Whom My Soul Loves

December 12, 2019 12:59 PM

Osnat went back to talk to the dybbuk again...

Whom My Soul Loves is a speculative fiction story by Rivqa Rafael, published in November’s Strange Horizons.

The title alludes to one of the most famous lines of the shir ha-shirim, or Song of Songs.

posted by fast ein Maedchen (6 comments total)

Lovely. Thank you.
posted by Countess Elena at 2:58 PM on December 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

Glossary:

Ossur - forbidden
Mashpia - someone with a role between a confidante and a religious advisor.
Giores - a convert to Judaism (female)
Loshon Hora - slander
Tzadeykes - exemplary person, "saint" (f)
Ger - convert to Judaism (m)
Ahavas Yisroel - loving a fellow Jew
Sheidim - demons
Shadayim - breasts
Brocha - brief prayer before eating
Raḥmona litzlan - Heaven forfend!
Dybbuk - ghost possessing a victim
Neshoma - soul
HaQadosh Barukh Hu - G-d
Sit shiva - the seven days of mourning required of close relatives of the deceased
Hashem yishmoreinu - may G-d protect us
Mitzva - good deed
Ibbur - another soul within one's body? Supplementary soul?
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:13 PM on December 12, 2019 [8 favorites]

I (Reformish American Ashkie) had never heard of “ibbur” until this story. Wikipedia has it as the positive counterpart of a dybbuk: a soul possessing a body in order to do good, often consensually.
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 3:18 PM on December 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

My casual exposure to the idea among Ashkenazim indicates that the idea of ibbur neshamot is only common among people who take Kabbala very seriously, as a way of explaining personal characteristics or historical resonances. In contrast, the idea of a dybbuk entered popular Ashkenazi mythology.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:30 PM on December 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

(there's also another story by I.B.Singer, but this story is more subtle)
posted by ovvl at 6:24 PM on December 12, 2019

That was lovely. Thanks for posting.
posted by Mchelly at 4:21 PM on December 14, 2019 [1 favorite]