Commandment Profile:

-9) No practicing the cult of Yidoni
Application to gentiles:
Required
Mandated punishment for violation:
Death penalty
Brief description:
The ancient cult of Yidoni, practiced in the land of Canaan, combined witchcraft and idolatry in a séance-like ritual to consult spirits. The practitioner would place a bone of a certain species of bird in his mouth, burn incense, recite incantations, and perform other ceremonial acts until he would enter a trance-like state. A voice would then seem to emanate from the bird-bone in his mouth, answering questions about future events. Conceivably, similar rituals could be practiced in the occult world today.

The practitioner of Yidoni is liable to capital punishment in theocratic courts; those who attend and consult such ceremonies also commit a sin under commandment -37.

Category:
Biblical source(s) (Rambam): Lev. 19:31, 20:27
Biblical source (Sefer HaChinuch): Lev. 19:31
Number in Sefer HaChinuch: 256
Sources explaining relevance to gentiles:

  • Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:2
    All idolatry-related offenses that carry death penalty for Jews also bring death penalty for gentiles.