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Old November 29th, 2016 #1
Karl Radl
The Epitome of Evil
 
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Unseen University of New York
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Default The Evil of the Sepher Ha-Razim

The Evil of the Sepher Ha-Razim


The Sepher Ha-Razim, or alternatively Sefer Ha-Razim, is a jewish book of magic, which was successfully reconstructed from a large assortment of textual fragments by Mordecai Margalioth in 1963. (1)

It is likely to date from the Talmudic era or even earlier. (2) Bohak dates it as being composed no later than the 7th century AD (3) on the basis of its use of otherwise unknown pagan prayers from Greece (from whence some of its names for the angels it mentions derive as well as invoking pagan gods of the Greek pantheon) (4) and the text has little recourse to rabbinic material of any kind. (5)

It is also mentioned by the Geonim and the Karaites so therefore it has to have existed (and been an established text) by the first millennium AD. (6) That said the Sepher Ha-Razim is no work of some isolated quack, but rather the 'thoughtful composition of a well-educated Jewish author.' (7)

Bohak asserts that the Sepher Ha-Razim probably 'wasn't wide used', (8) because of the prescriptions found in the work are distinctly pagan (9) and not in keeping with the puritanical nature of rabbinical Judaism.

However Bohak contradicts his own argument when he asserts that textual fragments of many different and distinct copies have been discovered. (10) This suggests exactly the opposite of what Bohak argues since if Sepher Ha-Razim was not widely used then there would be few fragments of the work remaining to us or maybe one complete copy rather than a large number of fragments of numerous copies of the work.

If, as I would argue, the Sepher Ha-Razim was indeed widely used then this suggests that, like the extraordinarily popular work of jewish mysticism the Sepher Yezhirah, (11) its anti-gentile commentary and logic is representative of wider jewish opinion.

You see the Sepher Ha-Razim instructs its reader how to bind angels and demons to their will in order that these supernatural agents will be forced to do their bidding. (12) Whether this be for good or evil purposes. (13)

To perform these rites, allegedly deriving from Noah who inscribed them on sheets of pure sapphire and then handed them down all the way to King Solomon, (14) the individual concerned has to pay close attention to their ritual purity, which is all important when invoking these spirits. (15) These differ somewhat depending on the purpose you are seeking to invoke the spirits concerned.

That said however these purity requirements predictably have a particularly jewish, and dare I say rabbinic, flavour to them. For example the would-be summoner must always abstain from carnality (i.e. sex) for several weeks beforehand, (16) sometimes they must abstain from meat and wine for several weeks before performing the invocation, (17) they cannot go near a menstruating woman lest they contract their impurity (a-la Niddah), (18) sometimes this goes so far as their not being able to even touch a woman's bed, (19) while any man who masturbates must be avoided like one would a leper. (20)

These ritual purity requirements are to enable the would-be sorceror to conjure and then control angels and demons according to their will. The purposes that these spirits can be put to are specified with different invocations of varying difficulty and complexity within the text of the Sepher Ha-Razim.

In broad outline these invocations are meant to manipulate and/or harm non-jews so that jews (individually or collectively) may benefit. (21)There are some exceptions to the rule as there are also love and healing invocations included within the Sepher Ha-Razim, but the vast majority are engaging in attempting to manipulate non-jews to the benefit of an individual jew or the jewish community collectively.

For instance take the Angels of the First Firmament, Second Encampment which are described as follows:

'These are the angels who are full of anger and wrath and who have been put in charge of every matter of combat and are prepared to torment and torture a man to death.' (22)

These can be sent against an enemy, creditors, to capsize a ship, to fell a fortified wall, to destroy the business of enemies, to make an enemy bedridden as well as blind and/or lame them to make them suffer in any way you wish. (23)

The ritual words that need to be stated are as follows:

'HHGRYT who dwell in the east, SRWKYT who dwell in the north, WLPH who dwell in the west, KRDY who swell in the south, accept from my hand at this time that which I throw to you, to affect N son of N, to break his bones, to crush all his limbs, and to shatter his conceited power, as these pottery vessels are broken. And may there be no recovery for him just as there is no repair for these pottery vessels.' (24)

If you want to kill your target then you would use the following variant:

'I deliver to you, angels of anger and wrath, N son of NS, that you will strangle him and destroy him and his appearance, make him bedridden, diminish his wealth, annul the intentions of his hear, blow away his thought and his knowledge and cause him to waste away continually until he approaches death.' (25)

If you wish to exile your target you would substitute the following text at the end:

'That you will exile him and banish him from his children and his home and he will have nothing left.' (26)

Or if you wish to escape debt then you would substitute the following text at the end:

