PC070: The Dybbuk In The Bottle

[Heradel]

PodCastle 070: The Dybbuk In The Bottle

by Russell William Asplund.
Read by Wilson Fowlie.

Avram had no more talent for wonder working than for farming. No matter how hard he prayed, he could not call even a sparrow down from a tree. His Sabbaths were spent at a small synagog in the town, and the rabbi there had no idea of the way to Paradise save the path of a good life. As for Avram’s attempt to animate a golem, the less said about it the better.

Still Avram did not give up. After all, without his books there was only the farm, and the more he worked the farm, the more he wanted to work wonders instead. There was very little glory in cleaning a chicken coop.

And that is how Avram came upon the dybbuk in the bottle.

Rated G. for child-safe dybbuk romping.

[bamugo]

I liked this one. You don't get to hear very many Jewish folktales these days. I've never actually come across a full version of the Golem myth, even.

From what I know of the basic golem story, this seemed to have a similar message - the folly of pride.

What I found most fascinating was how closely it followed the pattern of a spaghetti western. Townsperson being bothered by troublesome bandit, hero comes in from elsewhere, takes control, boots out the bandit, order is restored and the hero rides off into the sunset. The only thing missing was the whore with a heart of gold. The little bird that stays, maybe? Or am I reaching too far? 

[Heradel]

I liked this one. You don't get to hear very many Jewish folktales these days. I've never actually come across a full version of the Golem myth, even.

From what I know of the basic golem story, this seemed to have a similar message - the folly of pride.

What I found most fascinating was how closely it followed the pattern of a spaghetti western. Townsperson being bothered by troublesome bandit, hero comes in from elsewhere, takes control, boots out the bandit, order is restored and the hero rides off into the sunset. The only thing missing was the whore with a heart of gold. The little bird that stays, maybe? Or am I reaching too far? 

The full version of the golem myth is really more folklore and superstition — Judah Loew ben Bezalel's Golem of Prague is the account of one, and there's no real definitive version of the story.

Note: I love how wikipedia feels the need to disclaim that golems haven't been proven to exist: The Maharal is particularly known for the legend that he created a golem, a living being from clay, using mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. There is no contemporary evidence that this happened, and the story first appeared in print nearly 200 years after his death.

[Scattercat]

Sometimes it's nice to read a traditional folktale as it is and not reimagined in some new stylish twist.  This was a generally pleasant experience all around.

[Gia]

Everything is more fun with Jews. They're clever and different enough from me culturally to be interesting without being too far away. They also have funny words like dybbuk. That makes me smile. That's pretty much what this story is: a clever, funny story about people from a culture that interests me.

Fowlie did a really good job with the voices.

[MacArthurBug]

Good, not outstandingly AMAZING but really quite good. The reading was nice, the story pulled together. More like this please

[Swamp]

Very nice tale.  I always like a good "deal with the devil" story, and this one was delightfully different.  While I wasn't rooting for the dybbuk at the beginning, it was obvious that Avram was in over his head, so it was fun to see how the dybbuk tricked him each day.  Then when Avram saw the error of his ways and enlisted the help of Rabbi Miltzer, it was fun to see how the dybbuk was defeated.  I loved the practical wisdom of the Rabbi and how he accomplished the task without pompous ceremony or displays of power, but with simple logic and ease, helping fix up the farm in the process.

[Schreiber]

I don't mean to step on Mr. Asplund's toes, but Dybbuks aren't really demons.  At least not within  Jewish mythology.  They're ghosts of human beings who have escaped from Gehenna, or Hell.  We do have demons.  They're called Shedim, but like Dybbuks they tend to be more interested in possessing living people than taking corporeal form.

I went on Wikipedia to make sure I had all this right, and it turns out there is one Kabbalistic sect in which Dybbuks appear as big red monsters: Yeshiva Dungeons and Dragons, founded by Rabbis Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

[ajames]

I don't mean to step on Mr. Asplund's toes, but Dybbuks aren't really demons.  At least not within  Jewish mythology.  They're ghosts of human beings who have escaped from Gehenna, or Hell.  We do have demons.  They're called Shedim, but like Dybbuks they tend to be more interested in possessing living people than taking corporeal form.

