Superstition & Segulos

How it works in practice:

• Don't brag about your children, your wealth, or your good fortune—it attracts the evil eye
• Don't count people directly (hence "not one, not two, not three" instead of "one, two, three")
• Say "bli ayin hara" (without the evil eye) or "kein ayin hara" after mentioning anything good
• Red strings (often from "Rachel's Tomb") are worn to ward it off
• Hamsa hands are hung in homes and worn as jewelry
• Salt is thrown over the shoulder or placed in pockets for protection
• Children's compliments must be deflected—"poo poo poo" (spitting sounds) to ward off the evil eye when someone says your baby is beautiful

What the sources actually say:

• The Talmud (Brachos 20a, Bava Metzia 107b) does discuss ayin hara, suggesting the rabbis took it seriously
• But the Rambam—the most rationalist of authorities—is conspicuously silent on it in his legal code
• The Rambam (Hilchos Avodas Kochavim 11:16) explicitly forbids practices done to ward off evil spirits as "darkei ha'Emori" (ways of the Amorites/superstition)
• There's a fundamental tension: is ayin hara "real" in the halachic system, or is believing in it a violation of the prohibition against superstition?

The psychology:

• Ayin hara functions as a social leveling mechanism: don't show off, don't stand out
• It keeps people anxious and dependent on protective rituals
• It attributes misfortune to jealousy rather than natural causes
• It's functionally identical to evil eye beliefs in dozens of non-Jewish Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures—suggesting cultural borrowing rather than divine revelation

Popular segulos include:

• Challah baking (specifically separating challah with 40 women) — for finding a spouse, fertility, or healing
• Saying Nishmas — various segulos attached to this prayer
• Perek Shirah — saying this chapter for 40 days for a specific request
• Pidyon nefesh — giving money to a tzaddik/rebbe to intercede on your behalf
• Kvitlach — written prayer notes given to a rebbe (especially at the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)
• Eating from an esrog — on Tu B'Shvat, for an easy childbirth
• Wearing a key in challah — "shlissel challah" baked the Shabbos after Pesach for parnassah (livelihood)
• Rubbing a red string from Kever Rachel — protection from evil eye
• Specific Tehillim chapters — for specific needs (Chapter 20 for parnassah, etc.)

The halachic problem:

• The Torah (Devarim 18:10-12) explicitly forbids sorcery, divination, and superstitious practices
• The Rambam classifies many folk practices as "darkei ha'Emori" (forbidden superstition)
• Yet major rabbinical figures—including the Ben Ish Chai, the Chida, and various Hasidic rebbes—promoted segulos
• The distinction between "legitimate segulah" and "forbidden superstition" is arbitrary and constantly shifting

The business of segulos:

• Segulah-related fundraising is a multi-million dollar industry
• "Donate to our yeshiva and we'll say Tehillim for you" combines charity with magical thinking
• Rebbes who are believed to have special powers attract massive followings and donations
• The kvitlach industry (paying for a rebbe's blessing/intercession) is essentially a paid prayer service

Why it persists:

• People in distress will try anything—segulos offer hope and a sense of agency
• The community reinforces belief through anecdotal "proof" (someone did the segulah and it worked!)
• Questioning segulos means questioning the rabbis who promote them
• Confirmation bias ensures that successes are remembered and failures are forgotten
• "It can't hurt" — but it can, when people delay medical treatment or spend money they don't have on spiritual interventions

What the Talmud says:

• Demons (shedim) are real and numerous—"If the eye could see them, no creature could endure" (Brachos 6a)
• They exist in bathrooms (which is why there are specific prayers for entering and leaving)
• They are active at night—hence rules about not walking alone at night, not drinking uncovered water
• They can cause harm, illness, and madness
• Specific protective rituals are prescribed: mezuzah, certain prayers, washing hands upon waking (to remove the "ruach ra'ah"/evil spirit)

Kabbalistic additions:

• The Zohar and Arizal add extensive demonology
• "Dybbuk" — a dead person's soul possessing a living person (dybbuk exorcisms were performed into the 20th century)
• "Ibbur" — a positive spiritual attachment
• Specific sins create specific demons that accuse you in heaven
• The "sitra achra" (the other side) — a parallel spiritual realm of evil

The practical impact:

• Many Orthodox Jews genuinely believe in these entities
• Children are taught rules ("don't walk between two women/dogs/palm trees") based on demonology
• The netilat yadayim (hand-washing) ritual upon waking is explicitly about removing the "ruach ra'ah" (evil spirit) that rests on the hands during sleep
• Mezuzah is treated as a protective talisman as much as a religious obligation
• Pregnant women are given extra amulets and told to avoid cemeteries because of spiritual danger

The irony:

• The Torah prohibits consulting spirits and practicing sorcery (Devarim 18:10-12)
• Yet rabbinic literature—which claims authority from the same Torah—is filled with spirit beliefs and magical practices
• The Rambam rejected the existence of demons entirely, calling belief in them foolish
• Yet Rambam is in the minority—most authorities accept demons as part of the tradition
• A system that prohibits superstition while being saturated in it cannot maintain intellectual coherence