Amulets, Part 1: Halahkhah and History
Amulet: “An ornament, gem, or scroll, or a package containing a relic, etc., worn as a charm or preservative against evils or mischief, such as diseases and witchcraft, and generally inscribed with mystic forms or characters.” (Wikitionary commons)
An amulet against Lilith from the Sefer Raziel HaMalach
Amulets are possibly the most common type of charm in the Jewish tradition, reciving great attention in the Mishna and Talmud. Amulets, both naturalistic and written, were generally condoned by the Sages who employed them to great effect.
The Sages generally limited the use of amulets to two disciplines, healing and protection (there are also meditative amulets I will be covering at a later date).
“If your prayers are not answered, blame your sins. Do not wear an amulet given to you by a gentile or Jew to help you attain charm, wealth or influence, lest you be like the person who approached a prince with his request after the King refused it.” (Sefer Chasidim 1114)
Additionally, amulets containing verses of Torah may only be used for healing in dire circumstances, as an extension of the prohibition against incanting words of Torah for healing:
“The (words of the) Torah are for healing the soul only, as it is written, ‘and they shall be life for your soul’.” (Rambam, Hilchos Avodas Cochavim 11:12)
(NOTE: This comment would seem to explicitly condone the use of amulets for mental and emotional healing, such as in the case of depression where it would literally be a healing of the soul. Also please remember, AMULETS AND CHARMS ARE NOT REPLACEMENT FOR MEDICATION AND THERAPY)
Finally, there are a couple other Rabbinic prohibitations you should be aware of:
After speaking with a rabbi it appears that this passage did not qualify a prohibition against the use of verses. Just as we have prayer books full of blessings due to necessity, so to can we wear amulets with verses, despite the risk of their destruction. EDITTED JAN. 11, 2021 In the Talmud at Shabbat 115b it is said that using holy verses or names in amulets is forbidden frowned upon. This was because the fact that one may not rescue an amulet from a fire on shabbos so they considered writing an amulet with holy names or verses to be akin to burning a torah scroll. Rather, one would abbreviate the names and verses into none sense words that refer to the verses. Nonetheless, biblical quotations were a nearly universal theme among amulets.
It was forbidden by the Arizal to bind angels by their names or by oaths (using their names) to your will as doing so, A) angers the angel and causes them to lead you astray and, B) that the names that have survived to us today are highly corrupted and fraught with errors, which at best renders them useless but at worse could endanger your life by invoking the wrong angel or not maintaining control over them.
Continuing on the prohibitions of the Arizal, it is forbidden to use names of HaShem in your amulets as this would constitute the Kabbalah Maasit which was forbidden to us by the Arizal. Dispute remains about wether or not this would include the “standard” names of HaShem used in the Torah or if it only refers to the use of secret names, such as the 72 part name, in amulets. However, this tradition did continue nonetheless.
It is forbidden to carry an amulet on Shabbat unless it comes from and expert. This is determined as an amulet that has healed three times.
Taking an amulet into a place of impurity is unacceptable, just as one would not take anything bearing a name of Gd or holy verses into the washroom. If one must bring it with them in, it should have not one, but two layers of a solid and opaque surface shielding the holy words from impurity.
On a personal note, amulets serve as my primary form of protection against many spiritual dangers that one may encounter. I have designed amulets as hex reflects, as they’re commonly called, as well as against disease again not a substitute for proper precautions and medical care.) among other things. The descion of how to use amulets is a personal one, although I will be up front with you that I conform to the Rabbinic prohibitions listed above, using them foremost as wards. Despite the Halahkhahic limitations on amulets, many people wrote amulets for a variety of topics, from love charms to death curses.
An amulet against plague attributed to the Arizal.