I went on Wikipedia to make sure I had all this right, and it turns out there is one Kabbalistic sect in which Dybbuks appear as big red monsters: Yeshiva Dungeons and Dragons, founded by Rabbis Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Clearly, then, this is set in an alternative universe or an alternate history  .

I had lots of fun listening to this one. Good story and good reading.

[eytanz]

I don't mean to step on Mr. Asplund's toes, but Dybbuks aren't really demons.  At least not within  Jewish mythology.  They're ghosts of human beings who have escaped from Gehenna, or Hell.  We do have demons.  They're called Shedim, but like Dybbuks they tend to be more interested in possessing living people than taking corporeal form.

I found it rather grating that the characters - especially the wise Rabbi - started their days at sunrise, not sunset. But then, I don't normally check for authenticity in tales dealing with other people's cultures - and there have been plenty of those - so I can't complain just because someone is not very accurate about my own.

Other than that, I rather enjoyed the story. Though, if you try to take it as a fable, you run into some trouble - the end moral seems to be "be happy with your lot in life and don't aspire to be more than you are". Oy vey.

[Wilson Fowlie]

Other than that, I rather enjoyed the story. Though, if you try to take it as a fable, you run into some trouble - the end moral seems to be "be happy with your lot in life and don't aspire to be more than you are". Oy vey.

I didn't take that message from it, though I guess one could.

To me, it was more what the Rabbi said explicitly at the end: if you keep looking far afield, or in books, or to shortcuts (or, to extend the analogy to modern life, on TV or the lives of celebrities) for happiness, you'll miss the happiness and satisfaction inherent in your life as it is now, warts and all, and that you can make it by focusing on it.  It's more "Don't try to take the easy road; there isn't one."  It may also be, "Go with your strengths."

Also, it seems to me that Avram could still become a wonder worker.  He just wasn't going to do it by reading about the wonders of others.

In a world where wonders can be worked, but is otherwise much like ours (presumably), I suspect that Avram could, by applying himself to his farm, really seeing it and all that God gave him in it, could become a 'farm wonder' worker and eventually be renowned years hence as "Rabbi Avram, who could grow enough to feed a city even in the worst drought," or some such thing.

However, by the time he's able to do such things, it no longer seems like a wonder to him any more, because he understands how it all works and it's just something he can do, much like Avram's rescuer casually freed the birds.

And even if he does see how it's wondrous to others, he knows he's channelling the power of God and has come to understand - internally, deeply, not just intellectually - that whatever he does himself, it's still small potatoes (har!) next to the wonder that is God and his creation.

[Note: it bears repeating that these ideas do not represent my view of the world in which we live, but are about the fictional world of this story, though the 'moral' may well apply here as there.]

[Javelin]

So, I liked the story (yay Jewish folktales), and the author did a great job. I saw the ending coming before Rabbi Meltzer even showed up on the scene, but that's probably just comfortable familiarity with the genre.

However, I had a lot of trouble getting over the pronunciation in the reading. Getting someone familiar with Hebrew or Yiddish pronunciation would have been a good idea. "Avram" is "ah-vrum" or "ah-vrahm", not "ay-vrum". And the "ch" in "elimelech" is not a "k" but a guttural "kh" (like the scottish word loch). Etc. Jarring.

[eytanz]

To me, it was more what the Rabbi said explicitly at the end: if you keep looking far afield, or in books, or to shortcuts (or, to extend the analogy to modern life, on TV or the lives of celebrities) for happiness, you'll miss the happiness and satisfaction inherent in your life as it is now, warts and all, and that you can make it by focusing on it.  It's more "Don't try to take the easy road; there isn't one."  It may also be, "Go with your strengths."

After reading your analysis and thinking about it, I decided that your interpretation is better than mine, which makes me like the story more. Thanks!

[Boggled Coriander]

I liked this one.  The worst that could be said was that it was predictable, but there's nothing wrong with telling a familiar story well without trying to subvert it somehow.  Wilson Fowlie did an awesome job, as always.

Definitely a pleasant surprise to hear the mighty name of Boggled Coriander intoned by DKT in the feedback section.

