Some religions, particularly Christianity, have a concept in which demons or evil spirits can enter a person's body and take control of them.
Does Judaism have a concept similar or like this? The literal translation of I Samuel 16:23 would imply such a thing can happen, but I have always been taught the Rabbinical tradition that it was not an actual evil spirit disturbing Shaul HaMelech, but a mental illness. (Source?)
This is not a question of comparative religion; I have mentioned Christianity only to serve as an example so others maybe will understand what I am talking about.
Answer
Like many other beliefs, Judaism doesn't have a clear opinion on the matter, but individual Jews do. Rashi, for example, believed in demons and gives that explanation of ruah raah in Eruvin 45b s.v. ruah ra'ah.
Accordingly, Saul's possession by the ruah raah (I Samuel 16:14) would be a demonic possession. However, like most other things, there is not a single Rabbinic tradition on the matter. For that reason it is unsurprising that other Jews, such as the Meiri, and most famously, Rambam (cf. commentary to Avoda Zara 4:7) did not believe in demons at all. Indeed, Rambam omits every Talmudic mention of demons from his Mishneh Torah, or quotes it in some altered non-demonic form.[i] In his commentary to Eruvin (4:1), he explains that the ruah ruah refers to mental illness:
רוח רעה, קורין לכל לקיון בכח ההבחנה של אדם
Accordingly, he would presumably explain Saul's ruah raah, not as demons, which he did not believe in, but as depression, or some other mental illness.
[i] For the complete list, see Studies in Maimonides and His Interpreters, by Marc Shapiro.
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