A Friend of the Devil is a Friend of Mine: Are Sheidim Good Guys in the World of Chazal?

לא אלה — Understand this as the Targum does: They sacrifice unto that in which is no utility, for if there were at least any utility in them to the world (as e.g:, the sun, moon and stars) God’s jealousy would not have been so intense (lit. — doubled) as it is now. (Sifrei Devarim 318:13).

AFTER WHOM THEY GO ASTRAY. For whoever seeks after them and believes in them strays from under his God, for he thinks that there is someone aside from God the glorious and awe inspiring who does good or bad.

לשדים, “to demons;” the word is derived from the root שדד, “to ruin, lay waste.” Demons have that effect on the brains of human beings. (B’chor shor)

DEMONS. Shedim (demons) has the same meaning as se’irim (satyrs) in the satyrs after whom they go astray (Lev. 17:7)... The meaning of la-shedim lo eloha is clearly, unto demons who are no-gods. They are called shedim in the same way that the Emim are called Emim. They are called shedim because they destroy reason.

AND THEY SHALL NO MORE SACRIFICE THEIR SACRIFICES ‘LA’SE’IRIM’ AFTER WHOM THEY GO ASTRAY. “La’se’irim means ‘unto the demons.’ ... Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that “the demons are so called [se’irim, a word which is connected with sei’ar, meaning ‘hair’], because on seeing them a person’s hair stands up on his body. But it is likely that they are called se’irim [a word which also means ‘goats’], because mentally deranged persons see them in the form of goats...
They are also called sheidim [“demons,” as Rashi interpreted here — a word which is connected with shodad, meaning “devastate, despoil, ruin”], because they dwell in “devastated” places, such as the desert, and their principal habitat is in the far corners [of the earth], such as the northern extremity of the earth which is wasteland on account of the cold climate.
Know that just as the formation at the original Creation of man’s body as well as that of all living creatures, vegetation and minerals, was from the four elements, which were combined by Divine power to form material bodies which as a result of their thickness and coarseness could be perceived by the five senses, even so there was a creation from only two elements, fire and air, resulting in a body which cannot be felt, nor perceived by any of the [five] senses...The matter of “eating” [mentioned above in connection with these creatures] means their deriving nourishment from the moisture of water and the odors of fire

... But neither of them know what is to happen, but they can only inform of that which is to happen in the near future, as we know from their encounters [i.e., those of enchanters], that they gain knowledge from the sheidim as to what has been decreed to come. Therefore Onkelos rendered the verse, They sacrificed unto demons, ‘lo eloha’ (no gods), as “they sacrificed unto demons in which there is no utility,” meaning that there is no need for them, as they do not prevent harm that is destined to come, neither do they do anything productive, nor do they inform of times far off so that a person may knowingly guard himself.

The Sages taught: Six statements were said with regard to demons: In three ways they are like ministering angels, and in three ways they are like humans. The baraita specifies: In three ways they are like ministering angels: They have wings like ministering angels; and they fly from one end of the world to the other like ministering angels; and they know what will be in the future like ministering angels. Should it enter your mind that they know this? Rather, they hear from behind the curtain when God reveals something of the future, like ministering angels. And in three ways they are similar to humans: They eat and drink like humans; they multiply like humans; and they die like humans.

(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.

Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: All those years during which Adam was ostracized for the sin involving the Tree of Knowledge, he bore spirits, demons, and female demons, as it is stated: “And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth” (Genesis 5:3). By inference, until now, the age of one hundred thirty, he did not bear after his image, but rather bore other creatures.

"and from all life, all flesh, take two..." R' Hoshaya said, even the spirits entered with Noach to the Ark, as it it written "all life" [distinct from "all flesh"], meaning take from them who have souls but not bodies.

And Elokim said "let the land bring forth deshe"

Rebbi said, these are the shedim, that Hashem created their souls, and was preparing to create their bodies when God sanctified the Shabbat and did not create them. This is to teach us derech eretz from the shedim, that if a person has an expensive object or jewel on erev shabbat as it gets dark, he is instructed to throw it away from him, for the One Who Spoke and the World Came to Be was engaged in the creation of the world and was preparing to create their bodies when God sanctified the Shabbat and did not create them.

also the destructive spirits: These are the shedim (demons). As after the Holy One, blessed be He, created Adam and Chava, he was involved in their creation. And when He created their spirits, He did not suffice to create their bodies before the [Shabbat] day was sanctified, and they remained spirits without a body.