[Ocicat]

I liked it.  Classic contract story, and those are always enjoyable for me.  But what really stood out this time was the protagonist and his desire to be a miracle worker.  He studied Rabbis, who are of course men who study.  But they study the world and the word of god, whereas he just studied *them*.  He didn't have the first clue about he world, or god, or how to be a man who can outsmart a demon.  Just because you study something doesn't mean you understand it.

[Nobilis]

Though, if you try to take it as a fable, you run into some trouble - the end moral seems to be "be happy with your lot in life and don't aspire to be more than you are". Oy vey.

Yeah, I kind of saw it that way too.  Those stories always bother me.

[alllie]

Less modern fantasy and more something out of Grimm's Fairy Tales. That's okay now and then but gets boring to me fast.

[yicheng]

I liked this story.  True, it was a bit formulaic but in a good way.  I love any story where the main character outwits his enemies rather than out-fighting them.

Though, if you try to take it as a fable, you run into some trouble - the end moral seems to be "be happy with your lot in life and don't aspire to be more than you are". Oy vey.

I think it's a matter of how you look at the story.  My buddhist side could be showing, but I believe the moral of the story is to be happy wherever you are.  Avram was obviously unsatisfied with where he was, and pining for something that he thinks will make him happy: "If only I were a wonder-worker, and not just a simple farmer, then I would be happy".  The problem is this line of thinking never ends:  If only I had a better job, then I'd be happy.  If only I lost 25 lbs, then I'd be happy.  If only I had great boyfriend/girlfriend, then I'd be happy.  If only I were well liked by people, then I'd be happy.  Etc..  External things don't usually make you happy, and even if they do, they usually don't last very long. 

To me, the moral is about being happy where you are.  After that, you can do anything you want, only you'll be doing it because you actually want to, not because you're desperately trying to attain it in hopes of being happy.

[ckastens]

Yet another recent story I enjoyed greatly (quite a streak!). I love these stories which read like old fables (while at the same time having a modern pacing), with a battle of wits between the principal characters.

[stePH]

I don't mean to step on Mr. Asplund's toes, but Dybbuks aren't really demons.  At least not within  Jewish mythology.  They're ghosts of human beings who have escaped from Gehenna, or Hell.  We do have demons.  They're called Shedim, but like Dybbuks they tend to be more interested in possessing living people than taking corporeal form.

I went on Wikipedia to make sure I had all this right, and it turns out there is one Kabbalistic sect in which Dybbuks appear as big red monsters: Yeshiva Dungeons and Dragons, founded by Rabbis Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

The "Dybbuk" described in this story seemed more like an Ifrit to me (or "Efreet" as per Rabbis Gygax and Arneson  )

[AliceNred]

A most welcomed tale.

[DorsoLabialClick]

However, I had a lot of trouble getting over the pronunciation in the reading. Getting someone familiar with Hebrew or Yiddish pronunciation would have been a good idea.

I have to second this.  I cringed each time a Yiddish word or name was pronounced wrong, which was a lot of cringing. "Avram" in particular, but the second vowel in "Dybbuk" wasn't quite right either.  Not to mention the "Baal Shem Tov" - ouch.  The reader did a great job, otherwise - but I really wish he'd have asked someone how to pronounce things.

[rasplund]

As the author, I'd like to thanks you all for taking time to listen to the story, and I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize for misusing the "dybbuk" term for a demon, I just liked the word better. (That said, I will admit to studying under Rabbi Gygax far to much in my misspent youth.)

Wilson Fowlie and others, thanks for summing up what I had hoped to be the moral of the story. It's fun to find a place where I can see readers reactions. Even the criticisms at least means someone thought about the story. It's nice to know.

[Heradel]

As the author, I'd like to thanks you all for taking time to listen to the story, and I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize for misusing the "dybbuk" term for a demon, I just liked the word better. (That said, I will admit to studying under Rabbi Gygax far to much in my misspent youth.)

Wilson Fowlie and others, thanks for summing up what I had hoped to be the moral of the story. It's fun to find a place where I can see readers reactions. Even the criticisms at least means someone thought about the story. It's nice to know.

It's what the forums are here for, I'm glad you liked them.

Thank you for writing the story.

[Rachel Swirsky]

Thank you for writing the story.

Likewise. I'm glad you stopped by, Russell.

