The History of the Divine Service at Altars (62) – The Prohibition of Bamot (39)

In this shiur we will examine Shaul's appeal to the sorceress of Ein Dor.

Shaul's Appeal to the Sorceress of Ein Dor

The Pelishtim are establishing their camp in Shunam in order to wage battle against Israel. Shaul gathers all of Israel together and camps on the Gilboa. When Shaul sees the Pelishti camp, he is overcome by great dread:

And when Shaul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by the Urim, nor by prophets. (I Shemuel 28:6)[1]

Receiving no answer from God through any of the conventional channels, Shaul turns to the sorceress in Ein Dor.

From the account of Shemuel's rising from the dead later in the chapter, it is evident that Shaul's appeal to the sorceress stemmed from his fierce desire to know God's will in every possible way:

And Shemuel said to Shaul, Why have you disquieted me, to bring me up? And Shaul answered, I am greatly distressed for the Pelishtim make war against me, and God has departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do. (v. 15)

The various commentators raise several explanations of God's failure to answer Shaul:

• Shaul himself ceased inquiring of God.
• Shaul should have continued to seek God out and fully repent, but he failed to do so. Rather he appealed to the sorceress of Ein Dor, and that appeal is the very opposite of making an inquiry of God.[2]
• This was a punishment for his slaughter of the priests of Nov, the city of the priests.[3]
• In the wake of the slaughter of the priests of Nov, there was no fitting priest that would allow for the resting of the holy spirit so that an inquiry could be made of God by way of the Urim and Tumim.[4]

The verse cited above that lists the various ways that God might answer an inquiry mentions dreams, the Urim, and prophets.

As for dreams, we may be dealing with dreamers who are similar to prophets, who merit seeing true visions in their dreams. Such dreamers are mentioned by the prophet Yoel:

And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit. (3:1)[5]

As for the Urim, it is possible that ever since the battle at Michmash no inquiry was made of God by way of the Urim and Tumim, and God certainly did not respond to any inquiry.

As to prophets, Shaul's last encounter with the prophet Shemuel was after Shaul's sin with Amalek. Since then Shemuel and Shaul's paths have not crossed and there has been no communication between them:

And Shemuel came no more to see Shaul until the day of his death: nevertheless Shemuel mourned for Shaul and the Lord repented that He had made Shaul king over Israel. (15:35)

There is also no mention of any connection between Shaul and some other prophet, e.g., Gad, or between him and the sons of the prophets, the disciples of the prophet Shemuel.

During this period, however, David meets with Shemuel at Nayot in the Rama (19); the prophet Gad later reveals himself to David (22); and in the end Evyatar the son of Achimelekh the priest flees from Shaul and joins David. Scripture emphasizes that "it came to pass, when Evyatar the son of Achimelekh fled to David to Ke'ila, that he came down with an efod in his hand" (23:6). Here David inquires of God regarding what he should do with the Pelishtim who are fighting in Ke'ila.

The death of the prophet Shemuel is recorded in chapter 25:

Now Shemuel died; and all Israel were gathered together to mourn him, and they buried him in his house at Rama. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. (1)

The story of the sorceress at Ein Dor also opens with mention of Shemuel's death:

Now Shemuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him, and buried him in Rama in his own city. (28:3)

This repetition comes to preface the story of Shaul's appeal to the sorceress in Ein Dor with mention of the prophet Shemuel.

We see then the total break between Shaul and God with regard to all the possible and conventional channels of communication between man and God in general, and between the king of Israel and his God in particular. At the same time the verses indicate a relationship between David and God through the inquiry made by way of the Urim and Tumim and by way of the revelation of various prophets to him. In chapter 16 an evil spirit rests upon Shaul while the spirit of God is transferred to David, and this distances Shaul even further from God.

This situation leaves Shaul in a state of great loneliness, which he is unwilling to accept. But his attempts to overcome his isolation no longer involve prayer and repentance. In a most far-reaching manner, Scripture notes how Shaul had removed all the sorcerers and wizards from the country, but now when God does not answer him through any of the usual channels he himself turns to a sorceress.

Shaul has such a strong need to understand the situation and so much wishes to know what God wants now from the new campaign against the Pelishtim on the Gilboa, to the point that he himself turns to the sorceress in Ein Dor. This is his last chance, and through the sorceress he tries to raise Shemuel from the dead, even though he knows precisely the severity of his appeal.

In order to understand the spiritual significance of this service, we must examine the verses in the Torah, and try to understand whether appealing to sorcerers can lead to discovery of the truth, or whether their words are pure nonsense and lies. We must also try to understand why this service is forbidden with such a severe prohibition. And of course we must consider the spiritual significance of appealing to sorcerers.

The Biblical Prohibition to Turn to Sorcerers and Wizards

The Torah prohibits turning to sorcerers and wizards. This prohibition is explicitly stated in the books of Vayikra and Devarim:

In Vayikra:

You shall not apply to sorcerers (ovot) or wizards (yid'onim), nor seek to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God. (19:31)

And the person that applies to sorcerers and wizards, to go astray after them, I will even set My face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people. (20:6)

A man also or woman that is a sorcerer or a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them. (20:27)

In Devarim:

When you are come to the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There must not be found among you anyone that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a sorcerer, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be perfect with the Lord your God. (18:9-13)

These passages mention the prohibition in various contexts. In Vayikra the text relates to the defilement that is caused by turning to sorcerers and wizards, the prohibition to apply to them, and the severe punishment meted out to those who do apply to them. In Devarim the text speaks of the abominations committed by the nations, which has led to their destruction and Israel's inheritance of the land. Here the emphasis is on the action itself and not on the appeal.

