Demons in Jewish Mythology- Shavriri

According to Jewish legend, Shavriri is the demon of blindness .Shavriri is not dangers during the day. He acts at night and lives in water.

The Rabbis of the Talmud, in Avodah Zara 12, explain that a man should not drink water by night, for thus he exposes himself to the power of Shavriri. But what can one do when he is thirsty in the middle of the night? Well, if there is another man with him he should wake him up by saying that he his thirsty.

However if a man is alone or if he already drunk, he should say the following:
Shavriri
Veriri
Riri
RI
Yee
In Hebrew:
ש ב ר י ר י
ב ר י ר י
ר י ר י
י ר י
ר י
י

Rashi explains that when the demon hears his name being diminished letter by letter, he flees. And just like diminishing the name of a demon destroys it, the reverse holds true, increasing its name letter by letter increases its strength.
Shavriri is also mentioned in the Bible, in Genesis 19:11-
" וְאֶת-הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר-פֶּתַח הַבַּיִת, הִכּוּ בַּסַּנְוֵרִים, מִקָּטֹן, וְעַד-גָּדוֹל; וַיִּלְאוּ, לִמְצֹא הַפָּתַח."

"And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door."

So next time when you wake up to drink water at night, you might want to think twice...

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Hebrew Transcription Translation
מַיִם         mayim         Water
צָמֵא          Tsāmē'       Thirsty
שָׁתָה         šātāh          Drank
סַנְוֵרִים       sanwerîm    Temporary blindness
קָטֹן           qātōn         Small
גָּדוֹל           gādôl          Big

Eli@eteachergroup.com