Shoshan yesod ha-‘olam (Lily of the Foundation of the World)

Joseph Tirshom

ca. 1550

To remove a demon [sheyd] from the body of a man or woman, or anything into which a male or female demon has entered

Take an empty flask and a white waxen candle, and recite this adjuration in purity:

I adjure you, the holy and pure angels Michael, Raphael, Shuviel, Ahadriel, Zumtiel, Yehutiel, Zumziel. [ . . . ] By seventy-two names I adjure you, you all the retinues of spirits in the world—Be-‘ail Laḥush and all your retinue; Kapkafuni the Queen of the Demons and all your retinue; and Agrat bat Malkat and all your retinue; and Zmamit and all your retinue, and those that were made on the eve of the Sabbath—that you bring forth that evil spirit immediately and do not detain the demon So-and-So, and tell me his name in this circle that I have drawn in your honor. [ . . . ]

Immediately they will tell you his name and the name of his father and the name of his mother aloud; do not fear them.

Immediately recite this adjuration in such a way: [ . . . ]

I adjure you demon So-and-So, by the utterance of the watchers and the holy ones1 by YHVH God of the Heavens, with these names I adjure you demon So-and-So, son of So-and-So and So-and-So, that you now enter this flask immediately, and immediately the flask will turn red. Immediately say to him these five names YHV YHV AHMVDYV GLYMSVY KMSYPYH. That demon will immediately cry a great and bitter cry from the great pressure; do not believe him until he swears by Yud Hay Vav Hay explicitly. Then leave him alone and pay him no further heed.

Translated by
J. H.
Chajes
.

Notes

[See Daniel 4:14—Ed.]

Credits

Joseph Tirshom, “Shoshan yesod ha-‘olam (Lily of the Foundation of the World)” (manuscript, Salonika, ca. 1550); part of: Bibliothèque de Genève, Comites Latentes 145: Collectanea of Kabbalistic and Magical Texts in Hebrew (formerly Sassoon 290), Bibliothèque de Genève; http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bge/cl0145.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Joseph Tirshom

16th Century

Joseph Tirshom lived in Salonika. Little is known about his life. However, from his work Shoshan yesod ha-‘olam (Lily of the Foundation of the World), a compendium of 2,174 numbered paragraphs that is perhaps the most comprehensive manuscript of medieval magical kabbalah in existence, he was evidently acquainted with magico-mystical traditions from all over the Jewish world. Tirshom encountered these traditions among the Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities in Salonika and also traveled widely, copying into his manuscript works on magic that he discovered in Damascus, Jerusalem, Egypt, and other locations. His work includes extensive sections from earlier and contemporary works. It served as an important source for subsequent kabbalists and copyists. Indeed, the margins of the manuscript include various annotations and signatures, including that of Shabbetai Zvi. Shoshan yesod ha-‘olam contains many exorcism rituals.

You may also like

Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism

Jewish mysticism in its various forms represents an attempt to interpret the religious values of Judaism in terms of mystical values. It concentrates upon the idea of the living God who manifests…
View Source

The Plundered Parts of the Temple

The Chaldeans broke up the bronze columns of the House of the Lord, the stands, and the bronze tank that was in the House of the Lord; and they carried the bronze away to Babylon. They also took…
View Source