The individual is expected to be perfect with God. This stands in contrast to all the various forms of idolatry that are an abomination in God's eyes.

The prophet Yeshayahu says:

And when they shall say to you, Consult the sorcerers, and the wizards that chirp, and that mutter: shall not a people seek their God? Why seek the living among the dead? (Yeshayahu 8:19)

Appealing to sorcerers and wizards involves appealing to the dead, and this comes in place of seeking out God. This accounts for the defilement. Appealing to the dead, the primary source of impurity, and the expectation that the dead will guide a person, is an act of defilement.

In order to understand the Torah prohibition, we must try to understand what this service is, and then try to understand its essence and significance, why it is forbidden, and why the Torah relates to it with such severity.

What is the Service

Rabbi Tz. D. Hoffman, in his commentary to Vayikra (19:31) and to Devarim (18:11), defines sorcery and explains the linguistic significance of the word ov. He writes as follows:

Ov is the name of the spirit, by way of which they would raise the dead, in order to determine the future. Therefore it is possible to command the person adjuring the spirit himself: "You shall not apply to the spirits (ovot)," since it is he who applies to the spirit and uses it. The Sages refer to this spirit as pitom, which makes a sound from the adjurer's armpit. From here the rendition of the Septuagint: "one who speaks from his belly"… A man or a woman who adjure the dead is called a sorcerer (lit., master of the ov, ba'al ov) or a sorceress (lit., mistress of the ov, ba'alat ov), because the ov is under their control. This explains the verse in Vayikra: "A man also or woman that is a sorcerer (lit., in whom there is an ov) or a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them (20:27)," that is, the spirit that is called an ov would dwell inside the body of the man or woman that adjures it, and from within that person it would report the words of the dead to the living. The ovs would mutter charms (Yeshaya 8:19; 29:4). It would appear from Sanhedrin 65a that the spirit of the deceased would enter the sorcerer and sound its voice from his armpit or from between his joints. A yid'oni, according to the Gemara in Sanhedrin is similar to an ov, and is distinguished from him only in that he allows the spirit to speak from his mouth. This he does by way of the bone of the animal called a yadu'a. Literally, ov means nod, a leather bottle, and yid'oni, one who knows.  According to Midrash Tanchuma cited in Yalkut Shemuel 1, 28: A wizard does not hear what the deceased is saying, but he sees him; whereas the person making the inquiry does not see him, but hears him… The yid'oni might know what the deceased is saying, and this explains his name. There were other forms of inquiring of the dead, and they are included in the phrase "necromancers" in Devarim. "Nor seek" – do not seek and do not inquire of them, because through such actions you will defile yourselves, not just symbolically, but in a concrete manner. You will defile yourselves, in body and in soul, and you will turn away from God and turn toward the empty and the corrupt.

Rabbi Hoffman first explains that ov is the name of the spirit through which the sorcerer would raise the dead in order to learn about the future. This spirit is referred to by Chazal as pitom, and it sounds its voice from the armpit of the person adjuring the ov. The person adjuring the ov is called a ba'al ov, because the ov is under his control.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin 65a implies that the spirit of the deceased would enter the body of the sorcerer, and make sounds from his armpit or from between his joints, in accordance with the literal meaning of the word ov, nod, or leather bottle.

In the continuation he brings a dispute among the Rishonim regarding the relationship between the verse in Vayikra and the verse in Devarim concerning the precise meaning of inquiring of an ov:

"Inquiring of an ov" (sho'el ov, Devarim 18:10), according to Rashi, Sanhedrin 65a, means raising the dead and inquiring of the spirit that is called ov. The verse, "You shall not apply to ovot" (Vayikra 19:31), is a prohibition to apply to a sorcerer. The sorcerer himself is liable to stoning, while the person who inquires of him merely violates a negative prohibition.

The Tosafot understand that our verse (Devarim) refers to those who inquire of a sorcerer, whereas the prohibition, "You shall not apply" (Vayikra) is directed at the sorcerer himself.

The plain sense of the text supports Rashi in Sanhedrin. The suggestion that "sho'el ov" refers to one who inquires of a sorcerer is forced.

According to Rashi in his commentary to Sanhedrin 65a, the verse in Vayikra commands us not to inquire of sorcerers, and one who makes such an inquiry violates a negative commandment, but is not liable to punishment. The verse in Devarim refers to the sorcerers themselves; those who appeal to the spirits themselves are liable to stoning.

The Ibn Ezra in his commentary to Vayikra writes:

This is like "like new wineskins (ke-ovot)" (Iyov 32:19),[6] as this is the essence of their art. (19:31, s.v., ha-ovot).

What he means is that one must not apply to sorcerers, because the essence of their art is like wineskins. They alter their voices as if they were speaking from wineskins, to deceive those who appeal to them.

In conclusion, the prophet Yeshaya says:

And you shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust, and your voice shall be, as of an ov, out of the ground, and your speech shall chirp out of the dust. (29:4)

What this means is that your voice shall be like the voice of an ov from the ground. The ov rises from the ground and from the dust. The prophet speaks here of an ov that does not rise above the ground, but rather sounds his voice from below the face of the earth, and therefore the voice that will be heard is like a voice from the ground, which is the voice of an ov, and the chirp that rises from the dust is like the chirp of an ov.

In the next shiur we will continue our examination of appealing to sorcerers. We will raise the question whether these sorcerers speak the truth or falsehoods, and we will consider the reason for the prohibition and try to understand its spiritual significance.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

, full_html, In this shiur we will examine Shaul's appeal to the sorceress of Ein Dor.