It was also said with regard to the manna: “And its taste was as the taste of a cake [shad] baked with oil [hashamen]” (Numbers 11:8). Rabbi Abbahu said: Shad means breast. Just as a baby tastes different flavors from the breast, since the taste of the milk changes somewhat depending on what foods his mother eats, so too with the manna, every time that the Jewish people ate the manna, they found in it many different flavors, based on their preferences. There are those who say that the word is written as shed and means literally a demon. How so? Just as a demon changes into different forms and colors, so too, the manna changed into different flavors.

In another baraita it was taught that Abba Binyamin says: If the eye was given permission to see, no creature would be able to withstand the demons. Abaye said: They are more numerous than we are and they stand over us like mounds of earth surrounding a pit. Rav Huna said: Each and every one of us has a thousand demons to his left and ten thousand to his right. Rava said: The crowding at the kalla, the gatherings for Torah study during Elul and Adar, is from the demons;vthose knees that are fatigued is from the demons; those clothes of the Sages that wear out, is from friction with the demons; those feet that are in pain is from the demons.

שמע ישראל, “Hear O Israel!” we have an aggadic text according to which the letter ע in the word שמע is supposed to be written separate from the line. The reason for this is supposed to be that G-d created the universe by using this letter. What is meant by this? Israel is one amongst 70 nations, the nations are one seventieth of the beasts, the beasts are one seventieth of the birds, the birds are one seventieth of the fish, which are one seventieth of sheidim, which are one seventieth of the angels in heaven. Hashem presides over all of these creatures as the sole ruler.

How could the Sages establish a matter through which one will come to expose himself to danger? But wasn’t it taught in a baraita: A person should not eat pairs, i.e., an even number of food items; and he should not drink pairs of cups; and he should not wipe himself with pairs; and he should not attend to his sexual needs in pairs. Rav Naḥman said that the verse said: “It was a night of watching to the Lord” (Exodus 12:42); Passover night is a night that remains guarded from harmful spirits Rava said: The cup of blessing combines with the other cups for the good, and it does not combine for the bad. Ravina said: The Sages instituted four separate cups, each of which is consumed in a manner that demonstrates freedom. Therefore, each and every one is an independent mitzvah.

Rav Pappa said: Yosef the Demon said to me: If one drinks two cups, we demons kill him; if he drinks four, we do not kill him. But this person who drank four, we harm him. There is another difference between two and four: With regard to one who drinks two, whether he did so unwittingly or intentionally, we harm him. With regard to one who drinks four, if he does so intentionally, yes, he is harmed; if he does so unwittingly, no, he will not be harmed.

The Sages taught: A person should not drink water from rivers or from ponds at night. And if he drank, his blood is upon his own head due to the danger. The Gemara explains: What is this danger? The danger of blindness. The Gemara asks: And if he is thirsty, what is his remedy? If there is another person with him, he should say to him: So-and-so, son of so-and-so, I thirst for water. And if there is no one else with him, he should say to himself: So-and-so, my mother said to me to beware of shavrirei, the demon of blindness. Shavrirei berirei rirei yiri ri; I thirst for water in white earthenware cups.

(5) One should not pray in a breached place, like in a field, for when one is in a private place, the fear of the king falls upon him and his heart breaks [in prayer].

(6) And [one should] not [pray] in a ruin, because of suspicion, because of collapses, and because of the evil spirits.

...and if there are two entering the ruin, there is no concern for harmful demons, since they will appear to and harm a lone person, but to two people they will appear but not harm, and to three they will not even appear if not a place where it is known demons regularly go. And a person with a torch is like two people, and the moon counts as a third. Therefore, if they are two, it is permitted to enter if it is secure and strong and standing in a field.

18. It is necessary to be careful from the 17th of Tammuz until the 9th of Av not to go out alone from the 4th to 9th hour (of the day) because the demon Meriri rules and do not hit students on these days.

Who said those teachings, and delivered them from one place to the other? Was it not Elijah the Prophet, who traveled from Sura to Pumbedita by way of a miraculous leap through the air above ten handbreadths from the ground, who said them? Apparently, the prohibition of Shabbat limits does not apply above ten handbreadths, for Elijah would not have transgressed this prohibition. The Gemara rejects this argument: This is no proof; perhaps Yosef the demon reported these teachings and brought them from Sura to Pumbedita.

