Overview

A richly researched and deeply spiritual work, Spirits, Ghosts, and Dybbuks: Afterlife Journeys in Yiddish Lore delves into the arcane realms of Jewish afterlife beliefs as vibrantly expressed through the imaginative worlds of Yiddish literature. In deftly demonstrating how the writings of I.L. Peretz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and others synthesized classical Jewish eschatology with the emerging sociopolitical thought of early modernity, Simcha Paull Raphael explores the enduring legacy of Jewish speculation on death and the afterlife. Drawing on decades of experience as a death educator, grief counselor, and rabbinic chaplain, Raphael weaves scholarly insight with spiritual depth to expertly guide readers on a literary journey into the yenne velt, ' the ever-present 'other world' beyond the veil. Regardless of one's background or belief, this fascinating work invites readers to reflect on enduring spiritual questions about death, the soul, and the possibility of life beyond the grave. Originally published as a chapter in the groundbreaking Jewish Views of the Afterlife, this expanded and revised volume offers newly updated material, highlighting the rich intersection of Yiddish literature and Jewish afterlife tradition.

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9781953220486

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Reviews

""Spirits, Ghosts, and Dybbuks: Afterlife Journeys in Yiddish Lore is a compelling and richly layered exploration of afterlife imagination in Yiddish-speaking Jewish culture. Simcha Paull Raphael masterfully weaves together folkloric, literary, and religious traditions to reveal how spirits and dybbuks were not merely feared or revered but served as powerful vessels of memory, communal anxiety, and personal longing. This book is a significant and timely contribution to the study of Jewish afterlife narratives, offering ethical depth and cultural resonance. Spirits, Ghosts, and Dybbuks: Afterlife Journeys in Yiddish Lore is as intellectually illuminating as it is evocative-an essential work for scholars and readers interested in how the stories of the dead continue to shape the lives of the living."" Dr. Nicole Bauer, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, University of Graz, Co-editor of Ideas of Possession: Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Perspectives ""This book is a fascinating exploration of the paradox that just as religious thinkers influenced by modernity were rejecting all ideas about an afterlife, Yiddish writers such as Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and others, were exploring these beliefs and incorporating them into their stories and novels. Simcha Paull Raphael has brought together material from all these writers in a book that will enlighten its readers and inform them of a world gone by."" Rabbi Jack Riemer, Author of Finding God in Unexpected Places and Jewish Reflections on Death ""Simcha Paull Raphael is the master guide into the terrain of Jewish views of the afterlife, offering clarity, context, and attention to detail. In this presentation of Yiddish tales of the other side of the grave, we are entertained, expanded by possibilities, and inherently invited to discern our own beliefs."" Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz, Author of Does the Soul Survive?: A Jewish Journey to Belief in the Afterlife, Past Lives, and Living with Purpose ""Spirits, Ghosts, and Dybbuks: Afterlife Journeys in Yiddish Lore provides an intriguing and accessible look into beliefs about the afterlife in Yiddish folk and popular culture from the 16th through the 20th centuries. In his past works, Simcha Paull Raphael has introduced readers to the deep teachings about death and the afterlife found in classical Jewish sources. In this book, he turns to folk literature and the evidence of modern writers in Yiddish to show how spirits of those who are no longer in this world communicate their presence to the living, and were a daily presence to ordinary Jews."" Chava Weissler, Ph.D., Author of Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers of Early Modern Jewish Women

Author Information

Originally from Montreal, Canada, Simcha Paull Raphael, Ph.D. is Founding Director of the DA'AT Institute for Death Awareness, Advocacy and Training. He received a Master of Arts in History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University, a doctorate in Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and was ordained as a Rabbinic Chaplain by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. He has served as Adjunct Professor at LaSalle University, Temple University and in the Aleph Ordination Program. Currently, he works as a psychotherapist and spiritual director in the Philadelphia area, and is on Faculty of the Art of Dying Institute of the School of American Thanatology. He has published seven books on death and Judaism, including the groundbreaking ""Jewish Views of the Afterlife"" and a collection of poetry, ""Echoes from the Ashes: Holocaust Poems of Life, Death and Re-Birth."" Reb Simcha and his wife, Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael live in the Philadelphia area with their son Yigdal and daughter Hallel.

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