Between Worlds

Book Description

Between Worlds unveils a fascinating chapter in Jewish spiritual history through its exploration of spirit possession and exorcism within early modern Jewish communities. Author J. H. Chajes presents detailed accounts of possession cases alongside careful analysis of the magical practices employed by rabbinic exorcists to remove unwelcome spiritual entities.

This scholarly work examines spirit possession as a complex religious phenomenon rooted in the doctrine of reincarnation, while drawing connections to similar practices in Christian and Islamic traditions of the same era. Chajes reveals how these spiritual encounters transcended social boundaries, affecting people across all levels of society regardless of education, wealth, gender, or even religious affiliation.

The book offers particular insight into women's roles within Jewish mystical traditions, positioning spirit possession as a form of religious expression that provided women with significant spiritual agency. Through this lens, readers gain a fresh perspective on feminine participation in Jewish mystical life.

The final section traces how these supernatural accounts were later used as weapons against growing skepticism within the Jewish community of seventeenth-century Amsterdam, showing how ghost stories served broader religious and social purposes.

For those interested in the intersection of spirituality, gender, and religious authority, this work maps previously unexplored territory where the living and the dead converged in everyday religious experience. Chajes illuminates how spiritual phenomena shaped community life and individual faith across cultural divides.