prophet – While his angelification paved the way for some famous trans halakha, he was rather genderfluid in his own right, switching between brothel maiden, king’s eunuch, and fire bear!
Demon Classes
Understanding Jewish Horror with “The Vigil” (2019) – This terrifying haunted house film focuses on a shomer who is watching over a dead body until it can be buried in the morning. This body, however, has a demon clinging to him – a demon named “Generational Trauma” – and it’s looking for a new host… Watch the movie with your community and bring me in to help unpack!
Demons in the Trees – This makes for an excellent “super-nature-al walk” for Tu BiShevat! Which shadows are dangerous? Which trees shouldn’t you relieve yourself on? And what do you do about the 60 Demons living together in your serviceberry tree?
Supernatural Evictions: Jewish Demonology as a Social Justice Lens – While most Jewish Demonology focuses on the harm we say demons can cause, this session flips the script. Who is unfairly demonized in our world today? How does de-humanization allow us to justify despicable actions?
Let’s talk about teaching demons!
“Demon Bowl 96” by a potter & scribe, c. 600CE
More pictures on the NLI website.
Those seeking to ward off demons would draw the demons in the center of their bowl, and then force them away with sacred legal language of divorce from the demon “and any other name they might have.”
This one features two demons, wearing skirts, and bound at the feet and neck to each other. I would be very happy to make a play about them one day!
Talmud Magic with Olivia Devorah 