Dybbuk

In Jewish mythology, a dybbuk (/ˈdɪbək/; Yiddish: דיבוק, from the Hebrew verb דָּבַק dāḇaq, meaning 'adhere' or 'cling') is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.^[1] It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being exorcised.^[2][3][4]

Dybbuk comes from the Hebrew word דִּיבּוּק dibūq, meaning 'a case of attachment', which is a nominal form derived from the verb דָּבַק dāḇaq 'to adhere' or 'cling'.^[5]

The term first appears in a number of 16th-century writings.^[2][6] However, it was ignored by mainstream scholarship until S. An-sky's 1920 play The Dybbuk popularised the concept in literary circles.^[6] Earlier accounts of possession, such as that given by Josephus, were of demonic possession rather than that of ghosts.^[7] These accounts advocated orthodoxy among the populace as a preventative measure.^[2] Michał Waszyński's 1937 film The Dybbuk, based on the Yiddish play by S. An-sky, is considered one of the classics of Yiddish filmmaking.^[8]

Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar rebbe (1887–1979), is reported to have supposedly advised an individual said to be possessed to consult a psychiatrist.^[7]

Traditionally, dybbuks tended to be male spirits. According to Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, women could not become dybbuks because their souls did not participate in gilgul.^[9] Sometimes these spirits were said to possess women on the eve of their weddings, typically in a sexual fashion by entering the women through their vaginas, which is seen in An-sky's play.^[10] However, men and boys could be possessed as well.^[9]

In psychological literature, the dybbuk has been described as a hysterical syndrome.^[11]

In traditional Jewish communities, the concept of the dybbuk served as a socially acceptable way of expressing unacceptable urges, including sexual ones.^[12] Within Jewish mysticism and folklore, particularly in Kabbalistic traditions, protective practices were also used to ward off these malevolent spirits. One such practice involves affixing a mezuzah—a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Torah verses—to the doorposts of a home. While the mezuzah primarily serves as a reminder of faith and adherence to God's commandments, it is also viewed as a protective amulet against harmful spirits, including dybbuks. The Zohar, a foundational Kabbalistic text, suggests that a properly affixed mezuzah can prevent such entities from entering a home.^[13] Additionally, Jewish folklore includes accounts where neglected or improperly maintained mezuzot were believed to make homes susceptible to dybbuk possession.^[14] These perspectives emphasize the mezuzah's dual role in Jewish life: as both a symbol of faith and a spiritual safeguard.

• The novel Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer, which portrays the appearance of a dybbuk in the fictional Jewish town of Goray, serves as an early literary version of the well-known motif in Jewish mythology.
• The film A Serious Man (2009), directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starts with a preamble about a dybbuk who visits a poor family living in a stetl. The dybbuk in the film may or may not be a rabbi who is either alive or dead. After being stabbed by the wife of the man who encountered the rabbi and invited him for a meal, the dybbuk walks out of their house and disappears into the snowy night. Whether he was or was not a dybbuk remains unanswered.
• The film The Possession (2012), directed by Ole Bornedal, is a supernatural horror film centered around the concept of a dybbuk. The story follows a young girl who becomes increasingly possessed by an evil spirit after discovering an antique dybbuk box at a yard sale.
• The Polish film Demon is typically interpreted as a story about dybbuk possession.
• The young adult novel The City Beautiful (2021) by Aden Polydoros features a gay teenager possessed by a dybbuk in 19th century Chicago.
• The novella To Clutch a Razor (2025) by Veronica Roth features a chapter in which a young woman found wandering in the woods is possessed by a dybbuk.

• Dybbuk box
• Golem
• Kabbalah
• Shedim
• Zombie

• Chajes, J. H. (2011). Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812221701. https://books.google.com/books?id=VRDtHsJEkhcC. 
• Elior, Rachel (2008). Dybbuks and Jewish Women in Social History, Mysticism and Folklore. Urim Publications. ISBN 978-9655240078. https://books.google.com/books?id=pYkRAQAAIAAJ. 
• Peñalosa, Fernando (2012). The Dybbuk: Text, Subtext, and Context. CreateSpace Publishing. ISBN 978-1478357803. 
• Peñalosa, Fernando (2012). Parodies of An-sky's "The Dybbuk". CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1477647721. 
• Cutler, Yosl (March 2017). "The Dybbuk in the Form of a Crisis". Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230306234049/https://ingeveb.org/texts-and-translations/the-dybbuk-in-the-form-of-a-crisis. 

• "The Dybbuk" by Ansky Jewish Heritage Online Magazine
• "Dybbuk – Spiritual Possession and Jewish Folklore" by Jeff Belanger, Ghostvillage.com
• "Dybbuk", Encyclopædia Britannica

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