880-01 Originally published in Hebrew in Derekh ha-ruaḥ (Jerusalem : Van Leer Institute, 2005) and in Kiṿunim ḥadashim 17 (2007).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

How and why a person comes to be possessed by a dybbukthe possession of a living body by the soul of a deceased personand what consequences ensue from such possession, form the subject of this book. Though possession by a dybbuk has traditionally been understood as punishment for a terrible sin, it can also be seen as a mechanism used by desperate individualsoften womenwho had no other means of escape from the demands and expectations of an all-encompassing patriarchal social order. Dybbuks and Jewish Women examines these and other aspects of dybbuk possession from historical and phenomenological perspectives, with particular attention to the gender significance of the subject.