§ It is related that the following ruling was sent from Eretz Yisrael to Shmuel’s father: If one was forcibly compelled to eat matza on Passover, he has fulfilled his obligation. The Gemara clarifies the matter: Who compelled him to eat the matza? If we say that a demon forced him, isn’t it taught in a baraita: With regard to someone who is at times sane and at times insane, at the times when he is sane, he is considered halakhically competent for all purposes and is obligated in all the mitzvot. And when he is insane, he is considered insane for all purposes, and is therefore exempt from the mitzvot.

MISHNA: With regard to one who was thrown into a pit and thought that he would die there, and he said that anyone who hears his voice should write a bill of divorce for his wife, those who hear him should write this bill of divorce and give it to his wife. GEMARA: But let us be concerned that perhaps the source of the voice in the pit is a demon. Rav Yehuda says: It is where they saw that the being in the pit has human form. The Gemara objects: Demons too can appear in human form. The Gemara explains: It is a case where they saw that he has a shadow [bavua]. The Gemara objects: Demons also have a shadow. The Gemara explains: It is a case where they saw that he has the shadow of a shadow. The Gemara objects: And perhaps demons too have the shadow of a shadow? Rabbi Ḥanina says: Yonatan my son taught me that demons have a shadow but they do not have the shadow of a shadow. But perhaps the source of the voice in the pit is a rival wife of the woman who is to be divorced. A Sage from the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: During a time of danger, one writes and gives a bill of divorce even though the people instructed to do so are not familiar with the man who gave the instructions.

(10) If they heard a voice saying "So-and-so died," and they went [to look] but did not find a man (i.e. they did not find a source for the voice), they may still permit his wife to remarry. If they heard this voice in the field or a cistern or a ruin, we do not permit remarriage on the basis of this voice because we are concerned that it came from a demon, as the voice derived from locales frequented by demons.

Rava says: The one warning the accused of whom the Sages spoke need not be a third witness, but even if the victim warns the murderer from his own mouth, and even from the mouth of a demon.

(3) As soon as Rabbi Yoel arrived he placed the spirits under oath using Divine names and compelled them to reveal why they had come to that house. For the spirits are not permitted to take up residence in settled areas but only in dilapidated houses or in the wilderness. The spirits replied that this house was rightfully theirs by Torah law, but they agreed to appear before the rabbinical court of Posen to present their case. A day or two later the judges of Posen went with Rabbi Yoel Ba’al Shem and took their seats in the court. Then a voice began addressing them, although they could not see any form. One of the spirits explained that this house formerly belonged to a man named So-and-so who was a smith. He used to cohabit with a certain female demon, who bore him “foreign sons” and “destructive sons.” He had a human wife as well, who also bore him sons. But the smith was very much in love with the demon to the point that his soul was bound up with hers. Sometimes he was obliged to interrupt his prayers and leave the synagogue in order to fulfill the wishes of the demon.

(4) One time the smith was leading the Seder on the first night of Passover, in accordance with Jewish custom everywhere, when suddenly he rose from the table to go to the outhouse. His wife said nothing but she immediately went after him to see what business he had there. Through a chink in the wall of the outhouse she saw that inside there was a luxurious room with a table set with vessels of silver and gold and a bed spread with beautiful coverings. In the bed she saw a beautiful naked woman to whom the smith was clinging firmly. Filled with fright the woman went home, her mind in turmoil. About a quarter of an hour later her husband returned to the Seder and she did not say a word to him about what she had seen.

(5) The next day she went to speak to the illustrious Rabbi Sheftel (son of the Shelah) and related to him everything that had transpired. The rabbi sent for the smith who confessed that he had a foreign wife who was not of human stock. Then the rabbi composed an amulet containing holy names by which he compelled the smith to abandon his foreign wife, the malignant spirit. Sometime before the man’s demise the demon came back to him weeping. “How could he abandon her and her children?” she asked. Then she smiled at him, kissing and hugging and cajoling him until he agreed to grant her and her offspring a portion in his estate, bequeathing to them the cellar. Years later Poland was immersed in a war, lasting from 5408 until 5418. In the course of the war the smith and all his heirs were killed and there was no one left to inherit the house. “Therefore,” concluded the spirit, “we spirits are the true heirs, and we have a lawful portion in our father’s estate.”

