At the beginning of this year, the Museum of Art and History of Judaism, in Paris, opened the beautiful exhibition “Magic, Angels and Demons in Jewish Tradition”. It immediately caught our attention, as the term “magic” clashes when applied to the Jewish world. Based on the Torah, the Talmud and rich philosophical thought, Judaism is the archetype of rational religion, however, it is also intertwined with a deep mysticism.

Since the beginning of history, men have made amulets for those who believed in their protective power. They can be seen in both the East and the West, among ancient people and modern nations, reaching down to our days. Among Jews, amulets have a history that spans thousands of years, being mentioned in the Talmud.

Essentially functional, amulets were not made with the intention of being admired for their beauty or displayed in museums, as objects of art. However, like any other artifact, their shape and appearance, their inscriptions, their materials or any other element of the culture associated with them can shed light on the society to which they belong.

How does Judaism view amulets? They are part of the mystical side of Judaism, of what we call Practical Kabbalah. It is true that Judaism, based on the Torah and the Talmud, is, at first glance, the archetype of a religion based on reason, methodically questioned, with study being a fundamental element, but there is a mystical side. Judaism believes in the ability of human beings to act on the world and change it through their actions or words.

Kabbalah, which, in the Hebrew language, means “receipt” or “what has been received”, is an integral part of the Oral Torah and, like the Written Torah, has a Divine origin and nature. Also called Chochmat ha-Emet - the Wisdom of Truth is a doctrine of unity through which man can learn that reality is a whole in which the visible and the invisible, the material and the spiritual mix and unite. Kabbalah can be divided into two: Kabbalah Iyunit, Contemplative Kabbalah – and the Maasit Kabbalah, Practical Kabbalah.

Contemplative Kabbalah, the category to which most Kabbalistic texts in circulation today belong, attempts to explain the process through which, through the Will of the One and Infinite G-d, the Universe was created and is constantly directed.

Practical Kabbalah, on the other hand, involves techniques aimed specifically at altering natural states or events. An important warning, the Maasit Kabbalah can only be used by Tzadikim and with the sole purpose of being used for the benefit of man. Practical Kabbalah is based on mysticism developed in the “Sefer Yetzira” (Book of Creation). According to this work, G-d created the world through the letters of the alphabet and particularly those of His Sacred Name, which He combined in the most varied ways. And, one of the techniques used in Practical Kabbalah is the inscription of Divine Names on amulets.

In Talmudic literature the amulet is called a kemi'á, a term that comes from a root that means “to bind, to tie”. The use of amulets was intense in the rabbinic period and, consequently, there are numerous details about them in literary sources. A Mishnah considers the kemi'ot from its legal point of view. During this period, Jewish action and thought were dominated by the Talmud, and as this authority did not prohibit the use of written amulets, their use grew and flourished particularly in the East.

Some of our Sages, such as Rav Hai Gaon, director of Yeshivah by Pumbedita (about 1000), denied the powers of amulets, as, for example, that a scroll inscribed with the mystical Name of G‑d would put thieves to flight; that would calm the sea, etc. He admitted, however, that amulets could be effective as a means of healing and protection. It all depended on who wrote it and the time of application (Ashkenazi, “Ta'am Zekenim,” 56b). Other great Sages, such as Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, Nachmanides, and Rabbi Solomon ben Abraham did not condemn their use, while Maimonides spoke out against them, denying that they had any virtue or strength.

 The art

As we saw above, since their beginnings, amulets were used to protect man or his possessions from bad influences, or to neutralize bad luck, illnesses and damages of various types that were already acting against the person. Anthropologists believe that originally all ornaments used by people, such as necklaces, bracelets, rings, were some type of amulet.

Not all amulets were made by someone. Tzaddik or some great rabbi with a specific purpose. In the vast majority of cases, Jewish amulets consisted of an article with the Name of G-d inscribed inside, or with a passage of Scripture, or something similar.

They could be made by hand or in series. In the first case, they were made to order for a particular individual or for a specific purpose, while those made in series were more impersonal, without a specific character. The most common form was a metal plate with an inscription.

Since ancient times, parchment has been the most used material for making amulets in a variety of sizes and shapes. Over the last few centuries, amulets printed on paper appeared in the Jewish communities of Europe, which were reproduced in a greater number of copies, at a lower cost, thus being accessible to a larger audience.
It was not always the amulet, made of paper or parchment, that had ornaments; these were often made into its casing. Made of metal, leather or precious fabrics, they were made by skilled craftsmen, concerned with making them more attractive. The casings were often decorated with drawings that determined the meaning of the amulet.

Although printed amulets became popular throughout the Jewish world during the 20th century, in communities in the Muslim world, amulets made of richly worked silver or embedded in jewelry still had a preferential place. Adornment accessories, these types of amulets were always intended to protect those who used them, starting with the most vulnerable, such as women and children. Various types of jewelry – diadems, bracelets, necklaces, ankle chains, belts and even belt buckles – were decorated with protective motifs or made from materials that were supposed to have protective properties for those who wore them. Turquoise, a blue colored gemstone, is one of the most common stones.

These amulets were usually made by Jewish goldsmiths, who had been authorized by Muslim authorities to work with gold and silver and to sell their wares to Muslims. Endowed with identical shapes and motifs, they reflect a common belief in apotropaic powers (ie., which have the power to ward off evil influences or misfortunes) from some object. One example is the chamsá1 Jewish and Muslim, which reflects the belief in the powers of the outstretched hand.

While metal amulets were less common in Europe, between the 17th and 19th centuries, more affluent Italian Jews had a fondness for solid silver amulet cases. Named “Sha’dai” (El Sha'dai is one of the Names of G-d) and intended to protect young children, they were hung or suspended above the crib so that they were visible.

