A rabbi unravels the etymological roots of the word ‘pandemic’ and discovers its dark roots in paganism, linking it to other troubling social symptoms of the coronavirus including ‘panic’ and ‘pandemonium’. 

Rabbi Michoel Green, director of the Chabad Center in Westborough, Massachusetts, wrote a Facebook post on Thursday analyzing the etymology of the word pandemic, which is defined as a disease that is prevalent over a whole country or the world.

“By now, we all know that ‘covid-19’ is not a true pandemic,” Rabbi Green wrote. “In fact, at this time, it’s unclear whether a virus even exists. And given the absurd manner in which they are testing, there is no way that the so-called pandemic will ever go away. Beyond that, however, something about the word ‘pandemic’ bothers me. Maybe this is just semantics, but words are important in Judaism. ‘Pan’ is Greek for ‘all’, and ‘demic’ (from demos) means people, as in an incident that threatens all people.”

The rabbi discovered that the root word ‘pan’ referred to a specific pagan deity.

“Did you know that the Greek ‘pan’ was once believed to derive from a polytheistic deity named Pan? Pan (/pæn/ in Ancient Greek: Πάν) was a bestial deity of nature and the wild,” Rabbi Green wrote. “It was also the god of herdsmen and hunters. In Neopaganism, Pan has been identified as Satan.”

“In the Classical Age, the Greeks associated Pan’s name with the word pan meaning ‘all’. The word “panic” derives thereof since this deity’s presence was believed to arouse sudden, uncontrollable fear that led people into irrational behavior. There is something deeply disturbing about the word, pandemic. It invokes ‘pandemonium’ (a wild uproar as if ‘all’ demons were let loose). And isn’t it strange how ‘demic’ (from ‘demos’ in Greek, which means people) is oddly similar to ‘demon?’ It’s almost as if the concept of a pandemic brings something demonic out of people…”

Rabbi Green suggested that the spiritual dark-power associated with the word was having a real-world effect upon the current crisis.

“Could it be that this ‘pandemic’ is a perverse idea concocted by self-proclaimed Pans in an attempt to create ‘panic’ and ‘pandemonium’ as a means of subjugating ‘all’ humankind to become their compliant ‘herd’? Is ‘pandemic’ a tool used by self-styled ‘hunter deities’ to ensnare their prey? Panic, pandemic, pandemonium… all three reek of paganism. In the Torah, there is One God, and there is never a reason for fear or panic. We are to be subservient only to God, and NOT to any human overlord.”

Rabbi Green’s solution was straightforward.

“Let’s reject the term ‘pandemic,’ its dubious origin, and its illegitimate use in modern times,” he wrote. “G-d is One, and there is none other.”