(6) The current owners of the house responded that they purchased the structure for the full price from the smith and his representatives. Moreover, spirits do not have the legal status of offspring. Finally, their mother the demon had compelled the smith to live with her against his will! Having heard the two sides the court handed down its ruling. Indeed, the spirits had no case, nor did they have any share in the estate because their true dwelling place is in the wilderness, not in areas of human settlement. After the ruling was delivered Rabbi Yoel bound the spirits by oath to vacate the premises, including the cellar, and return to the forest and the wilderness. From this incident you have a clear demonstration that when a man clings to Lilis or to one of the cohorts of Machalas he uproots himself and his entire family from the world until no memory of him remains.

And one may not consult the words of demons on Shabbat. Rabbi Yosei says: Even during the week it is prohibited to consult demons. Rav Huna said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei. The Gemara notes: And even Rabbi Yosei did not say that it is due to the Torah prohibition of witchcraft; rather, it is prohibited due to danger, lest the demons harm him. This could happen, as in that incident concerning Rav Yitzḥak bar Yosef, who consulted a demon and as a result was swallowed into a cedar tree, and a miracle was performed for him and the cedar split and expelled him.

(16) Demonic work is prohibited, but some permit inquiring of them about stolen items. [Comment of Rema: And derived from this (B"Y and Hagahot Maimoniot 11 in "Laws of Theft") And to force them to swear oaths using Divine Names, some permit in any situation. (B"Y citing N"Y and citing that comment) But in any case, most of the practitioners of this do not get out of it peacefully, so one who wants to protect their soul will distance themselves from them (demons) (B"Y).]

Demonic acts are in the category of magics and anyone who performs a deed from them is liable death by stoning. And the distinction [with the sorcerers of Egypt] between 'lateihim and lahateihem' is entirely within the realm of magics, but one is magic perform via demons and one is performed via magics alone.

And we see from the explanation of R' Chiya bar Avin and Abayei that explain what are demonic acts and what are magic acts, that they agree that demonic acts are not counted as a part of magic, and are permitted.

There, we have stated: “Do not believe in yourself up to the day of your death.” It happened that a pious man sat and stated, do not believe in yourself up to your old age, as I am. There came a spirit to tempt him, and he started to err after her. She told him, do not feel bad, I am a spirit. Go and be equal to your colleagues.

My teacher, Rav Yehudah Hachassid Z"TL would say that shedim believed in Torah and did all that which the sages commanded. And you may ask, if so, why do demons seduce married women? And he explained that at times they do things which are inappropriate, and sometimes even without their knowledge.

...but regarding shedim, there is no prohibition of adultery. As it is written in Medrash Tanchuma, all the years Adam separated from Chava, spirits would come to him and and would create from them mazikin. At that point, Hashem said "I created My world for the sake of fruitful reproduction."... Based on this, it was said that one who engages in intercourse with spirits is not liable punishment even though he brought forth seed in vain, it is like a nightly emission, and certainly not like adultery. [Intercourse] with a human or animal or or self-pleasure by hand or foot [is forbidden] but with spirits is is not an act of zenut.

Furthermore, there is a story of a pious man who had a female sheidah appear to him and paired with him immediately before Yom Kippur. And the pious man was greatly pained and troubled because of this act, until Elijah appeared to him and said "You are exempt. She was a sheidah, and addled your mind." And has he been liable, Elijah would not have appeared to him and spoken to him and exempted him. Thus we learn that it [intercourse with shedim] is not zenut and one who does so is exempt.

Returning to our topic; from all that has been said previously, we learned that there is no zenut by [intercourse with] an animal and from this we learn that there is no zenut by a sheid or spirit who has intercourse with a woman, for by an animal that is intercourse in the way of humans, but by a sheid or spirit there is no intercourse in the way of humans... therefore, there is no zenut by intercourse with them, therefore the woman is not forbidden to her husband even if he is a kohen.

Abaye heard that Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov was coming. There was a certain demon in the study hall of Abaye, which was so powerful that when two people would enter they would be harmed, even during the day. Abaye said to the people of the town: Do not give Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov lodging [ushpiza] so that he will be forced to spend the night in the study hall, perhaps a miracle will occur. Rav Aḥa found no place to spend the night, and he entered and spent the night in that study hall of the Sages. The demon appeared to him like a serpent with seven heads. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov began to pray, and with every bow that he bowed one of the demon’s heads fell off, until it eventually died. The next day Rav Aḥa said to the townspeople: If a miracle had not occurred, you would have placed me in danger.