[Anarkey]

However, I had a lot of trouble getting over the pronunciation in the reading. Getting someone familiar with Hebrew or Yiddish pronunciation would have been a good idea.

I have to second this.  I cringed each time a Yiddish word or name was pronounced wrong, which was a lot of cringing. "Avram" in particular, but the second vowel in "Dybbuk" wasn't quite right either.  Not to mention the "Baal Shem Tov" - ouch.  The reader did a great job, otherwise - but I really wish he'd have asked someone how to pronounce things.

It will be Schadenfreudish of me, but my glee is mostly relief that I'm not the sole resident in the lesser hell of garbled pronunciations.  Welcome, brothers! 

[f5iver]

Pronunciations aside, I loved loved loved the story.

Definitely one of my favorite PC stories.

[thomasowenm]

Good fun story.  I am not familiar with Jewish mythos, outside of  Christianity heritages, so this story was new and welcome.  although it was predictable I was not bored because of the unfamiliar nature of it.  Good job the reading was good, even for the mispronuciations which I didn't even know were there.  Overall I give this one a B+.

[Jason Creighton]

I enjoyed this one. A bit formulaic perhaps, but well-executed and fun.

Am I the only one who thought there might be something sinister about the Rabbi? His request for Avram's blind obedience and his house had me suspicious until nearly the end of the story.

[kibitzer]

Question: is this a "traditional" Jewish fable, or one that uses those elements to create something new yet familiar?

Either way, loved the fable feel and the story itself. The reading was a touch on the "and now boys and girls, here's today's story" side, but only a touch. Overall a great reading. I, too, have a thing about pronouncing things correctly but I didn't notice it with this one coz I ain't Jewish :-) And I don't speak Hebrew.

I recently did a reading for LibriVox about "Monsieur Mangin, The French Humbug" and went to some pains to go over the French words and phrases (not many) with a lovely French lady I work with. I was so proud of myself -- until I realised after it was all done, I had consistently mis-pronounced "Mangin". :-( I had to laugh at myself -- nothing important, just the main character's name!!

[eytanz]

Question: is this a "traditional" Jewish fable, or one that uses those elements to create something new yet familiar?

Either way, loved the fable feel and the story itself. The reading was a touch on the "and now boys and girls, here's today's story" side, but only a touch. Overall a great reading. I, too, have a thing about pronouncing things correctly but I didn't notice it with this one coz I ain't Jewish :-) And I don't speak Hebrew.

I didn't catch any mis-pronunciations myself, but that's mostly because as a Israeli Hebrew speaker, anything in either Hebrew or Yiddish spoken by an American sounds mis-pronounced to me. The dialects are quite different.

[Listener]

Good story. A little too long, and Rabbi Meltzer being there was kind of coincidental -- how did the local rabbi get him in town? Or did he have Rabbi Sonar? I almost expected Meltzer to be some sort of creation of the dybbuk.

The usual excellent reading from Fowle; I think the story was better for there being very few characters, as he sometimes goes overboard with the voices.

Pretty good overall.

[LaShawn]

Very nice. This would be a story that I can have my 5-year-old listen to. I love dark tales, but I also love tales like this where good triumphs and the main character even learns a lesson or two.

[jay daze]

I enjoyed the story.  My only exposure to this type of tale is through I.B. Singer, who I think would have probably been a lot tougher on the main character, much to my own sadistic enjoyment...  Mmmm does that sound wrong?

[cdugger]

As is happening to me quite often with all 3 podcasts, I am finding a story that starts out with "Oh, I'm not gonna like this one..." and ends with "Wow! I gotta hear that again!"

Major kudos for this one. The writing and the reading were great!

I expected to miss out on most of the references, not being Jewish. I didn't feel that way at all. If I missed something, I don't know it. Not once did I find myself wondering what the author was saying.

I always say that fiction should entertain me. If it happens to enlighten or instruct, so much the better. In the end, though, it's all about enjoying the story. And I really enjoyed this one.

