Folk-lore of the Holy Land: Ideas and Superstitions: Translation of a Jewish Amulet

Folk-lore of the Holy Land, Moslem, Christian and Jewish, by J. E. Hanauer [1907], at sacred-texts.com

XIII

TRANSLATION OF A TYPICAL "KEMI’" OR WRITTEN AMULET, USED BY ORIENTAL JEWS IN PALESTINE

BINV	AMI	ASV
Abbreviation for the Hebrew words " In the Name of God we shall do and prosper."	Abbreviation of Hebrew of " My help cometh from Jehovah."	Abbreviation of Hebrew of "The Maker of Heaven and Earth."

"And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee."

Deliver from fetters Bambina, daughter of Rena, to praise Thy Name, and may the merits of the Patriarchs shield her. A.N.S.V. (initials of the words ‘Amen, Netzach, Tselah, Vaad).

In the Name of the Most High and the Cause of all Causes, the Exalted El Jah, the God of Israel, I am that I am, High and Exalted, the Dweller in Eternity; Whose name is Holy; And in the Name of the Almighty of Sabaoth, Lord of Lords, Living and Existent for everlasting Ages. Amen, Selah. And in the name of HVHY (i.e. the tetragrammaton).

Prosper me in the writing of this parchment, that it be a preservative, deliverance, protection and a perfect cure to the wearer of this Charm from sundry and divers evil diseases existing in the world, from an evil eye and an evil tongue. I adjure you all ye kinds of evil eyes, a black eye, a hazel eye, blue eye, yellow eye, short eye, broad eye, straight eye, narrow eye, deep eye, protruding eye, eye of a male, eye of a female, the eye of a wife and the eye of a husband, eye of a woman and her daughter, eye of a woman and her kinsfolk, eye of an unmarried man, eye of an old man, eye of an old woman, eye of a virgin, eye of one not a virgin, eye of a widow, eye of a married wife, eye of a divorced wife, all kinds of evil eyes in the world which looked and spoke with an evil eye concerning or against the wearer of this charm, I command and adjure you by the Most Holy and Mighty and Exalted Eye, the Only Eye, the White Eye, the Right Eye, the Compassionate the Ever Watchful and Open Eye, the Eye that never slumbereth nor sleepeth, the Eye to Which all eyes are subject, the Wakeful Eye that preserveth Israel, as it is written, " The Eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, and upon them that trust in His Goodness."

By this Most High Eye, I adjure you all evil eyes to depart and be eradicated and to flee away to a distance from the Wearer of this Amulet, and that you are to have no power whatever over her who wears this Charm. And by the power of this most Holy Seal, you shall have no authority to hurt either by day or by night, when asleep or when awake: nor over any of her two hundred and forty-eight limbs, nor over any of her three hundred and sixty-five veins henceforth and for ever. A.N.S.V. (Abbreviation for ‘Amen, Netzach, Tsilol, Ve’ad).

"Shaddyam" (probably meaning power of the sea). And by the power of all the holy names and seals written in this charm,

[paragraph continues] I adjure all malignant powers, evil spirits, impure powers and all kinds of plagues that molest human beings to be scared away from, and fear the wearer of this amulet, and not to approach her, nor to come within the distance of four cubits from her; nor to annoy her in any manner, either by day or by night, when she is awake or when she is dreaming. May she obtain a perfect cure from all malignant diseases which are in the world, and from epilepsy, convulsions, askara, paralysis, headache, a beclouded mind, oppression and palpitation of the heart, and from all bondage and witchcraft, fright and vexation, trembling, startling, excitement, diseases of the womb, evil imaginations and visions, male or female devils and demons, and all hurts; and from Millelin, and Letlin, and all evil spirits and other occult powers, and impure powers, a perfect cure, deliverance and shield from all evil diseases existing in the world henceforth and for ever. And by the power of:--

RVI. ASHA. VVTZ. TCHM. TRV. HSHT. ILICH. And by the power and influence of VDA. HVI. SISH. IMI. RTZM. TRM. HTB. VMCH. HHV. MRN. MAT. CIN. CMM. LAB. KHSCH. LRL. TTSH. VDN. Káá. LTI. MLCH. all this shall be established and confirmed to the wearer of this charm. So be it, Amen.

Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, Euphrates.
Euphrates, Hiddekel, Gihon, Pishon.
Hiddekel, Gihon, Pishon, Euphrates.
Paghaf, Vidar, Shahekel, Vuleni.
Taluman, Rakuh, Padhach, Higeb.

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

A perfect cure, deliverance and shield from all bondage and witchcraft from henceforth and forever. Amen. Selah.

1. The apparently meaningless combinations in capital and other letters, shown in the above charm, are formed from the names of the angels, the four streams of Paradise, etc. The belief is, that the changes in the position of the letters make these various names more effective and therefore render the amulet more powerful.

2. In writing charms, etc., the father's name is never mentioned. The reason alleged is the example of the Psalmist who prays, "O Lord, truly I am thy servant; thy servant and the son of thy handmaid."