The Master said: Here they interpreted it: Male demons and female demons. The Gemara asks: Why was it necessary for Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, to have male demons and female demons? ... Solomon said to the sages: How shall I make it so that the stone will be precisely cut without using iron? They said to him: There is a creature called a shamir that can cut the stones, which Moses brought and used to cut the stones of the ephod. Solomon said to them: Where is it found? They said to him: Bring a male demon and a female demon and torment them together. It is possible that they know where, and due to the suffering they will reveal the place to you. Solomon brought a male demon and a female demon and tormented them together, and they said: We do not know where to find the shamir. Perhaps Ashmedai, king of the demons, knows. Solomon said to them: Where is Ashmedai? They said to him: He is on such-and-such a mountain. He has dug a pit for himself there, and filled it with water, and covered it with a rock, and sealed it with his seal. And every day he ascends to Heaven and studies in the heavenly study hall and he descends to the earth and studies in the earthly study hall. And he comes and checks his seal to ensure that nobody has entered his pit, and then he uncovers it and drinks from the water in the pit. And then he covers it and seals it again and goes. Solomon sent for Benayahu, son of Jehoiada, a member of the royal entourage, and gave him a chain onto which a sacred name of God was carved, and a ring onto which a sacred name of God was carved, and fleeces of wool and wineskins of wine. What did Benayahu do? He went and dug a pit lower down the mountain, below the pit dug by Ashmedai, drained the water, and plugged it with the fleeces of wool so that Ashmedai’s pit was emptied. And he dug a pit higher up the mountain, above Ashmedai’s pit. And he poured the wine into it so that the wine filled Ashmedai’s pit, and he plugged the lower and upper pits that he dug. He climbed up and sat in a tree. When Ashmedai came he checked his seal, opened the pit, and found it to be filled with wine. He said that it is written: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is riotous; and whosoever wallows in it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1), and it is written: “Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the heart” (Hosea 4:11). He concluded: I will not drink this wine. Eventually, when he became thirsty, he was unable to resist the wine and he drank, became intoxicated, and fell asleep. Benayahu descended from the tree, came, and threw the chain around Ashmedai, and enclosed him within it. When Ashmedai awoke he struggled to remove the chain. Benayahu said to him: The name of your Master is upon you, the name of your Master is upon you! When Benayahu took Ashmedai and came to Jerusalem he reached a palm tree and Ashmedai rubbed against it and knocked it down. He reached a house and knocked it down. He reached a small shack [kuva] belonging to a certain widow. This widow emerged, and she begged him not to knock down the house. He bent his body away from her, to the other side, and broke one of his bones. He said: This is as it is written: “Soft speech can break a bone” (Proverbs 25:15). Ashmedai saw a blind man who was lost on the road and he brought him to the correct road. He saw a drunk who was lost on the road and he brought him to the correct road. He saw the joy of a wedding celebration in which they were celebrating, and he cried. He heard a certain man say to a shoemaker [ushkafa]: Make me shoes that will last for seven years, and he laughed. He saw a certain sorcerer performing magic, and he laughed. When Ashmedai arrived there, in Jerusalem, they did not bring him before Solomon until three days had passed. On the first day he said to them: Why doesn’t the king want me to come to him? They said to him: He drank too much and was overcome by drink. Ashmedai took a brick and placed it on top of another brick. The servants came and told Solomon what he had done. Solomon interpreted the action and said to them: This is what he said to you through this allusion: Return and give the king more to drink. The following day Ashmedai said to them: And why doesn’t the king want me to come to him? They said to him: He ate too much and was overcome by food. Ashmedai took the brick off the other brick and placed it on the ground. The servants came and told Solomon what Ashmedai had done. He interpreted Ashmedai’s actions and said to them: This is what he said to you through this allusion: Take his food away from him. At the end of three days Ashmedai came before Solomon. Ashmedai took a reed and measured four cubits [garmidei], and threw it before him. He said to Solomon: See, when that man, Solomon, dies, he will have nothing in this world except the four cubits of his grave. Now you have conquered the entire world and yet you are not satisfied until you also conquer me?

