A Wicked Witch or a Good Psychotherapist? The Medium of Endor in Modern Hebrew Literature

Abstract

Modern Hebrew poets and writers describe the biblical figure of the Medium of Endor (I Sam 28: 3–25) as an empathetic woman, warm and compassionate, healing the souls of depressed individuals. This article categorizes the corpus of works that deal with the story of Saul and the Medium of Endor into two primary subjects: debunking the myth of the witch and presenting the world of magic favorably. In the works that belong to the former subject – there is a clear inclination to "purify" the Medium from the negative stereotype associated with her as a "witch." By re-presenting the Medium various writers object to the negative, sometimes chauvinistic views, that were accepted in western culture regarding the image of the witch as one who seeks to harm human beings and threatens the social order, and who should therefore be persecuted and even put to death. Works from the second category tend to "purify" magic from the negative view that regards it as something "forbidden," malicious, and dangerous. In these works, magic, mainly used as a therapeutic-psychological technique, aids human beings, and the Medium (ba'alat-ov) of Endor, is described as a contemporary psycho-spiritual therapist. Nowadays, people live in an alienated world and feel the need to turn to the supernatural to find solace for their anxieties. In these works, magic is described favorably, and in some of them it even provides a preferred theological alternative.