Sha‘ar ruaḥ ha-kodesh (The Gate of the Holy Spirit)

A yihud [magical-theurgic “unification”] that my teacher, of blessed memory, taught me to remove an evil spirit: [For] sometimes the soul of an evil person is yet unable to get into Gehinnom because of his numerous transgressions. He wanders continuously, and sometimes enters the body of a man or a woman and subdues them, [which] is called the falling sickness [epilepsy—Ed.]. By means of this yihud, his soul is somewhat fixed, and he leaves the person’s body.

Now this is how it works, as I myself have done it and tried it. I would take the arm of that [possessed] person and place my hand on his pulse, on his left or right forearm, for there is the garment of the soul, and there it is clothed. I then focus my mind upon the soul that is clothed in that pulse, intending [here and throughout, forms of “intend” are used for forms of the Hebrew idiom kavvanah, or “contemplative intention”] that it depart from there through the power of the yihud. While still holding his hand on his pulse, I then say the following verse [Ps. 109:6] forward and backward. I focus my mind on the names that emerge from it: the numerical values of each word, the first letters of the words and the last letters of the words, as you know. By this means I intend that he depart. He then speaks from inside the body, everything you ask of him, and you command him to depart. Sometimes it is necessary to blast the shofar [ram’s horn] near his ear and to intend the name KR"A ST"N vocalized throughout with Sh’va, also its permutation through A"T B"Sh, vocalized throughout with Sh’va, the name being DGZBNT [all permutations of the second sextet of the forty-two-letter divine Name, associated with divine judgment].

Know that this spirit does not come alone, for a satan [demonic spirit] holds hum and drags him here and there, to complete the punishment for his transgressions. [The spirit] is unable to do anything without [the satan’s] permission, for God has made him a watchman over him, as it is written in the Zohar [2.41b]: “The evil one—the evil inclination is his judge” [b. Berakhot 61a]. King David, of blessed memory, in the verse “Appoint over him a wicked man, and may Satan stand at his right” [Ps. 109:6], was cursing the wicked [to wit] that the Blessed Holy One should appoint a wicked soul over him, to penetrate and harm him, and that a satan should come along to stand at the right of this soul, to assist hum to remain there. Now, sometimes the soul departs and the satan stays alone guarding its place. Thus the transmigrated soul is not there at all times. When he departs and travels at known hours for them to punish him, he must depart from there to receive his punishments. Either way, that satan who is assigned to him dwells there, to keep his place. One does not recuperate from that sickness until both of them depart. And you know that the Blessed Holy One sweetens bitter with bitter [Midrash Tanhuma, Be-shallah §24; Buber ed. §18] and although this verse seems to be a command to appoint over him this wicked soul, it in fact alludes here to its fixing, through the intentions that we will write.

[Here there is a lengthy series of mystical names and intentions.] You must intend that the spirit depart by the power of these names. If it does not depart, return to the aforementioned verse, and intend all the names again. At the conclusion of each round, say strongly, “Depart, depart, quickly!” You should know that everything depends on your shoring up and strengthening your heart like a warrior, without any fear. Let your heart not soften, for he will become stronger and not heed your words. You must also decree upon him that he leave from no place other than the space between the nail of the big toe and the flesh, in such a manner that he not damage the body in which he resides. Also decree upon him with the power of the aforementioned names that you intended, and by the power of Herem and Niddui, that he neither harm nor enter any Jew’s body ever again.

Know that he will strongly resist [your command] to speak, so as to avoid embarrassment before the listeners, Know that when he speaks, the body of the person remains like a dead rock, and the voice of the spirit goes out of his mouth, without movement of the lips, in a fine voice, like the voice of a small child. Also when it rises from the body to the mouth to speak, it will rise in the shape of a round vertebra arising by way of the neck through the skin of the neck. So too when it descends to the nail of the toe of the foot to depart.

Know, too, that when you ask him who he is and what is his name, he will lie to you and say someone else’s name, or insult you, all in order to avoid the decree that you will decree upon him to depart [which is only effective if you know his name]. Thus you must decree upon him with Herem and Niddui, and with the power of the aforementioned names that you intend, so that he not lie, and so that he tell you who he is and his name with utter truthfulness.

Moreover, this matter must be done with purity, immersion, holiness, and extreme concentration.