"
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Amulet
these arc sometimes indicated; thus one charm was to tie written on a red plate, anotheron a silver plate, and so on. ]5y the enii)lovnient of these aniulels. paralysis, sciatica, eve and ear ailnienls, leprosy, and other evils were to lie cured. With a certain plate fastened around the tliijrh, a man niiglit enter a tiery furnace and come out unscathed. Material and inscription of the Amulet varied according to
648
pain ("Nishmat Hayyim," third treatise, chap. XXV.). Other amulets were written upon iiarchment, on the skin of a fetus or of a deer (Adret. //<), but; were of avail oidy when the writer and the clioseu time were propitious. Adret also forbiils such
purpose. By its means fish could be caught; the love of a woman .secured and retained; the sea cros.sed dry-shod; wild animals slain; terror diffused through the world; coniiniinion had with the dead; a sword obtained which would fight automatically for its owner; one's enemies set to tearing each other to pieces; oneself rendered invisible; springs of water found; cleverness attained; and many similarly wonderful things accom])li.shed. In one jiassiige a device that is frequently met with its
Babylonian and Egyptian magic is mentioned; namely, the i)re])aration of an image anil working the charm desired by its medium. The prescription in
runs; "
thou
cause any one to perish, talse clay from and mnke an image therpwlili; write upon it then take seven stalks from sevt-n iiate-tn*es and make a iKiw [liiTefnllows the word s.-vS'jpDr-i] with horsehair (?) .st't up the imiicc in a convenient plaee. sln-Irh thy bow, shoot the stalks at it, and Willi i-very one say the prescriheil words, which liegin with m."'i"'N and end with 'DiDio, adding, ' Destroyed be N., son of N.l '
two
If
(ieslrest to
river Iwuilis
the man's
name
Gaster {l.r. pp. 13-19) explains why these means were thought to be effective. It appears that every angel and deiiMm is l)onnd to appeal' and obey when he hears a certain name uttered (p. 35. lims -10). Even Hai Gaon ("Responsen der Geonim," ed. llarkavy, 373, p. 180) .says, "Amulets are written, and the divine name is spoken, in order that angels may help." But a great deal was made to dipeiid upon using the riglit name at the right time, a condition likewise frequently insisted on in the Kgyplian and
Babylonian magical works. "Practical Cabala," or the art of employing the knowled,ge of the hidden world in order to attain one's purpose, is founded upon the mysticism developed in the "Sefer Yezirah " (Book of Creation). According to this work. God created the world by means of the letters of thealphabetand particularly tho.se of His name, V n. which lie combined in the most- vaiied ways. If one learns these combinations and peniiutations. and applies them at the right time and in the right place, one ma.v thus easily make himself master of creaCabala. tion. since God Himself not only per-
mitsbut
dcsii'csthis; forthese
proclaim monotheism. similar view (Budge. I.e.
formuhv
The Egy]itians
all
held a
Tlie mystic book "Ra/.iel" (eleventh century), in so far as it is to be considered here, is also of Oriental origin, and reflects similar views. Instructions are given for the preparation of amulets; and jiarticular days and hours are indicated as suitable for the msmufacture (ed, Amsterdam, 434). As sam|iles, the two kemi'ot in the next column may serve. In Europe. Spain conies most prominently into view in the consideration of amulets, that country being a hotbed of superstition and Cabala. Xal.ixiii.).
manidesand Adret
iiermit the employof a metal jilate with the image of a lion as a remedy against a painful
In Etirope. ment
cough (Adret. "Kesponsa."
This mentioned
Ist ed., 167, 413).
superstition was a universal one, and is also by ;Manasseh ben Isrsiel of Amsterdam (seventeenth century), who remarks that Leone Soavio recommended it to Paracelsus as a cure for stomach-
This Amulet, on which n^x fnim Psalm xlv. 'i Is permuted, craituins spare for a short pnivfr I<> he written in. f.xpif^sivr of the particular rtbject to he i.i.iained. and is recoir ndeil for use in funherintr all business enl*'rpnse.s. It contains the usual shield (if David with >iw*. It must tje written uma parchment* and Worn on the left side.
charms as are clearly useless (" KovcIIsb" on Shab. 07). In Germany, red cords with corals were worn as (irotection against the evil eye. Christians employed Jews to make amulets for them; for these had the reputation of being " wi.se folk." Strangely enough, the later Middle A.sres, .lews attached to their anus, where the phylacleries were ajiplied, amulets containing ilic natiK'S of Christ and the tliree holy kings (Berliner. " .us dem Lcben der Deutsehen Jucleii im .'Mittelaller." p|). 97, IDl). Insanity or eiiileps}' was cured by hanging beets around the jiatient's neck. People were warned, however, that the preparation of Ihese amulets would irritate demons. A.irainst misearri.iL.'-e women carried a stone arounil the neck, called SnjIpJ'N. a word evident 1}' derived from the French m; inh a hole was pierced through it it was as large and as heavy as a hen's egg. These stones, which had a glazed a]ipcarance, were fimnd in the tields. and were esteemed of priceless value. A similar iiurjiose was served in antiijuity as well as in the jliddle Ages by ai-tites. For lightening labor, both .Jewish and Christian women wore a jiiece of a man's vest, girdle, or other clothing, Luther relates that a Jew presented Duke Albert of Siixony with a button, cuiioiisly inscribed, which would jirotcct against cold steel, slabbing, or shooting. The duke made the experiment on the .Jew, hanging the button around his neck and then slashing him with a sword (Giidemami, " (tcscli. des Erzieliungswesens und derCulturder.Iuden in Frank reich und' Deutschland," pp. 'MT,, 3(17, 314, •2'2i. Vienna, ISSO), The Italian coin, with its abracadabra-like inscription, described by Gudemann ("Gescli. d. Erz. und der Cultur der Jud. in Italien." ji. 33.i). was proliabl.v of Jewish, and not of Christian, origin. The medallion bears on the one side the words below, the in
<
mn' DxnDTSD 'ro'H D'jm D10
"JvX
'no "n'D
t3K'3KB
