Torah Study Blog

The Torah portion for this week included one line in particular that caught Rabbi Jaech’s eye. Exodus 22:17 says, “You shall not tolerate a sorceress.” The word translated here as sorceress could also be translated as witch, and it definitely indicates a female.

The Torah has several references to the workings of witchcraft or sorcery. Isaiah 47:12 condemns the Babylonian witches by saying, “Stand up, with your spells and your many enchantments on which you labored since youth!” II Kings 9:22 accuses Queen Jezebel of being a harlot and a sorceress, or, more colloquially, a witch and a whore. The prophet Nahum rails against the sinful inhabitants of Ninevah as follows:

Because of the countless harlotries of the harlot,The winsome mistress of sorcery,
Who ensnared nations with her harlotries and people with her sorcery. (Nahum 3:4)

And the prophet Malachi claims that God will, “act as a relentless accuser against those who have no fear of Me: Who practice sorcery...” (Malachi 3:5).

The writers of the Bible were very concerned about the impact witches could have on the Israelites. They would not be concerned if they felt witchcraft was not real, so the writers believed in the power of witchcraft. Let’s look at a terrific story in 1 Samuel 28 that demonstrates that power:

Saul, the first king of Israel, understood that there were acceptable means of divining what God had in store, but there were also unacceptable means – which included turning to witchcraft. One of the things a witch was believed to be able to do was to speak with the dead in an effort to gain insight. Knowing this, Saul had forbidden any effort by the people to seek out ghosts or familiars.

In this story, the enemy Philistines have gathered and Saul hopes to gain insight into if the Israelites will win this battle. Saul tried speaking directly to

God, then searched for answers in his dreams, next he tried an oracle, finally he tried a prophet – but he never got an answer. Frustrated and frightened, Saul sought out a witch and requested her to raise a ghost. This woman, the witch of En-dor, raised the prophet Samuel from the dead, then Saul was able to ask Samuel if he would be victorious. Samuel gives Saul the devastating news that God is no longer with Saul, and he and his forces will be defeated.

The writers believed that a witch is a powerful person. The thinking was that a witch could cause an action from a distance, and they know the witch is guilty because they cannot identify a commonsense cause and effect. Also, witches are able to obtain information without direct experience.

Although there are references to male sorcerers, the majority of references are to female sorceresses. There is an ancient saying from the 3rd century CE that, “Most women are familiar with witchcraft.” And another that says, “Happy is one whose children are males and woe unto him whose children are females.” These statements, which come from men, are shamelessly chauvinistic.

The writers are indicating that women have some sort of mystical power, with an intent to deceive men. Frequently the witchcraft is coupled with some sort of harlotry. This type of thinking relieves men of all responsibility for controlling their own response to women. Additionally, this is a reason that, in many orthodox communities still today, women worship in a separate room (or behind a curtain) so that they are out of sight of the men.

The whole concept of witchcraft in the Bible makes no sense. There are many instances of “miracles” in the Bible, mostly performed by men. But these men are “our guys,” so it must be okay. They are able to perform actions without a commonsense cause, and to obtain information without direct experience – exactly the same as those women who were thought to be witches. But these men who engage in magic or divination are almost always called “prophets,” a far cry from witches.

The difference between magic and miracles is what is authorized and what is not – and who is doing the action. These stories of Witchy Women are about sexism, and a desire to maintain control and power. However, this really should not come as a surprise because it is not said that the Bible is egalitarian.

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misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Jaech taught us are the responsibility of Tara Keiter