The demons in the daf

Daf Yomi enthusiasts last week found themselves submerged in sugyot of demons and dark forces that occupy a prominent position in the final chapter of Pesachim. While many are aware that Rambam – like other sages from the Geonic-Spanish tradition – did not recognise the existence of such dark forces, it is not always apparent how they are left to explain demonic appearances in the Talmud. Below is a short excerpt from the chapter of Judaism Reclaimed which tackles magic, necromancy, demons and divination within Judaism:

The greatest challenge facing Rambam's explanation of the dark arts is posed by numerous Talmudic sources, whose descriptions of magic and demons (which are strongly linked to necromancy and other such practices) create a clear impression that such power was regarded as genuine. While Rambam has no systematic commentary on the Gemara, his general approach to these sources can be inferred from an early chapter in his Moreh Nevuchim dealing with the offspring of Adam HaRishon.

The Torah describes Adam’s son Shet as being "betzalmo kidmuto" (in his form or image) of Adam — a term which Rambam links to the earlier description of Adam as having been created "betzelem Elokim" (literally “in the likeness of God”). Rambam then cites a Gemara which states that, from the moment of his sin until the birth of Shet, Adam bore offspring which were not "betzalmo" but rather were "ruchot" or demons. "Tzelem Elokim" — the only aspect of mankind that can be said to be Godly — is his intellect, through which a person can subdue his instincts and negative traits and comprehend divine truths. A person who fails to develop himself in this way is a "beheima betzurat adam" (an animal in human form) rather than "betzelem Elokim".

However, God has also endowed humanity with the free will to use this intellectual potential for evil, to subdue and oppress others. As history repeatedly demonstrates, the greatest misery and hardship experienced by mankind is caused by those who have used their intellect to devise ways of furthering human suffering. This is the sort of 'demon' that Rambam understands the various Gemaras to be describing as dwelling in uninhabited areas, damaging unguarded buildings, and attacking those who travel unaccompanied at night. In a similar vein, those who use their intellect to trick and mislead the masses with 'magic' into the cruel and immoral idolatrous cults can presumably also be accorded the epithet of 'demon'.

A broader and more radical suggestion is found in the commentary of R’ Menachem Meiri — a later Rishon who followed Rambam's approach to Jewish philosophy. Commenting on the final chapter of Pesachim, which dedicates several pages to warnings of demons, Meiri identifies as key the Gemara's statement that "those who do not take note of demons are not bothered by them". Meiri then explains that belief in Babylonian demonology was so embedded in the perceptions of the masses that it would have been futile and even counter-productive for the sages to deny publicly their existence. Instead they attempted to wean people off such beliefs, gently encouraging them that such concern for demons was unnecessary.

While Rambam does not explicitly endorse such an approach, he does decry the corrupting influence of mystical and supernatural beliefs which became attached to and somewhat integrated within Judaism as a result of its exile among pagan nations. In this regard it is instructive that the Gemara also teaches that those who still dwelt in Israel were totally unconcerned with and unaffected by any of the demons mentioned - demons whose names and attributes mirrored those of contemporary pagan Babylonian beliefs.

First posted to Facebook 15 March 2021, here.