Two Apotropaic Texts from the Jewish Museum of Budapest

The Old Testament tradition frowns on magic and belief in demons. However, despite all disapproval, the practice of magic has a long tradition in Jewish lore, from antiquity up to the present day. Beliefs in demons have been widely known since ancient times, together with various methods of magic used to avert the evil influence of demons.

This paper presents two printed apotropaic texts concerning the warding off of demons from the Jewish Museum of Budapest. The texts, printed in Budapest on sheets of 9×15 cm at the beginning of the 20th century, were – according to Jewish tradition – to be placed in the window of women’s room in a childbed. This practice is believed to ward off demons that threaten mother and child.