In the form of small boxes, some of the specimens were made of a silver alloy, others were gold leafed, chiseled and worked with the repousse technique, with engraved motifs on one side inspired by the Italian decorative arts of the time and, on the other , gold applications representing Jewish symbols – especially the ritual objects of the Temple. Amulets were passed down from generation to generation, within the same family, like a precious heirloom.

However, the aesthetics of a Jewish amulet depend above all on one of its essential components: the elegance of the calligraphy of its Hebrew inscription. Ancient terracotta containers were written, for example, on their concave side, in tight characters, forming irregular, spiral circles, while silver amulets from Iran were engraved with a large square script, with hollow and well-proportioned letters. Those who made the amulets also had access to resources such as micrography, a technique characteristic of Jewish art, in which the motifs are tiny Hebrew letters. Another type of writing reserved for amulets was the “angelic” writing or Kabbalistic alphabet, whose origins date back to characters from late Antiquity.

Amulets made from different materials and techniques can be found throughout the Jewish Diaspora, inscribed with one of the Divine Names and protection formulas. Among the most frequent designs on Jewish amulets is the Tree of Sefirot and Magen David. On the sephirotic tree the names of the sefirot, as well as the Names of G-d. The six-pointed Star of David and the five-pointed Shield of Solomon appeared in the Middle Ages.

Popular motifs appear alongside specifically Jewish symbols, each carefully chosen for their meaning in the Jewish mystical context. Among the popular motifs, there is the Zodiac cycle, used in amulets to place the lives of their owners under favorable auspices and under a favorable constellation; and the palm tree or palm branch, a sign of victory and eternity, which is associated with the righteous who will inherit Paradise (Psalm 92:13). In North Africa, the figure of the fish was supposed to bring fertility and facilitate childbirth, a symbol attested in the oldest Jewish traditions, for example, in Genesis: 28 and 48:16 and in the Babylonian Talmud, Tract. Berachot, 20a. 

Among the more specifically Jewish symbols we mention: the items necessary for worship in the Temple and various representations of sacred sites – in particular, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, but also sanctuaries and tombs such as the Tomb of the matriarch Rachel, Kever Rachel.

As in ancient Jewish art, all ritual objects related to the Temple, among them the seven-branched candelabrum, the Menorah, occupied a central place among amulets, sometimes being the main decorative element. Precisely, the best-known design today is the Menorah “kabbalistic” or shiviti, made using the eight verses of Psalm 67, renowned for protecting from negative forces. The first verse represents flames, while the other seven create arms.

Numerous Jewish communities disapproved or prohibited figurative art. In Muslim countries, Jews generally refrained from representing the human body. However, certain parts of the body whose protective power was considered particularly effective were an exception, such as the stylized human hand – the Chamsá, and the eye (to protect against the “evil eye”, the same haha).

The hand symbol appears long before the emergence of Islam. It is interesting to highlight that rabbinic authorities in Muslim countries justified the use of Chamsá, which means “five” in Arabic, associating it with the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (heh), which is used to refer to the Name of G-d with a single letter (Monogramaton), or even the positioning of the fingers in the blessing of the Cohanim, Birkat ha-Cohanim. The Chamsot Jewish talismans used as talismans take various forms in Morocco, Tunisia, Iran, Iraq, Bukhara and some other places. Some have the Hebrew letter in the center heh; others, the fingers spread like the hands of Kohanim during the Birkat ha-Cohanim.

Characters and narrative scenes are typical of amulets from several European countries, including Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands, where Jews were under the influence of local artistic traditions. They incorporate biblical episodes by placing heroes mentioned by name in the amulet's text.

In metal, parchment or paper, Italian amulets, for example, favor scenes from Genesis, because they served as a model of righteousness in all circumstances of life, just like the patriarchs and matriarchs. Other biblical figures, including Yosef and the Prophet Eliahu, appeared because of their association with fertility and miracles, and also because they were believed to be able to ward off the evil eye (Yossef) or the female demonic figure of Lilith ( the Prophet Eliahu).

Less frequent, non-biblical figurative scenes depict Jewish rites – for example, the lighting of candles. Shabbat about an 18th century German amulet printed for a girl; or the ceremony of circumcision, the Brit Milá, for a boy. In Eastern Europe, where representation of the human figure was prohibited, amulets were sometimes microengraved with the portrait of a Tzaddik (a Righteous One), whose image hanging on the wall had the power to protect.

Finally, as would be expected when it comes to mysticism, Jewish amulets also contain benevolent or demonic supernatural beings. Crudely drawn anthropomorphic figures of demons and hybrid creatures can be found on Jewish objects from late antiquity. At the beginning of the modern period, we still find traces of these figures in Practical Kabbalah manuscripts, in manuals for making amulets, as well as in some amulets.

The exposure

The exhibition “Magic, Angels and Demons in Jewish Tradition” held from March 4th to June 28th this year, in Paris, was made possible thanks to the recent work of Gideon Bohak, author of an important work, History of Jewish Magic in Antiquity, published by the University of Cambridge, and scientific advisor for the exhibition held in Jerusalem by the Museum of the Lands of the Bible, in 2010, “Angels and Demons. Jewish Magic Through the Ages.”

The Museum of Art and History of Judaism is subsidized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication and the City of Paris.

Bibliography
Exhibition catalog “Magie, Anges et demons dans la tradition youth”

Rabbi Miller, Moshe “Contemplative and Practical Kabbalah”.  http://www.chabad.org/kabbalah_
Rabbi Kaplan, Aryeh, Meditation and Kabbalah, 1989