Dybbuk

For other uses, see Dybbuk (disambiguation).

In Jewish folklore, a dybbuk (Yiddish: דיבוק, from Hebrew attachment) is a malicious or malevolent possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.

Dybbuks are said to have escaped from Sheol or to have been turned away for serious transgressions, such as suicide, for which the soul is denied entry.^{[citation needed]} The word "dybbuk" is derived from the Hebrew דיבוק, meaning "attachment"; the dybbuk attaches itself to the body of a living person and inhabits the flesh. According to belief, a soul that has been unable to fulfill its function during its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so in dybbuk form. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped.

"Dybbuk" was the code name assigned to Adolf Eichmann by the Mossad agents who apprehended him.

See also

• Dybbuk box
• Gilgul neshamot
• Ibbur
• Jewish mythology           

• Kabbalah
• Qliphoth
• Revenant (folklore)
• A Serious Man

References

Notes

External links

• Dybbuk - Spiritual Possession and Jewish Folklore
• "The Dybbuk" by Ansky Jewish Heritage Online Magazine