Do not consult magicians or wizards

The Literal Commandment

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. (Deuteronomy 18:10-11)

 

The literal commandment is that we should not be a medium (an intermediary between the living and the dead).

 

Messiah Says

Messiah implicitly affirmed this commandment when He spoke about the Law:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)

 

Pictures of Messiah

The person who consults a medium, magician, or wizard seeks after knowledge or power that is not their own nor is it given to them by the Most High.

This commandment pictures Messiah in that perfect relationship with the Father that precludes the need to seek out anything beyond what was given to Him.

We find this in the writings of the prophet Isaiah:

Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward. Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness. (Isaiah 8:18-22)

 

How Messiah Fulfilled

Messiah fulfilled this commandment by not consulting magicians or wizards.

 

Traditional Observance

This commandment is traditionally observed in a very literal manner: by not consulting mediums, magicians, or wizards... anyone involved with the occult. Consulting these types of individuals indicates that a person doing such does not trust G-d and instead they are seeking out knowledge or power from other sources.

"Magicians" in this sense does not apply to individuals who use sleight of hand for entertainment purposes but applies to those who are genuinely involved in the occult.

 

Other Notes

We are able to fulfill this commandment today and should not consult magicians, mediums, or wizards.

 

<><

 

Commandment Details

  • Mishneh Torah # 66
  • Mishneh Torah Book # 1
  • Mishneh Torah Book Knowledge
  • Mishneh Torah Category 4- Idolatry and Gentile Customs
  • Reference Deuteronomy 18:11
  • Scripture Book Deuteronomy
  • Chapter 18
  • Verse 11
  • English or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
  • Hebrew יא וְחֹבֵר, חָבֶר; וְשֹׁאֵל אוֹב וְיִדְּעֹנִי, וְדֹרֵשׁ אֶל-הַמֵּתִים.
  • Greek 11 ἐπαείδων ἐπαοιδήν, ἐγγαστρίμυθος καὶ τερατοσκόπος, ἐπερωτῶν τοὺς νεκρούς.
  • Parashah 48- Shoftim
  • Positive/Negative Negative
  • Sefer Hachinuch # 514
  • Sef. Hach. Command The prohibition against consulting a yid'oni, a kind of wizard
  • Category Idolatry
  • We can fulfill today Yes

