כְּתֹ֨מֶר מִקְשָׁ֥ה הֵ֙מָּה֙ וְלֹ֣א יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ נָשׂ֥וֹא יִנָּשׂ֖וּא כִּ֣י לֹ֣א יִצְעָ֑דוּ אַל־תִּֽירְא֤וּ מֵהֶם֙ כִּי־לֹ֣א יָרֵ֔עוּ וְגַם־הֵיטֵ֖יב אֵ֥ין אוֹתָֽם׃ (ס)
De tels dieux sont comme un épouvantail dans un champ de concombres, ils ne parlent pas, on est obligé de les porter, car ils ne peuvent faire un pas. Ne craignez rien d’eux, car ils ne font pas de mal; mais faire du bien n’est pas davantage en leur pouvoir.
Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations
Who is a charmer? He who utters words which are not of the vernacular of the people, and which have no significance but supposes in his credulous mind that those words are of help, until others are led to say; "If he pronounces thus and such against a serpent or against a scorpion it will not harm; and if he says such and thus against fire it will do no damage". Among them there is such who, while talking holds in his hand a key, or a rock; such and other similar artifice the whole of it is forbidden. As for the charmer himself, either if he held aught in his hand, or if he committed any act along with his utterance, even if he merely pointed with his finger, is striped, as it is said: "There shall not be found among thee.… Or a charmer (Deut. 18.10–11). But if he merely uttered his prattle, and moved neither hand nor head, holding nothing in his hand; and so the individual, over whom he delivered himself of those noises, who sits before him and appears to derive joy of the performance, should be punished as a rebel because he became a party to the silliness of the charmer. All such chatter and ridiculously obscene nomenclature are harmless but without the least good about them.