Dibbuk

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Dibbuk or dybbuk. An evil spirit in Jewish folklore. The term appeared in literature in Germany and Poland in the 17th cent. The spirit was supposed to enter a person as a result of a secret sin. The dibbuk is connected with belief in ibbur, a limited transmigration of souls: the ibbur is the birth in a good person of a righteous soul, thus reinforcing that person's goodness. It was a natural extension to suppose that an evil spirit could take up residence in another.