Custom Search

    • Acquisition (18)
    • Holiness (70)
    • Injuries (36)
    • Judges (74)
    • Judgments (23)
    • Knowledge (75)
    • Love (11)
    • Promises (25)
    • Ritual Purity (20)
    • Sacrifices (39)
    • Seeds (67)
    • Service (103)
    • Times (35)
    • Women (17)
    Close 
    • 1- The Foundations of Torah (10)
    • 10- Blessings (1)
    • 11- Circumcision (1)
    • 12- Shabbat (5)
    • 13- Rest on the Tenth of Tishri (4)
    • 14- Rest on Holidays (12)
    • 15- Leaven and Unleavened Bread (8)
    • 16- Shofar, Sukkah, and Lulav (3)
    • 17- Sheqels (1)
    • 18- Sanctification of Months (1)
    • 19- Fasts (1)
    • 2- Personal Development (11)
    • 20- Marriage (4)
    • 21- Divorce (2)
    • 22- Levirate Marriage and Release (3)
    • 23- Virgin Maiden (5)
    • 24- Woman Suspected of Adultery (3)
    • 25- Forbidden Sexual Relations (37)
    • 26- Forbidden Foods (28)
    • 27- Slaughter (5)
    • 28- Oaths (5)
    • 29- Vows (3)
    • 3- Torah Study (2)
    • 30- Nazirite (10)
    • 31- Appraisals and Devoted Property (7)
    • 32- Diverse Varieties (5)
    • 33- Gifts to the Poor (13)
    • 34- Heave Offerings (8)
    • 35- Tithes (1)
    • 36- Second Tithe and Fruit of the Fourth Year (9)
    • 37- First Fruits and Other Priestly Gifts Outside the Temple (9)
    • 38- The Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee (22)
    • 39- The Chosen House (6)
    • 4- Idolatry and Gentile Customs (51)
    • 40- The Vessels of the Temple and Those Who Serve in It (14)
    • 41- Entry into the Temple (15)
    • 42- Things Forbidden on the Altar (14)
    • 43- Sacrificial Procedures (23)
    • 44- Perpetual Offerings and Additional Offerings (19)
    • 45- Sacrifices Become Unfit (8)
    • 46- Service on Yom Kippur (1)
    • 47- Benefit from Consecrated Things (3)
    • 48- The Pesach Sacrifice (16)
    • 49- Pilgrimage Festival Sacrifice (6)
    • 5- Repentance (1)
    • 50- The Firstborn (5)
    • 51- Unintentional Sins (5)
    • 52- Those with Incomplete Atonement (4)
    • 53- Substitution for Consecrated Animals (3)
    • 54- Uncleanness from a Corpse (1)
    • 55- The Red Heifer (2)
    • 56- Uncleanness from Leprosy (8)
    • 57- Uncleanness of a Bed or Seat (4)
    • 58- Other Sources of Uncleanness (3)
    • 59- Uncleanness of Foods (1)
    • 6- Reciting the Shema (1)
    • 60- Ritual Baths (1)
    • 61- Injury to Property (4)
    • 62- Theft (8)
    • 63- Robbery and Lost Property (6)
    • 64- One Who Injured Person or Property (1)
    • 65- A Murderer and the Preservation of Life (17)
    • 66- Sales (5)
    • 67- Slaves (13)
    • 68- Hiring (7)
    • 69- Borrowed and Deposited Things (2)
    • 7- Prayer and Priestly Blessing (2)
    • 70- Creditor and Debtor (12)
    • 71- Claimant and Respondent (1)
    • 72- Inheritances (1)
    • 73- The Sanhedrin and the Penalties Under Their Jurisdiction (30)
    • 74- Testimony (8)
    • 75- Rebels (9)
    • 76- Mourning (4)
    • 77- Kings and Wars (23)
    • 8- Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Torah Scroll (5)
    • 9- Tzitzit (1)
    Close 
    • Deuteronomy (201)
    • Exodus (109)
    • Genesis (2)
    • Leviticus (243)
    • Numbers (58)
    Close 
    • 1- Bereshit (2)
    • 10- Miketz
    • 11- Vayigash
    • 12- Vayechi
    • 13- Shemot
    • 14- Va'eira
    • 15- Bo (21)
    • 16- B'shalach (1)
    • 17- Yitro (16)
    • 18- Mishpatim (51)
    • 19- Terumah (3)
    • 2- Noach (2)
    • 20- Tetzaveh (8)
    • 21- Ki Tisa (8)
    • 22- Vayakhel (1)
    • 23- Pekudei
    • 24- Vayikra (16)
    • 25- Tzav (17)
    • 26- Shemini (18)
    • 27- Tazria (7)
    • 28- Metzora (10)
    • 29- Acharei Mot (30)
    • 3- Lech-Lecha
    • 30- Kedoshim (51)
    • 31- Emor (56)
    • 32- B''har (24)
    • 33- B''chukotai (12)
    • 34- Bamidbar
    • 35- Naso (18)
    • 36- B'ha'alot'cha (5)
    • 37- Shelach (3)
    • 38- Korach (9)
    • 39- Chukat (3)
    • 4- Vayeira
    • 40- Balak
    • 41- Pinchas (11)
    • 42- Matot (2)
    • 43- Masei (7)
    • 44- Devarim (2)
    • 45- Va'etchanan (11)
    • 46- Ekev (7)
    • 47- Re'eh (55)
    • 48- Shoftim (42)
    • 49- Ki Tetze (74)
    • 5- Chayei Sarah
    • 50- Ki Tavo (6)
    • 51- Nitzavim
    • 52- Vayelech (3)
    • 53- Haazinu
    • 54- V'zot HaBerachah
    • 6- Toledot
    • 7- Vayetze
    • 8- Vayishlach (1)
    • 9- Vayeshev
    Close 
    • Negative (364)
    • Positive (249)
    Close 
    • Appointed Times (43)
    • Business (2)
    • Courts, Crimes, and Punishments (73)
    • Food (32)
    • Forbidden Mixtures (5)
    • Forbidden Sexual Relationships (26)
    • G-d (13)
    • Idolatry (40)
    • Levites & Priests (35)
    • Loans (12)
    • Love (9)
    • Marriage and Family (26)
    • Morality (11)
    • Nazirites (10)
    • Oaths (8)
    • Personal Appearance (7)
    • Prayer and Confession (5)
    • Prophecy (3)
    • Providing for the Poor (13)
    • Redemption of the Firstborn (4)
    • Ritual Purity and Impurity (20)
    • Sacrifices and Offerings (99)
    • Shemittah and Yovel (19)
    • Signs and Symbols (5)
    • Slaves and Servants (18)
    • Temple and Sacred Objects (21)
    • Terumah and Tithes (25)
    • The King (7)
    • Torah (5)
    • War and Battles (17)
    Close 
    • Maybe (7)
    • No (83)
    • Yes (523)
    Close