דברים פרק יח
ט כִי אַתָה בָא א ל -הָאָר ץ אֲשׁ ר-ה' אֱלֹק יךָ נֹתֵּן לָךְ לֹא-תִ לְמַד לַעֲשׂוֹת כְתוֹעֲבֹת הַגּוֹיִם הָהֵּם: י לֹא-יִמָצֵּא בְךָ מַעֲבִיר בְנוֹ-ובִתוֹ בָאֵּשׁ קֹסֵּם קְסָמִים מְעוֹנֵּן ומְנַחֵּשׁ ומְכַשֵּף :יא וְחֹבֵּר חָב ר וְשֹׁאֵּל אוֹב וְיִדְעֹנִי וְדֹרֵּ שׁ א ל-הַמֵּתִ ים :יב כִי-תוֹעֲבַת ה' כָל-עֹשֵּׂה אֵּל ה ובִגְלַל הַתוֹעֵּבֹת הָאֵּל ה ה' אֱלֹק יךָ מוֹרִ ישׁ אוֹתָם מִפָנ יךָ :יג תָמִים תִ הְי ה עִם ה ' אֱלֹק יךָ :
18:9. When you come to the land that G-d your Lord is giving you, do not learn to do the revolting practices of those nations.
10. Among you, there shall not be found anyone who passes his son or daughter through fire, who practices stick divination, who divines auspicious times, who divines by omens, who practices witchcraft.
11. who uses incantations, who consults mediums and oracles, or who attempts to communicate with the dead
12. Anyone involved in these practices is repulsive to G-d, and it was because of repulsive practices such as these that G-d your Lord is driving out [these nations] before you.
13. You must [therefore] remain totally faithful to G-d your Lord.
- מעונן is an illusionist, who practices sleight of hand. Alternatively, someone who predicts the right time for embarking on a venture.
- מנחש is one who makes decisions based on omens unrelated to the undertaking (see Sanhedrin 65b-66a).
- מכשף is a sorcerer, practicing stick divination (see Sanhedrin 67a-b).
- חובר חבר is a person who conjures groups of animals or insects through his charms (see Sanhedrin 65a).
- שואל אוב is one who raises a spirit of a dead person under his or her armpit to consult with it (see Sanhedrin 65a-b).
- שואל ידעני is one who takes the bone of a certain animal and place it in his or her mouth, from where the voice of the spirit emanates (see Sanhedrin 65b).
- דורש אל המתים is one who fasts and sleeps in a cemetery to come in contact with a spirit there (see Sanhedrin 65b).
- מעביר את בנו ובתה באש is someone presents his child to an idol Molech and the child would then be passed through a fire. According to one opinion Molech means a ruler (and not an idol). Thus, this is a type of sorcery that is effective, according to its practitioners, only if the icon is accepted as their ruler.
Rashi interprets תָמִים (verse 13) as “simple-hearted”, commanding us to:
- not to seek knowledge of the future, but instead
- to enjoy a complete sense of security of faith that the future is safely in G-d’s hands.
(Lekueti Sichos vol. 14)