This one in particular brought back some great memories. Most of you know the ones. Over at a friend's for 9 hours, playing DnD. The DM throws in a Wish.
"Oh, great!", you say to yourself (because you don't dare say it out loud!). "I know this guy. No matter what I wish for, he's gonna ruin my whole night!"
But you can't pass it off to another player. He might just pull off the best Wish ever, then you night is ruined. And the next day as your buddy brags about it. And the next week as he still brags about it.
You know, that memory!

I like that memory. Especially now that I am old and fat.

So, to the author, I say...

More. Now.

[Unblinking]

This was a really cool story.  It seemed like a genuine folktale, whether it was or not.  It had the style of a fable, which I rather enjoyed, though I didn't expect to when the story started.  Generally I don't like long fable stories, but this one did very well.  I also don't normally like a story where the protagonist doesn't do much to help resolve the problem--since the rabbi did everything for him--but again, it just worked here.

[Unblinking]

I don't mean to step on Mr. Asplund's toes, but Dybbuks aren't really demons.  At least not within  Jewish mythology.  They're ghosts of human beings who have escaped from Gehenna, or Hell.  We do have demons.  They're called Shedim, but like Dybbuks they tend to be more interested in possessing living people than taking corporeal form.

I went on Wikipedia to make sure I had all this right, and it turns out there is one Kabbalistic sect in which Dybbuks appear as big red monsters: Yeshiva Dungeons and Dragons, founded by Rabbis Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Oddly enough, I believe I heard the word Dybbuk for the first time just 6 days ago when I went to "A Serious Man" in theaters--dybbuks are discussed in the opening scene, and they are represented as Schreiber described--as ghosts of humans descended from Gehenna.  I had already seen the title for this one so I was looking forward to reading a story about them, and I was a bit disappointed that it turned out to be a more run-of-mill demon archetype.

[Unblinking]

I enjoyed this one. A bit formulaic perhaps, but well-executed and fun.

Am I the only one who thought there might be something sinister about the Rabbi? His request for Avram's blind obedience and his house had me suspicious until nearly the end of the story.

Yes! I thought that too.  I figured throughout the whole thing that the Rabbi would drive the demon off and keep the house for himself, sending Avram away, or perhaps keeping him on as a servant.  He wouldn't have been a bad person for it--he would have kept his part of the bargain to rid Avram of the demon, and when he told Avram he had to obey him, he never promised to sell the house back to him.

Also, is it possible that this rabbi was sent by the still-living rabbi who bottled the demon in the first place?  We don't know what that rabbi asked for before the bottling--maybe he asked for longevity! 

[Wilson Fowlie]

Today's panel of Girl Genius featured a mention of a dybbuk.  Seems to be a different kind than that described in this story, or, for that matter, the other descriptions people have offered here.

[Unblinking]

Today's panel of Girl Genius featured a mention of a dybbuk.  Seems to be a different kind than that described in this story, or, for that matter, the other descriptions people have offered here.

The comic says "She is like a... a dybbuk, I tink." so even they're not really sure. 

The opening scene to "A Serious Man" seems to follow pretty closely what I've been able to find about the Jewish mythology where it originated.  Just like other creatures, there are variations in popular media (look what's become of Frankenstein's Monster), but I'd consider the source to be the defining version.

[Ocicat]

Dybbuk's were mentioned in Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys", weren't they?  Though possibly by a different spelling, I don't know, I have the audiobook version.  Anyway, there it was a sort of a ghost / spirit, I think.  The Foglio's may have gotten the idea from there.

[eytanz]

A dybbuk is a pretty well known element in Jewish folk tales; I don't think there would be any particular reason for the Foglios to have gotten it from any particular recent source. In Hebrew, btw, the word "dybbuk" is limited to a spirit (ghost or other) that is possessing a living body. As far as I understand, the Yiddish use of the word extends to all manner of ghosts and spirits.

[Sgarre1]

A great Dybbuk story is the play "Teibele And Her Demon" by Isaac Bashevis Singer & Eve Friedman.

Then there's "Dybbuk, Shymbbuk, I Said 'More Ham!'", as mentioned in BEST IN SHOW... (Eugene Levy, I loves ya!)

[Wilson Fowlie]

Dybbuk's were mentioned in Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys", weren't they?  Though possibly by a different spelling, I don't know, I have the audiobook version.

That is one of the most brilliant readings ever.  And now I can't find my MP3s of it.