Chullin 106

When modern readers of the Talmud encounter stories about demons and other beings or phenomena we would consider supernatural, we might be tempted to think of them as symbols or metaphors for something else. After all, the rabbis didn’t know about modern germ theory or mental illness, so perhaps they invented demons as a way to talk about things like plagues and psychosis that they didn’t have other language to explain. This tendency in us makes complete sense. After all, we live in a post-Enlightenment world which has become uncomfortable with the supernatural, yet we see the rabbis of the Talmud as foundational to our understanding of Judaism. Unfortunately, reducing demons to metaphors doesn’t give justice to the rabbis for whom demons were not metaphors at all. They were quite real, interacting with and affecting the world around them in material ways.

On today’s daf, we get the last of Abaye’s eight statements, which we first discussed yesterday. And like the statement we discussed yesterday, this too is followed by another remarkable story about a demon. 

Abaye said: At first I thought the reason why one pours off (a little water) from the mouth of the jug (before drinking) was to remove flotsam. But now my master has told me: It is because there is evil water.

As with the teaching we examined yesterday, Abaye gives a perfectly practical explanation for a behavior (pouring off water to remove impurities), and is corrected by his master who has a much less intuitive answer for the practice (removing evil). And, as was the case yesterday, the teachings are followed by a story:

A certain demon in the household of Rav Pappa once went to fetch water from the river but was away a long time. When he returned he saw them pouring off a little water from the mouth of the jug. He exclaimed: Had I known that you were in the habit of doing this, I would not have been away so long! 

Abaye’s master doesn’t identify what makes this water evil. Rashi explains that the water was evil because demons had drunk from it, contaminating it in some way. But in the story that follows, the demon is not the source of the evil water, but instead actively working to prevent the household from being contaminated by it. Rather than spreading evil, the demon works to protect and save the other members of his rabbinic household. 

More surprising, Rav Pappa welcomed demons not only into the rabbinic community, but also into his home. The term that I’ve translated here as “in the household of Rav Pappa” appears in two different talmudic contexts: it can describe someone attached to a rabbi’s home (like a spouse, child, or servant), or a rabbi’s student. The confluence of these two meanings hints that some rabbis’ disciples served as their servants, working to maintain the household in exchange for the privilege of learning from its head. This demon might be only a servant in Rav Pappa’s household, but perhaps he is also a student of Rav Pappa himself. 

This incredibly rich story offers us much insight into the kind of capacious household Rav Pappa created. It reminds us that rabbinic demonology was much more morally complex than those of us who grew up on The Exorcist might think. But it also asserts that, for the rabbis, demons were more than a metaphor or a symbol. Metaphors and symbols are powerful; they can explain, empower, inspire and challenge in a range of contexts. But they cannot literally bring you water from the river to drink. At the beginning of the story, Rav Pappa’s household has no water. At the end of the story, the household has water. Something has clearly happened there to change that fact. Would you or I attribute that change to a demonic servant/student? Probably not. But the rabbis did, and that tells us that for them, demons were real and embodied, and able to make (positive) change in the world. 

Read all of Chullin 106 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on August 14, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.

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