Amulet
An amulet is an object worn as a charm against evil,
comprised of holy letters or symbols. These charms were believed to
provide magical powers and protect people against evil forces or to
promote good health. An amulet’s effectiveness rested upon its
message and the piety of the person who inscribed it. According to the Talmud, valuable
amulet is one that has cured a sick person on three different occasions
or cured three different individuals and therefore could be carried
on Shabbat (Shabbat
Talmud 61a).
With the advancement of the Kabbalah movement, the use of amulets became widespread. Kabbalists emphasized
on Divine names and combinations of numbers and letters on their Amulets.
Amulets could be adorned on paper or metal, worn around
the neck or hung on a wall. In the Talmud, an amulet was labeled kame’ah,
from the root word in Hebrew “to bind” or the Arabic word “to hang.” Amulets
would contain biblical verses and/or kabalistic designs depending upon
their specific function.
The most popular amulet is the hamsa, a five
finger, hand-shaped charm. It is worn to ward off the powers of the
Evil Eye. The hamsa emblematically symbolizes the protective
hand of God shielding those
who wear the charm against evil. Traditionally a hamsa has a
single blue eye located in the middle of the hand. This represents the
attentive eye of God or a way to deter the Evil Eye.
Since the emancipation of the Jews, amulets have decreased
in popularity among the Jews of the West. Furthermore, since the Holocaust amulets have not been that common among Eastern European Jews. Nevertheless,
amulets remain quite common among Jews in the Middle East and North
Africa, especially in Israel.
Sources: Eisenberg, Ronald L. The
JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. PA:
Jewish Publication Society, 2004; Wigoder,
Geoffrey , Ed. The
New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia.
NY: Facts on File, 1992. |