Ashmedai said to him: Take the chain engraved with God’s name off me and give me your ring with God’s name engraved on it, and I will show you my strength. Solomon took the chain off him and he gave him his ring. Ashmedai swallowed the ring and grew until he placed one wing in the heaven and one wing on the earth. He threw Solomon a distance of four hundred parasangs. With regard to that moment Solomon said: “What profit is there for a person through all of his toil under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3)... Solomon circulated from door to door collecting charity, and wherever he arrived he would say: “I, Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:12). When he finally arrived at the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem the sages said: Now, an imbecile does not fixate on one matter all of the time, so what is this matter? Is this man perhaps telling the truth that he is Solomon? The sages said to Benayahu: Does the king require you to be with him? Benayahu said to them: No. They sent to the queens and asked: Does the king come to be with you? The queens sent a response to them: Yes, he comes. They sent a request to the queens: Check his feet to see if they are human feet. The queens sent a response to the sages: He always comes in socks [bemokei], and it is not possible to see his feet. The queens continued discussing the king’s behavior: And he demands of them, when they are niddah. And he also demands Bathsheba his mother. They brought Solomon, gave him a ring and the chain on which the name of God was carved. When Solomon entered, Ashmedai saw him and fled.

(14) The Rabbi: I feared that thou wouldst be deceived, and acquiesce in their views. Because they furnish mathematical and logical proofs, people accept everything they say concerning physics and metaphysics, taking every word as evidence...... Why art thou reluctant to accept the 'firmament' and 'the water above the heavens,' and the evil spirits mentioned by the Sages, the description of the events to be expected during the days of the Messiah, the resurrection of the dead and the world to come? Why should we need such artificial theories in order to prove the life of the soul after the dissolution of the body, considering that we have reliable information with regard to the return of the soul, be it spiritual or corporeal. If thou wouldst endeavor to confirm or refute these views logically, life would be spent in vain.

ואחות תובל קין נעמה, “and the sister of Tubal-Kayin was Naamah.” Bereshit Rabbah 23,4 claims that Naamah became the wife of Noach. It is claimed that the Torah calls her Naamah to reflect her lovely disposition, her good deeds.
There is a different tradition (compare Zohar Chadash Midrash Ha-neelam 19,2) which claims that Naamah was the wife of the demon Ashmadon if the demons Ashmadai and others were born by her. We have a tradition that four women (compare Nachmanides) became the mothers of demons. They were Lilith, Naamah, Igrat, and Machalat. Each one of them disposes of whole camps of followers and a spiritually negative aura emanates from them all. It is said that each one of these is dominant during one of the four seasons of the year and that they gather at the mountain Nishpeh (a simile for a high mountain mentioned in Isaiah 13,2.) This mountain is located near mountains called חשך, and each one holds sway during one of the four seasons of the year from sundown until midnight, they and all the members of their respective camps (entourage).
Solomon alluded to all these עבדים ושפחות servants and servant maids. What he referred to was that he had made these demons subservient to him.

(1) They asked of [Jewish] sages in Rome, etc. - Amongst that which you should know is that the perfected philosophers do not believe in tzelamim, by which I mean talismanery, but scoff at them and at those who think that they possess efficacy and I will extend on this to say this because I know that most people are seduced by this with great folly, and with similar things, and think that they are real — which is not so, even though the best of the pious in our religion think that they are true, just being forbidden by the Torah, and they do not understand that those things are completely empty lies. We are commanded in the Torah not to do them just as we are commanded against lying. And these are things that have received great publicity amongst the pagans, especially amongst the nation which is called the Sabians, this is a nation that came from Abraham our father, peace be upon him, from his sons, and they follow [those sons'] errors and rotten thinking ... and they promoted and gave honor to the stars, connecting to them deeds that have no connection to them; wrote works dealings with the stars, and witchcraft, and adjurations, and spiritual astrology, and things about stars , and demons, and old tales, and magic, and soothsaying, and asking the dead, and many other such issues. which the true Torah fights and cuts off, being the essence of idolatry and its branches.

(14) This belief flourished about the time of our Teacher Moses. People were attracted and misled by it. We find it in the Song of Moses (Deut. xxxii.): “They sacrificed unto spirits, not to God” (ibid. 17). According to the explanation of our Sages, the words lo eloha imply the following idea: They have not only not left off worshipping things in existence; they even worship imaginary things. This is expressed in Sifri as follows: “It is not enough for them to worship the sun, the moon, the stars; they even worship their babuah. The word babuah signifies “shadow.”

