A Higher Authority in Changing Times: The Rise of Jewish Occultism

A new type of spiritual authority appeared on the Jewish street in early-twentieth-century Eastern Europe. These were the cadre of Jewish mediums and other occult practitioners, who, following the latest occult trends then fashionable in Europe and North America, advertised themselves widely as wonder-workers and healers in possession of hidden powers. Dispensing advice and promises of a panacea for physical and spiritual maladies, these occult practitioners appealed to a broad spectrum of East European Jewry, from the urban poor to the nouveau riche upper-classes. In certain instances, Jewish occultists blended modern occult terminology with the language of traditional Jewish esotericism; at other times they were seen as replacements for hasidic rebbes who, in moments of crisis, were no longer available. In the eyes of many contemporary observers, the turn to the occult was seen as redolent of the social and spiritual crises that plagued East European Jewry. In recovering the place of occult practitioners in the Jewish communities of early-twentieth-century Eastern Europe, this paper gives insight into the social changes that confronted East European Jewry at that time and the innovative modes of spiritual authority that arose in response.