Judaism and the Occult part 5

The idea that ultimately, even idolaters connect with G-d on some level, opens the door to possibilities not generally considered, but also to charlatanism. When Mother Teresa died, there were numerous reports of people being healed of serious illnesses when they attended her funeral. My wife, Sima, asked me how I understand that. The question was deepened a few weeks later, when Mother Theresa's diary was discovered and made public. She had lost her faith years before, and was, essentially, an agnostic. Could the"miracles" have been due to placebo effect; people's belief in her healing power essentially causing spontaneous healing? Or could it be that despite her lack of conviction, her life, dedicated as it was to giving of herself to help the poor, sick, and dying,had somehow connected her to "the G-d of gods", and channeled Divine energy to these people? On the other hand, a few years ago, there was a news item here in New York, about a scam in which several women were going around the city,telling people that their "powers" showed them that the person with whom they were speaking, was under a curse, which these women could remove...for only a few tens of thousands of dollars. When I lived in Ohio, I loved watching the healer/preachers on Sunday morning TV. There was one in particular, who would go through the audience, informing people of diseases which they had, but of which they were not yet aware. Then, he would proceed to "heal" them! Many of these were, of course, charlatans. But are all healers charlatans? I have no doubt that RAMBAM, and other "rationalists" would see all of this as superstition, and hence forbidden. But there are scientists studying these phenomena under laboratory conditions. Many things defy rational explanation. A case in point is the Copper Wall Project, conducted at the Menninger Clinic in Kansas, from 1983 to 1995. You can find it online. Two groups of people, some renowned "energy healers" of various religions and traditions participated, as well as "ordinary" people for controls. . They were placed, one by one, in a room with copper walls, ceiling and floor. They were hooked up to voltmeters, EKG and EEG machines. The walls were also hooked up to sensing devices. They were told to concentrate or meditate at the walls. The control group experienced nothing. All the healers, however, generated electrical currents in their own bodies, that were also reflected on the walls. There were surges of electricity, ranging from 4 volts, to 221 volts. These surges lasted from 0.5 seconds to 12.5 seconds. The second part of the project had the healers concentrate on volunteer patients. Some of these patents were in the copper room together with the healers, although no physical contact was allowed. Other patents were in another room. Similar, although smaller, electrical surges were measured in the patients who were in the copper room, these were at the same moment that these were being generated in the healers' bodies. Those who were outside the room, experienced no electrical fluctuations, but many could sense energy, at the same moment that the healer was producing a current. The study showed several things. Energy generation and transmission were possible and real. But the questions, which remained unanswered, were twofold. Is spiritual healing a function of electricity? People placed in areas of electromagnetic fields are generally made ill, not healed. And those who accurately felt energy coming to them; what was the nature of that energy? It wasn't electricity. What was it? These questions remain unanswered. I have searched in vain for articles "debunking" this project (which was published in peer-reviewed medical journals). Could it be that the energy being generated and transmitted was spiritual? Sadly, scientists do not speak in those terms. We must also ask the question if such "meddling" into the unknown, is consistent with Torah? If we accept the view of RAMBAM, everything unknown and not understood, being considered superstition, violates the Will of G-d. But, as long as idolatry is not involved, why is this different from medications that were unknown in RAMBAM's time? Did the fact that the participants in this study were of many faiths...and no faiths, meant that they had tapped into forces beyond (or deeper than) what they themselves knew? To be continued.