(13) Although blood was very unclean in the eyes of the Sabeans, they nevertheless partook of it, because they thought it was the food of the spirits; by eating it man has something in common with the spirits, which join him and tell him future events, according to the notion which people generally have of spirits... They imagined that in this manner the spirits would come to partake of the blood which was their food, whilst the idolaters were eating the flesh: that love, brotherhood, and friendship with the spirits were established, because they dined with the latter at one place and at the same time; that the spirits would appear to them in dreams, inform them of coming events, and be favorable to them.

(2) ...The warning is acceptable whether it was administered by one of the witnesses or by another individual, even a woman or a servant. Even if the transgressor hears the voice of the person administering the warning, but does not see him, and even if he himself administers the warning, he should be executed.

(6) Similarly, one should not stick a knife into an etrog or into a radish, lest a person fall on its point and die.
Similarly, it is forbidden for a person to pass under a wall that is leaning, or over a shaky bridge or to enter a ruin. Similarly, it is forbidden to enter all other places that are dangerous for these or other reasons.

(3) In this figurative sense, the verb yalad (to bear) is employed when it is said of Adam, “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat (va-yoled) a son in his own likeness, in his form” (Gen. 5:3). As regards the words, “the form of Adam, and his likeness,” we have already stated (ch. i.) their meaning. Those sons of Adam who were born before that time were not human in the true sense of the word, they had not “the form of man.” With reference to Seth who had been instructed, enlightened and brought to human perfection, it could rightly be said, “he (Adam) begat a son in his likeness, in his form.” It is acknowledged that a man who does not possess this “form” (the nature of which has just been explained) is not human, but a mere animal in human shape and form. Yet such a creature has the power of causing harm and injury, a power which does not belong to other creatures. For those gifts of intelligence and judgment with which he has been endowed for the purpose of acquiring perfection, but which he has failed to apply to their proper aim, are used by him for wicked and mischievous ends; he begets evil things, as though he merely resembled man, or simulated his outward appearance. Such was the condition of those sons of Adam who preceded Seth. In reference to this subject the Midrash says: “During the 130 years when Adam was under rebuke he begat spirits,” i.e., demons; when, however, he was again restored to divine favour “he begat in his likeness, in his form.” This is the sense of the passage, “Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and he begat in his likeness, in his form” (Gen. 5:3).

And the Rambam followed in this the conclusions of philosophy, and thus he wrote that magics, and Names, and whispered formulae and demons and amulets are all false. But they have already rapped him on the head since we have found many stories in the Gemara that refer to Names and magics and the like, Philosophy caused him to err, with most of its teachings, and to explain the Gemaras as speaking metaphorically and to uproot the literal meaning of those passages... And chas vesholom that I should not believe in them and in their many [teachings] but rather all is true according to the literal meaning, and there is also an inner meaning, but not the inner meaning that philosophers find which is the external meaning of those who have the truth.

And they will not again sacrifice their sacrifices to Se'irim: That is to say, to shedim. And they [shedim] are false images that causes people to be believe that something which is not a Power, is a Power.

Qamqama turns into Ḥu-Rav-Padah. Ḥar-Efer turns into Šer. The head louse turns into a scorpion and the one of garments into a lizard. A horse worm turns into a wasp, that of cattle into a bee. A male hyena turns into a female, a field rat turns into a wild boar. The spine of a fish turns into a centipede, of a human into a snake. When? If he does not bow down with his entire spine.

HALAKHAH: ...As Rebbi Ḥanina said, the names of the months ascended with them from Babylonia. Originally, in the month of Ethanim, in which the Patriarchs were born, and the Patriarchs died, and the Mothers were remembered. Originally, in the month of Bul, where the leaves are falling, and the earth is made into lumps; where one mixes for domestic animals in the house. Originally, in the month of Ziw, which is the splendor of the world, when plants are recognized and trees recognized. From then onwards, it was in the month of Nisan of year twenty; it was in the month of Kislew of year twenty; in the tenth month, this is the month of Ṭevet. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, also the names of angels were in their hands from Babylonia. Originally, there flew to me one of the Seraphim; Seraphim standing over Him. From then on, but the man Gabriel; but your lord Michael.