The Torah Guide to Ghosting

(27) A man also or a woman that divineth by a ghost or a familiar spirit, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them.

I am God your God You must seek out God alone. That is why Scripture uses the phrase defiled by them: anyone who turns to or who seeks out these forms of magic defiles his soul, because he detaches himself from God.

It is forbidden to consult a solicitor of ghosts or a solicitor of familiar spirits, for it is said: "There shall not be found among you…. or one that consulteth a ghost or a familiar spirit" (Ibid.). Find thyself instructed that a solicitor of ghosts or a solicitor of familiar spirits, themselves suffer the punishment of stoning, but their communicant violates an admonition who is punished after the manner of a rebel, unless he appointed his actions and did according to their charge, when he is striped¹⁷Ibid. G.

Then Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me a woman who consults ghosts, so that I can go to her and inquire through her.” And his courtiers told him that there was a woman in En-dor who consulted ghosts. Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes and set out with two men. They came to the woman by night, and he said, “Please divine for me by a ghost. Bring up for me the one I shall name to you.” But the woman answered him, “You know what Saul has done, how he has banned [the use of] ghosts and familiar spirits in the land. So why are you laying a trap for me, to get me killed?” Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As the LORD lives, you won’t get into trouble over this.” At that, the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He answered, “Bring up Samuel for me.” Then the woman recognized Samuel, and she shrieked loudly, and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” The king answered her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being coming up from the earth.” “What does he look like?” he asked her. “It is an old man coming up,” she said, “and he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel; and he bowed low in homage with his face to the ground. Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me and brought me up?” And Saul answered, “I am in great trouble. The Philistines are attacking me and God has turned away from me; He no longer answers me, either by prophets or in dreams. So I have called you to tell me what I am to do.”

What does he look like. Three things were said regarding אוֹב: The one who conjures him [the dead] up, sees him, but does not hear his voice; the one who inquires of him, hears him, but does not see him, and therefore, he [Shaul] asked, 'What does he look like?', and the others neither see or hear him.

אל תפנו אל האובות ואל הידעונים . "Do not turn to ghosts and do not inquire of familiar spirits." The reason is that such ghosts are apt to turn you away from having faith in G–d who is the Creator of all. The method employed by people who are experts in communicating with the dead involve manipulating the powers of impurity. When these "dead" spirits make predictions of the future some will come true, others will not. The reason the Torah calls these ghosts אבות, "fathers," is that they are the "patriarchs" of all the forces of impurity. The Torah says "do not turn to them" instead of "do not practice or perform such rites" so that you should not even contemplate having anything to do with such practices. The word תפנו is related to פנים, face. Merely looking at such ghosts introduces impurity into the atmosphere; it is just as damaging as looking at the face of a wicked person.

Our Rabbis taught: When Rebbi was about to die, he said: I need my sons. His sons entered, and he instructed them: Be careful to show respect to your mother. The light will continue to burn in its usual place, the table will be set in its usual place, [and my] bed will be made in its usual place. Joseph of Haifa and Shimon of Efrat who were my attendants in my lifetime will continue to be my attendants when I am dead.

..."The light shall continue to burn in its usual place, the table will be set in its usual place [and my] bed will be made in its usual place." Why? Because he used to come home again at twilight every Shabbat evening. On a certain Friday night a neighbor came to the door and called out, and his maidservant said: "Be quiet, because Rebbi is sitting!" When he heard this he did not come again, so as not to cast aspersions on the earlier righteous ones.

For the living know that they will die. And perhaps they will be mindful of the day of death, and they will repent of their ways, but once they die, they do not know anything,¹⁶Yirmiyahu 4:7. and they no longer earn reward for the actions¹⁷And even if they were to have perception, it is too late for them to repent. (Metsudas Dovid) that they do from their death and onwards, for “whoever toils on the eve of Shabbos will [have what to] eat on Shabbos.”¹⁸Alternatively, ואין להם עוד שכר כי נשכח זכרם means “there is no reward for them, when [= כי] their memory is forgotten,” i.e., when those who die leave no legacy of good deeds for others to follow. However, for the righteous who leave a legacy of good deeds for others to follow [i.e., their memory is not forgotten], there is further reward. (Kehilas Shlomo)