3. It is not the object of this work to treat the question of Jewish and Eastern angelology and demonology, amulets, etc., exhaustively. Much interesting information on these and kindred subjects may be gathered from the following English works.

Lane's, "Modern Egyptians," vol. i. pp. 300, 306, 317, 338, 361. vol. ii. pp. 177, 256, 371.

4. Besides written amulets like that of which a translation from the original Hebrew is given above, it is customary amongst Jews and other Orientals to wear different objects made of metal, glass, bone, etc., to keep away evil spirits, and ward off the effects of the evil eye. Amongst these objects we may mention, a wolf's bone, blue beads, and silver figures of a pair of frogs (the sex of each figure being clearly indicated), a sword, pistol, gun, battle-axe, pair of scissors, scimitar, a hand, tooth, etc., or to wear a sprig of rue, or a copy of the Koran, etc.

5. The belief in the protective power of the name ‏יהוה‎ or YHVH is shared by the Samaritans equally with the adherents of orthodox Judaism. I have in my possession the photograph of a Samaritan charm written on parchment, said to be several centuries old, and to have been used by generation after generation of "the foolish people that dwell in Sichem" (Ecclus. 1. 26), in order to cure sick folk of their ailments. It is written in seven columns divided from each other by lines of Samaritan writing in larger characters than those covering the greater part of the document. A framework of two lines of such writing runs along the four sides of the whole, and, on examination with a magnifier, is easily decipherable as containing the account of the overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts in the sea. The columns are divided into sections by from two to five lines of similar writing (the names of Jehovah, the words "And Moses prayed," etc.), whilst between the divisions are paragraphs of small and closely written lines. The size of this precious document, for which the trifling sum of 5000 francs was coolly asked, is shown by the scale of centimetres photographed with it. It was in a terribly dirty and torn condition, having been worn, rolled, and folded up into a bundle about 22 inches cube, and apparently next the skin. About the middle of the eighth column is a "záir ‘geh" table, with letters arranged inside squares, like that shown by Lane, vol. i. p. 356.

Note.--A remarkable thing in this charm is the omission of the names of the four angels,
Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.

"Elijah, may his memory be blessed, was walking out one day when he came upon Lilith. He said to her, 'Unclean one! where art thou going?' She said to him, 'I am going to the house of So and So, who is in child-bed; in order to cause her death and to snatch and devour her child.' He said unto her, 'Be thou smitten with the itch, and imprisoned by the Name of the Most Holy One, and become a silent stone.' She answered and said unto him, 'O my lord, let me off, and I swear, in the Name of YHVH to forsake this my way, and that whenever I shall see or hear any of my names I shall straightway flee. And now I will make known to thee my names. And whenever my names shall be mentioned I shall have no power to do evil or to injure. I swear to thee to reveal my names, and if they be written and suspended in the dwelling of the child or the confined woman I shall at once flee.

"'These are my names:--Satrìnah, Lilith, Avìtu, Amìz Raphì, Amìzû, Kakash, Odem, ’ìk, Pods, ’ìls, Petrota, Abro, Kema, Kalee, Bituah, Thiltho, Partashah.

"'And whoever fixes up these my names I shall at once flee from the placard hung up in the house of the confined woman or the child. This is a charm, and the child as well as his mother shall never be hurt by me.'"

CABBALISTIC DIRECTION.--Rabbi Eleazar of Garmiza, the author of the Josephta, may his memory be blessed, says

"As a charm against pestilence and fire, from which may YHVH protect us, let this be hung against the window or against (opposite to) the door and at once they will flee." Thus

also Rabbi Arieh the Saint, has said in a MS. of his, "All this is very marvellous, as also Rabbi Eliezar Baal Shem Tore says."

Solemn Adjuration of the Evil Eye. (As this, though abbreviated, is almost identical with the Amulet translated on p. 318 ff, there is no need to reproduce it here.)

Picture of a hand, on the back of which is written "Shaddai" (Almighty) and "Adonai " (Lord)) with permutations of letters forming names of angels, etc.

and Eve. and Sarah. and Rebekah. and Leah.	In the corners, pictures of Wailing Place, Machpelah, Rachel's Tomb and the Holy City Zion.	Adam. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob.
Lilith and all appertaining to her Avaunt!	Inside, a circle containing four magic words formed from these names. In the next inner circle other magic Kabbalistic words.	Seni, and Sensani & Simnaglûf Be present!
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. To live thou shalt not suffer a witch. To live a witch thou shalt not suffer.	Picture of the "Evil Eye" armed with claws and crab-like mandibles, etc., on which are other letters and magic words.	A witch to live thou shalt not suffer. A witch thou shalt not suffer to live. Not a witch shalt thou suffer to live.
	In the centre the words "El Shaddai," i.e. "God Almighty" followed by six lines of Kabbalistic words, the last of which is "Keep," or "Preserve," i.e. "Protect."