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Is there such a thing like kishuf in our days?
Yes.
I’ve heard that since the time of the Baal Shem Tov, for the most part kishuf and similar things have for the most part ceased to exist
It is interesting that in Europe, Jews could never be charged with “witchcraft ” since that crime was part of the law of heresey, and one had to be Christian to be guilty (in our terms, it was “Avodah zarah”, worshipping a false power other than the Christian religion, was for similar to treason for a Christian (Jews, having no legal duty to be good Christians, were “patur”).
“and similar things have for the most part ceased to exist”
A lot of people would like to believe that, especially those who are MOWe have a tradition from the Chofetz Chaim
that the strongest kishuf is amongst Asians .Africans are number 2,and American Indians are number 3OK humor me a bit What is Kishuf? Ive never heard that word before
Black magic/witchcraft
To understand if there is kishuf today, we first must understand what it is. See the Sefer Hachinuch on the mitzva 62 of מכשפה לא תחיה.
Tofu is the West’s physical incarnation of kishuf. Stuff makes me scared…
Toi- you seem to be obsessed with tofu.
I’ve heard (don’t remember where) that the forces of good and evil have to balance out, so just as our generations are inferior to those before, so the level of possible evil has gone down, and there is nobody around any more who has the power to do serious witchcraft. Same with dybbuks.
Ayin ha’ra might be another matter, since envy certainly seems to find a place in the modern world. Maybe, since the Three Weeks are coming soon, we should make an effort to separate ourselves from any envy we might feel.
Yrechnitz, what defines the difference between an obsession and a calling? Those who fight evil alone need to put in a lot of effort.
Thanks RY, glad we’re an army of 2.
Yes.
According to the Rambam, in his Hilchos Avoda Zara, no form of Kishuf/Magic/Witchcraft ever existed in any humans days.
Time for Truth: I don’t know why you’d assume that MO would believe or disbelieve something.
A Rebbe of mine (who is a well-known Rav in Brooklyn) once told us about something which may be kishuf or just another type of a koach hatumah. He was speaking about all the “mekubalim” who exist, especially in Eretz Yisrael. He claimed that most of them are not legitimate, and should not be trusted. He said how R’ Chaim Kanievsky, whenever he gives someone advice on a matter, will quote a Gemara or other source to back up what he says. He contrasted it with mekubalim who seem to know things, but don’t have a Torah based source for it – and also ask for large sums of money before they’ll help someone. A student asked, “But how do they know these things if they’re not legitimate? Doesn’t it come from the Torah?” The Rebbe replied, “True, the knowledge can come from the Torah. But the Torah also tells us that there are other means of obtaining supernatural abilities, such as witchcraft and other dark methods. They are forbidden. Many of the so-called mekubalim are likely utilizing these methods.”
With smartphones today and everyone youtube or facebook live everything, If there was black magic, someone would have made a video of it and put it on youtube or facebook live
I think Rabbi Akiva Tatz has mentioned seeing witch-doctors perform supernatural feats.
many “Supernatural acts” that one might see today are just illusions, ive seen some neat tricks, but all they were , was tricks
zd – 🙂
my own Kind Of J,
He ‘s allowed to be mistaken once in a while,we have a pretty good track record with him,DaMoshe- Not that I’m disagreeing with your point, but there are mekoros in Kabbalah for taking money.
For an insight into what your Rav said, see the book Faith and Folly by R Yakov Hillel where he details how people who think they’re holy and have some sort of koach are really accessing the kochos hatumah.
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