Jews have a complicated relationship with superstition. Folk tales of evil eyes and dybbuks are common; and many grandmothers have a 100-year-old amulet from Europe that can help with anything.
And then there is the view of Maimonides. The Torah prohibits a long list of occult and superstitious practices, including omens, fortune-telling, and consulting the dead. Maimonides explains that these practices are “falsehood and deceit.” And many folk practices familiar to Jews are forbidden.
Maimonides regards the occult as directly linked to idolatry; pagan priests invented these dramatic practices to lure people to their religions. As a philosopher, Maimonides sees the intellect as the foundation of a religious life; and he worries that because superstitions are pure stupidity, belief in them will corrupt the masses and lead them astray.
Because of this, Maimonides is a tireless critic of folk beliefs. He recognizes that superstitions can appear “religious” by adopting the language of the Torah. He writes:
One who whispers over a wound and recites a verse from the Torah; likewise one who recites a verse over a child so that it will not be frightened, or who places a Torah scroll or tefillin on an infant so that it will sleep: not only are they in the category of diviners and charmers, they are among those who deny the Torah, for they turn the words of the Torah into a cure for the body…
Maimonides notes that these “Jewish” superstitions that use religious objects were common even among the most pious Jews. But that doesn’t make them any better. Maimonides attacks those who turn the mezuzah into an amulet of protection, and writes that “Not only do these fools nullify the mitzvah of mezuzah, but furthermore, they turn a great mitzvah… into an amulet for their own mundane ends.” By the same logic, he would have forbidden the red thread.
Yet Maimonides is not the last word on this subject. Several medieval rabbis, including Nachmanides, say these occult practices work. Why then are they prohibited by the Torah? Because using occult magic diminishes one’s faith; a Jew must always recognize that God is in ultimate control, and one should always turn to God. Our faith should be so strong that we trust in God and don’t need to rely on fortune-tellers.
Since the major issue with these superstitions is that they show a lack of faith, Nachmanides is far more accepting of religiously based superstitions such as amulets written with the divine name.
This debate influences how different commentators evaluate the actions of Abraham’s servant Eliezer in Parshat Chayei Sarah.
Abraham sends Eliezer to his ancestral home to find a wife for Isaac. Eliezer is anxious that he may get the choice wrong; so he calls out to God and says:
…“O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,’ let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac.”
Eliezer is creating his own omen. Maimonides, based on a passage in the Talmud, considers Eliezer’s actions to be forbidden. He writes:
It is forbidden to read omens as idolaters do… For example, those who say: “Since a fox passed on my right side, I will not go out of my door today, because if I do, I will meet a swindler.”… Similarly, a person who sets up omens for himself; e.g., if this and this happens, I will do this. If it will not happen, I will not do it, just as Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, did… All this is forbidden.
Here, Maimonides’ intellectual courage is on full display. He considers this beloved Biblical tale to be a story of religious failure, and criticizes a revered figure, Eliezer, for violating the commandment against reading omens!
Medieval sources reacted sharply to this ruling of Maimonides. The Ra’avad writes that Maimonides’ words are “a gross error, for such a thing is, indeed, permitted.” The Ritva adds, “Heaven forbid that Abraham’s servant should be a diviner.”
These critics still need to grapple with a problem: why isn’t Eliezer’s request considered reading omens?
There are several answers to the question. Rashi reframes Eliezer’s actions as a test of character; Rebecca proved she was a worthy wife by bringing, without any request, water to the camels as well. Tosafot raises the fascinating possibility that Eliezer didn’t rely on the sign alone; he waited until he discovered that Rebecca came from Abraham’s family before deciding that she was meant to be Isaac’s wife.
Rabbi Baruch Epstein, in his Torah Temimah, proposes the following theory:
But what seems clear in this whole matter is that the only forbidden divination is the kind that relies on the chance event itself, without mentioning God’s name and without asking His help in bringing that event about. … Eliezer was different…He did everything by way of faith and prayer, asking the Holy One, blessed be He, to bring about this sign for him so that he could be confident in his actions. There is not even a whiff of divination or sorcery in this, nor any hint of prohibition, and anyone may do so from the outset.
Enchantments and omens are kosher provided one connects them to God.
This passage highlights the dramatic difference between Maimonides and Nachmanides. To Maimonides, all illogical practices are forbidden; folly will ultimately be exploited and used in the service of false idols. Even when done in God’s name, even when performed by a hero like Eliezer, divination is unacceptable.
The Torah Temimah follows in the footsteps of Nachmanides. He argues that divination is effective, and allows it in cases like Eliezer’s when people are performing the divination in God’s name.
Those who wear a red thread follow the views of the Torah Temimah.
These commentaries give us two readings: Maimonides says Eliezer acted improperly, while the Ra’avad and others defend him. A closer look at the text suggests a third.
One thing that is notable is how uncertain Eliezer is.
Even at the outset of the mission, Eliezer asks Abraham questions about what will happen if he cannot locate a wife for Isaac. Then, as he arrives at Abraham’s hometown, Eliezer’s confidence fails him. Eliezer has a rather simple task. He just has to locate Abraham’s family. Once he does that, he should be able to find a wife for Isaac among them. Yet Eliezer feels overwhelmed and seeks out a divine sign.
Contrast this with Abraham’s initial journey to the land of Canaan, which bears striking linguistic parallels to this chapter. Abraham is sent to search for the land of his destiny. He doesn’t ask questions. He doesn’t look for signs. When there is a famine, he searches for another country that has food.
Even if he wanders, Abraham never loses his faith.
But the Torah’s point is not that Eliezer falls short of Abraham. Rather, it is teaching us that we don’t have to be an Abraham. Like Eliezer, many of us get anxious even when the solution isn’t far away. And the Torah is teaching us that at that moment, we can search for hints about our destiny and ask God to offer us guidance.
We can look for signs.
In his groundbreaking study of magic and superstition, Bronislaw Malinowski explains that superstition and magic are responses to uncertainty and anxiety. He wrote that “The function of magic is to ritualize man’s optimism, to enhance his faith in the victory of hope over fear.”
Uncertainty is frightening. Not everyone has the faith of Abraham. And when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need a bit more than pure faith. At that moment, we hold on to whatever gives us comfort and confidence.
Some may scoff, but those little rituals help. They don’t undermine our faith; they actually bring us closer to God.
Holding on to a red thread can sometimes be the training wheels of faith.
