Superstition is the belief contrary to reason that attributes to everything a magical explanation. Essentially, superstition is engendered, maintained, and fostered by fear. When people do not understand a specific phenomenon, they feel that they need a supernatural explanation to fill that lack of knowledge. Indeed, false prophets or witches take advantage when people are most fearful. The masses will listen to those so-called holy men and women who claim to have supernatural knowledge and who perform rituals that claim to save them from the things that frighten them.

It is not only fear that engenders superstition. It is also the desire to find approval in the eyes of God. People want to feel loved, favored, and blessed by God. Therefore, people do everything they can to earn God’s favor. They seek some kind of reciprocal relationship, where they give something to God, such as sacrifices or rituals, and seek to receive something in return. It is a means of negotiating personal favors.

But where does superstition end and religion begin? Maimonides emphasized that since both superstition and religion transcend the domain of reason, it is important not to confuse their boundaries. Judaism seeks to bring us closer to God through thought and mitzvot. Superstition seeks to circumvent God’s powers by using magical formulas or rituals. The Torah is very clear in its prohibition of witchcraft and magic (Deuteronomy 18, 10:12). The Rambam disapproved of the use of amulets, a very common practice to this day and which people justify by saying, «What if they do work? There is nothing to lose by trying them.»

Some rabbis such as the Vilna Gaon did not agree with Maimonides. He argued that in the Talmud, some of our sages speak of amulets that do work, of witches and demons that do exist, and of magical incantations that do work. But in our modern times, the words of the Vilna Gaon are an example of a flawed and superstitious worldview. Rambam teaches us that human beings must be thinking beings. Just because some ancient rabbis believed in demons does not mean we have to do the same. On the contrary, we have to consider all of humanity’s intellectual and scientific developments in order to understand what is happening around us.

The separation between religion and superstition sometimes becomes blurred in cases of terminal illness or serious problems. Normally rational people turn to «miracle workers» and pseudo-kabbalists for help, thinking that this can help them solve their problem. We can understand that in desperation, someone might turn to such instances, but we must not forget that being superstitious is not the way of Judaism. Because if you continue despite everything, I don’t think your luck will change. Or who knows, maybe it will ¿!!!?

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Maimonides, Spinoza and Us, by Rabbi Marc D, Angel.