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Have You Divorced Your Demons Yet?

Have You Divorced Your Demons Yet?

Last updated on: October 23, 2026 at 5:39 pm by Rebecca Wallace Keene

Have You Divorced Your Demons Yet? 2026-10-23T17:39:32-04:00 Rebecca Wallace Keene

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Have You Divorced Your Demons Yet? created by Rebecca Keene with chatgpt

Have You Divorced Your Demons Yet?

Have you divorced your demons? Welcome back to our Spooky Judaism series. Last week we met Lilith Hablas, Lilith’s granddaughter. She is one of the more interesting demons, because we have found her name in archeological digs. What was found will make you reconsider everything you know about demonology. Forget the exorcism. Have you considered a divorce lawyer instead?

Have You Divorced Your Demons With Incantation Bowls

An Aramaic incantation bowl was found dating to the 5th-8th centuries. These bowls were used by Jewish, Christian, and Mandaean communities. The Center for Online Judaic Studies explains how this relates to Jewish culture:

“Babylonian Jews also practiced a variety of magical practices as part of their popular religion. A common practice was the burial in various rooms of the house of a clay bowl inscribed inside with magical incantations, usually under a threshold.”

Jewish get: Have You Divorced Your Demon

Some of the most striking of these bowls borrow the language of a Jewish get, or divorce document. The bowl, which names Lilith Hablas, has an incantation that issues a divorce to the demon. The COJS states, “In this example, we see the common practice of granting magical divorce to demons to expel them from the house and protect its inhabitants.” The inscription reads:

“Lo, I have written a divorce for you and lo, I have expelled you, as demons write divorces for their wives and furthermore, they do not return. Take your divorce, receive your oath, flee, take flight, and go forth from the house and from the back of Mehishai the daughter of Dodai.”

Rabbinical Involvement

The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization tells us that another such bowl reads, “A divorce-writ has come down to us from heaven and in it there is found written for your advisement and terrification in the name of Palsa- Pelisa who gives you your divorce-writ and your writ of banishment.” This bowl in particular is of importance, because it gives the language of a get and invokes the name of a Rabbi, saying:

“You, lilith—male lili, female lilith, ban, and demon—may you be under the ban of Rabbi Joshua the son of Peraḥia. Even thus has Rabbi Joshua the son of Peraḥia spoken to us: A divorce-writ has come to you from across the sea, and in it there is found written for your banishment, whose father’s name is Palḥas, whose mother’s name is Pelaḥdad.”

This is proof that Rabbis were involved in this process of divorcing demons and that it was an active part of the Jewish Religion in Babylon. This practice makes so much sense to me. Exorcism is entering into a battle with a demon but divorcing them is the ending of a relationship. We do not need to do battle with the forces of evil. We need to make it clear that we are not interested in a relationship with them.

Don’t Battle Your Demons. Assure You Have Divorced Your Demons

Demons enter our world when we have been weak in faith, engaged in an unholy action, or sought out dark forces. Thus, willingly or unwillingly, we entered into relationship with demons. We do not need to destroy the demon to end the relationship. Thus, we issue the demon a divorce and ban them from returning to us. This gives us responsibility for our own life and what we allow in it.

So, I ask you, have you divorced your demons? It is time to shake off the relationships we’ve agreed to with Lilith and her demonic children. Divorce your demons tonight and come back for Spooky Judaism next week when we learn how to see the demon. Sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss a single spooky moment.

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About Rebecca Keene

Rebecca Keene holds a B.S. in Psychology and Religion and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Women, Gender, Spirituality, and Social Justice. An ordained minister, Kabbalah student, and fierce advocate for the marginalized, she is the author of Faith Under the Rainbow: Reclaiming the Truth About Homosexuality and the Bible. Rebecca founded the social media community Reclaiming the Truth and lives in Kentucky, where she practices Non-Denominational Judaism. Read Rebecca's articles at Reclaiming the Truth. You can read more about the author here.

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