'That you will plug his mouth and make his planning vain and he will not think of me, no speak of me; and when I pass in front of him, he will not see me.' (27)

For another example take the Angels of the First Firmament, Fourth Encampment, which are described as: 'the angels who bring around the opinion of the king and the good will of the nobles, chiefs, and leaders of the kingdom, directing and bestowing favour and mercy upon all those who arise in purity to request anything from them.' (28)

To perform this invocation then you need to:

'Take a lion cub and slaughter it with a bronze knife and catch its blood and tear out its heart and put its blood in the midst (of the heart) and write the names of these (above mentioned) angels in blood upon the skin between its eyes; then wash it out with wine three years old and mix (the wine) with the blood.' (29)

If you wish to manipulate a (non-jewish) government then you chant:

'I adjure you in the name of the angels of the fourth encampment who serve KLMY' that you bring around for me King N so that the heart of his army and the heart of his ministers (will be) in my hand, I, N son of N, and I will find favour and mercy before him and he will do what I want and ask, whenever I ask (anything) from him.' (30)

You should then wash yourself in the lion's blood as well as the wine. Then place the lion's heart over yours before you come into the presence of the king or his ministers/representatives. (31)

If by contrast you wish to manipulate the (non-jewish) citizens of a city then you chant the following (after anointing your body with the lion’s blood and wine) (32) instead:

'You angels who go around and circulate in the world, bring around (to me) all the citizens of this city, great and small, old and young, lowly and distinguished. Let the fear and terror of me be over them as the terror of the lion is over all the animals. And as this heart is mute while I am speaking, so let all of them listen to me, and let none of the children of Adam and Eve be able to speak against me.' (33)

Then you have to put some on the lion’s blood on the soles of your feet to complete the ritual. (34)

Similarly the Angels of the Second Firmament, First Encampment are described as follows:

'These, their station is on the first step. They stand in terror, cloaked in wrath, girded with dread, surrounded by trembling, their raiment like an image of fire, their faces like the appearance of lightening, and their mouths never cease (to utter) mighty words. Nevertheless, their voice is not heard, for their task is to silence, to frighten, and to terrify anyone who opposes the man who calls on them in purity.' (35)

The ritual to 'silence your enemies' is described as follows:

'If you wish to silence a great and powerful people, or a governor, or a judge, or the citizens of a city, or of a state, take a handful of ashes from beneath the bread offering of an idol and say over it backwards seven times the names of the angels written above as standing on the first step, and say:

'I ask from you, angels of silence, that in this place, you silence every mouth and every heart of the children of Adam and Eve who arise against me to (say) anything evil. Let their mouths utter good things about me and let me be exonerated in my lawsuit; do not permit any mouth to speak evil about me.'

Then sprinkle the ashes, either in the city of in the state, either before the governor or before the judge, and you will be exonerated.' (36)

Nearly all these spiritual invocations and associated occultic rituals are aimed at manipulating or hurting non-jews. When you consider that the text of the Sepher Ha-Razim dates from no later than the 7th century AD and has, as previously argued, remained popular in the jewish community.

Then it rather indicates how jews have historically viewed non-jews: does it not?



References


(1) Michael Morgan, 1983, 'Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries', 1st Edition, Scholars Press: Chico, p. 1
(2) Ibid.
(3) Gideon Bohak, 2009, 'Ancient Jewish Magic: A History', 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press: New York, p. 174
(4) Ibid, pp. 252; 254
(5) Ibid, p. 340; Morgan, Op. Cit., p. 9
(6) Bohak, Op. Cit., p. 175
(7) Ibid, pp. 172-173
(8) Ibid, p.174
(9) Ibid, pp. 174-175
(10) Ibid, pp. 170-171; 175
(11) Cf. my previous article: http://www.semiticcontroversies.blog...r-yezirah.html
(12) Morgan, Op. Cit., pp. 18-19
(13) Ibid, p. 22
(14) Ibid, pp. 17; 19
(15) Ibid, pp. 18; 28
(16) Ibid, pp. 24; 46
(17) Ibid, pp. 41; 43; 46
(18) Ibid, p. 43
(19) Ibid, p. 57
(20) Ibid, p. 44
(21) Ibid, p. 18
(22) Ibid, p. 25
(23) Ibid, p. 26
(24) Ibid, p. 27
(25) Ibid.
(26) Ibid.
(27) Ibid.
(28) Ibid, p. 32
(29) Ibid, p. 33
(30) Ibid, p. 34
(31) Ibid.
(32) Ibid.
(33) Ibid.
(34) Ibid.
(35) Ibid, p. 44
(36) Ibid, pp. 44-45

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This was originally published at the following address: http://bit.ly/2fNGQwl
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