BIBLIOMANCY AND JUDAISM: THE CASE OF THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE

Abstract

This paper examines bibliomancy in Judaism. Following a historical overview of this topic, it focuses upon the late Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh as a form of bibliomancy. To receive the Rebbe’s counsel and blessings, Lubavitchers insert questions and requests into this text. They find a response by opening the same page at which it is inserted. Advocates of this practice see it as an opportunity for miraculous guidance, maintaining that the Rebbe's soul transcends physical boundaries and that it is Divine Providence which guides the seeker to the exact page containing the necessary advice. Using a trawl of the internet, it presents four narratives pertaining to the practice of bibliomancy in this group.