Dybbuk

n. demon, evil spirit of a dead person (Jewish Folklore)

In Kabbalah and European Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. Dybbuks are said to have escaped from Gehenna, a Hebrew term very loosely translated as "hell." Or may have been turned away from Gehenna due to transgressions too serious for the soul to be allowed there, such as suicide. The word "dybbuk" is derived from the Hebrew דיבוק, meaning "attachment"; the dybbuk attaches itself to the body of a living person and inhabits it. According to belief, a soul that has not been able to fulfill its function in its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so in the form of a dybbuk. It will leave once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped.
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Noun
1. (Jewish folklore) a demon that enters the body of a living person and controls that body's behavior
(synonym) dibbuk
(hypernym) devil, fiend, demon, daemon, daimon
(classification) folklore

n. dybbuk, demon, evil spirit of a dead person (Jewish Folklore)

[Judaic] The transmigration of souls, or reincarnation, is not part of mainstream Judaism. In the Bible, there is no emphasis on the afterlife, but references to the spirits of the dead do exist. For example, King Saul goes to the Witch of Endor to communicate with the spirit of his mentor, the prophet Samuel. However, the spirits reside in a place of their own, and do not enter other bodies in any shape or form. The Talmud refers to the spirits of the dead and to exorcism, but again the concept of transmigration is not stressed. The earliest versions are traced to various non-Jewish sources, including Greek, Indian, Gnostic, Christian, and the Islamic Mutazila sect. The concept entered Judaism in earnest only during the 8th century. Medieval Jewish scholars objected to it, believing (as many continue to believe today) that any type of mysticism is extremely dangerous, and can influence and contaminate not only one's pure religious faith, but his or her very life. There is some truth to th...
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