exposed to theeounter-infliienee of other amulets, ana were thus supposed to be even more potent. Amulets were found upon the liodies of Jewisli warriors; Uiey had come from the lieatheu temple in Januiia II JIaee. xii. 40). The signet-ring, earned over the heart or upon the arm (Song of Solomon, viii. G, .ler. ..ii. '24, Hag. ii. 23), served as an Amulet, either owing to tli(t material of which it was composed or freipiently from the iu.scri|ition upon it. I
The
Amsterdam Amulet
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
547
use of anuilets period; that
was very extensive
in
the
from about the first century li.c, until about 000 of the eomiuon era; consei|Uently there are copious details coneennng them The Mishnah repeatedly considin literary .sources. ers kenii'<it from its particular juridical standpoint. They were worn sometimes with covering and someriililiinical
is,
times without. The Amulet itself, it Talmudical api)ears. might consist cither of an arAge. tide inscribed with the nnmr of God,
with a Scripture jiassageor the like, or of the root of some herb. Grains of wheat wrapi)ed in leather sometimes served as amulets. Particularly potent were chips or s]dinlers of the woo<l of an AsiiKit.^ii, or of anything olfered to an i<lol and therefore such things were regularly made into kemi'i>t. The niiwt fnipient form of amidets. however, was u small metal plate suitably inscribed. Around the neck of oxen was tied a pearl wrapped in leather. To protect a horse from evil inlluence, a fox's tail oru crimson ])lume wa.s fastened between its eyes. Children, owing to their feeble powers of resistance, were held to be much exposed to the danger of magic fascination; they were, therefore, |iroti'ctcd by means of knots, written parchments, elc. tied round Ihi-ir necks. Furniture and household belongings were jirotectcd by in.scribing the name of God upon fnot -rests and handles. Usually, at least among men. amulets were worn on the arm but exceptionally they were carried in the hand. Women and children wore them especially on neck-chains, rings, or otiH'rarticles of jewelry. An Anudet would sometimes be placed in u hollow stick, and would be all the more ellicacious because no one would suspect its presence; it was a species of concealed weapon. Figuratively the Torah is said to be such an Anudet for Isra<-I. The priestly benediction (Num. vi. 24-2(i) protected Israel against the evil eye. Distinctions
were drawn between amulets which had cured once and those that had cured twice or thrice; between those w hieh had healed three dilTcrcnt ]H'0]de once each and those which had healed one ])erson three limes. In short, there were approved amulets and amnli-ts not approved; a ilistinetion made likewise as to .mulel makers. Besides the conuuon people physicians in their jirofessional practise also used amulets; the Amulet was thought to bani.sh the demon causing the ailment if his name were written upon the kemi'a. Kvery nation in turn seems to have helil that the magical arts of other nations were superior to its own; and therefore it is easy to uiderstanil why the greater portion of the anudels described in T.'duuiil and .Midnish are of foreign extraction, as eviilenced by their foreign appellations or by other indications. Geninnely Jewish, however. Foreign were those talismans whi<h consisted and Domes- of strips of parchment bearing tin' tic Amuname of Goil, or various permutations lets. of its letters. Scripture pas.sagcs, or the like. An important ijuotatiou concerning these is found in a iiarailii (Sliab l"i/'): "Talismans and auudets, although containing in their letters the name of God or sundry ]ias.sages out of the Torah, inav not he «ived on SablMilli from a in daily life,
1
contlagration; let them burn where they are." By letters of God's name are meant anagrams and transpositions of the same; see Ahkaxas. Upon an Amulet. .Siiid to be potent in curing the bite of a mad dog, was written mN3V nin" H' .T "Yah, Yah, Lord of Hosts" (Yoma, 84</). As .stated above, medicine did not disdain the use of amulets. Abraham wore a jew(d on his neck which healed every sick iierson he looked upon. A "stone of preservation" (px noipn) was said to protect women from mi.searriage. The egg of a grasshopper was .Siiid to ju-otect against earache; the tooth of a living fox again.st sleei)ine.ss, and of a dead one against sleeplessness. A nail from
a gallows iirotected against wounds. The sjiges of the Talmud, however, forbade the use of all such riniedies, as being "heathen practise." Tcfilliii (phylacteries) and iiieziizot (iu.scriptions on door-posts) are
by the Targum on Song of Solomon (viii. as |iermissible amulets, preserving Isra<-I from the power of demons. Sources and citations concerning the use of amulets in Talunidical times may be found in Ulau, "Das Altji'idische Zauberwesen," pp. S6, UC; Strasburg, 18ilH. Jewish thoujflit and action in the Middle Ages were donunated comidetely by the Talmud. .Since this aulh )rity did not forbid the use of written anudets, the Jews were entirely exposed both to the growth of this sup<'rstilion among themselves and to the overwhelming inroads of th<' superstitious practises of the nations among whom they dwelt. It is therefore not sur|uising that Postthe .Vmulet supeiNtition grew apace Talmudical among them. It nourished most in the Age. Orient, the ancient homi' of all nuigic and su]ierstition. Hai Gaon. the enlightened head of the Pumbedita Academy, wrote (about 1000), "Sorcery and anudets sjirang fnjm the Sura .eademy, because that lies ncai to liabylonia and to the house of Nebuchadnezzar. " He denies the powers of amulets, as. for instance, that a papyrus or an olive-leaf inscribed with the mystic name of God would put robbers to flight or if the same were written upon a new tile, that it woidd calm the sea; or, if tlirown upon a man, would kill him. He admits, however, that anudels may be ell'cctive as means of cure and protection. All deiiendsupon the writer and upon the moment of application for at certain times the best are ineffectual (Ashkcnazi, <lesigniited fi),
"Ta'am Zekeidm."
.W*).
That in the Aliddle Ages the Jews were influenced by the Habyloidan magic especially, and not by v Kgyptian the latter distinguishiil twenty dilTereiil sorts of amulets (see IJudge, "Kgyptian London, IS!)!)) is shown by the JewMagic," p.
—
'J.">,
—
charm-inscriptions ii|iou Haliyloinan clay bowls which [lossibly served as a jiroteclion for the utensils; that is, as amulets (Woldsiein, ish .Vnuiiaic
" r)ilm<viicnbeschwi')rungen aus Nachtalmudischer Zeit," Berlin, 1S!)4; Stnbc, "Jndiseh IJabylonische Zaubertexte." Halle. ISil,'); Schwab, " I,es Coupes MaL'iipies." etc.. in "Proceedings of the Society of Biblical .rchcology." April, ISitO; ithm. "Coupes Inscriptions Jlagicpies," ih. June, ISitl). i In Gasler's edition of "The Swonl of Jloses " (London, IHllO) a work evidently written tnider Kgvplian intlueiue, but Oriental in its origin ami sind to belong, according to its editor, to Ihi' fourth century
—
—
a whole serii's of ki ini'ol is given as prolectivo against various ailnunts and evils. These consist of transpositions of the names of God. (|uile unintelligible to till' modern uund. written upon paper orengniveil upon metal plates, and thus risendiling the magic papyri of the Greeks. Kxaelly as with Egyptian amulets, the rcijuisile color anil material of
