Segula, or amulet, is a pillar of Jewish faith, used during worships, especially tefillah (i.e., prayer). Incorporating a segula into one’s tefillah serves to add a profound meaning to this spiritual practice. It becomes a source of inspiration for continuing one’s journey in life and a means to establish a direct connection with God. In times of calamities and life’s challenges, it offers a channel through which we can communicate with God at the depths of our despair, seeking His divine guidance and assistance. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to express gratitude to God for the kindness, blessings, happiness, and joy He has bestowed upon us.
Hence, when faced with potential danger, the evil eye, for example, the Jewish method has been to first and foremost seek a solution from God, even before completely understanding the problem and the challenging concept. When seeking assistance from God, individuals convey their most authentic spiritual sentiments with genuine and heartfelt intentions. Even so, many superstitions spread along with religious beliefs and became a primary concern among various groups. Only a few intellectual and knowledgeable scholars familiar with Jewish spirituality (Kabbalah) remained faithful to the commands of the Torah. They made it their mission to differentiate between superstition and reality, staying clear of obscure matters, and safeguarding their lives from being guided by baseless beliefs.
The importance of protecting one’s life and faith from baseless beliefs became even more vital when the Israeli tribe was expelled from its land, and the Galut started. As Israelis encountered other cultures, they inevitably came into contact with foreign beliefs. This situation drove the religious leadership to devise strategies to shield the tribe from the infiltration of these external faiths. To safeguard their community from foreign influences, the Israelites attempted to maintain a harmonious relationship with the outsiders. While being conservative, they treated strangers with wisdom and kindness to prevent grudges, envy, and conflicts. They were cautious about how they socialized with outsiders, primarily spending time with fellow believers and those who shared a similar level of faith.
Therefore, to preserve the spirituality in their life, seek treatment for their illnesses, and protect themselves from evils — namely, evil eyes, curses, hexes, and jealousy — they carved out a sacred spiritual sanctuary within their lives. They practiced religious rituals such as installing mezuzah on their doorposts, wrapping tefillin, holding tefillah ceremonies, doing charitable deeds, giving gifts to the needy and kapparot (ritual sacrifice of a chicken), giving sadaqah (i.e., charity), and seeking redemption. In essence, they undertook spiritual practices as a protective measure against these occurrences, all while embracing a combination of religious and superstitious beliefs.
In pursuit of inner peace, rabbis incorporated verses from the Holy Scriptures into sections of religious texts like Tehillim and Siddur. This allowed the people to express their desires to the Almighty while engaging in their religious duties and reciting daily prayers. While seeking Divine forgiveness and mercy, they expressed their gratitude for heavenly blessings, and also prayed for other blessings. These included good health, protection from negative and harmful influences, provisions and wealth, healing from diseases, protection from calamities, and warding off malevolent forces, particularly the evil eye.
To achieve this, they initially conducted rituals involving offering sacrificial burnt offerings and presenting ketoret (i.e., incense offering). During the flourishing days of Beit HaMikdash, they actively participated in religious ceremonies and collective prayer services, utilizing the power of communal tefilla.
Moreover, they turned to talismans and religious symbols with specific spiritual meanings, such as segula, kamea, khamsa, and more. These symbols shall each be explained briefly.
Burning sacrifices and incense offering
During the flourishing days of Beit HaMikdash, more than 2800 years ago, one of the most common religious rituals was burning sacrifices and incense offerings. Jews would convene at least three times a year, with a particular emphasis on the three major festivals — Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. People from far and wide would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the site of God’s House, to witness the sacred sacrifices being offered in the courtyard of Beit HaMikdash. An incense offering took place that included 11 aromatic plants in the most sacred part of the Great Temple, Solomon’s Holy of Holies. They atoned for their sins in a special ceremony that included the burning of a sacrifice that was either a cow, sheep, goat, or bird.
Subsequently, a special and distinguished ceremony of offering ketoret (i.e., burning incense) was performed by the High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. This ritual was carried out with the purpose of safeguarding the health and happiness of the people at large. It also entailed seeking protection from celestial disasters, the angel of death, and the malevolent influence of the evil eye.
Birkat Kohanim — the priestly blessing
Birkat Kohanim was certainly one of the first Jewish rituals practiced. Based on the Holy Scriptures (Book of Numbers, Chapter 6), after the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt and the construction of the ‘Mishkan’ (a portable sanctuary or a sacred place for the manifestation of the Divine), the initial duties of the Kohanim (priests), offerings, and Mishkan obligations were officially introduced.
On that day, Aaron offered separate sacrifices, including a sacrifice for sin, a burnt offering, a voluntary offering, and a meal offering on behalf of himself and the tribe. He then raised his hands towards the crowd and blessed them with the Birkat Kohanim prayer, which follows:
‘May God bless and protect you. May God be good to you and be gracious to you. May God grant you your (legitimate) requests and give you peace (security). May He place my name upon the Children of Israel, and I will bless them.’
This ceremony was held for centuries with great splendor after Solomon’s Temple, Beit HaMikdash, was constructed. However, after the destruction of the Temple and the imprisonment of the Israeli tribe, the ceremony also ceased. Instead, some Jews atoned for their sins by fasting (ta’anit) or kapparot (offering a chicken as a sacrifice), especially during the Galut. Nowadays, the Birkat Kohanim ceremony is held by Sephardic Jews in synagogues along with the congregational tefillah. The Kohanim recites the same prayer that Aaron read — the priestly blessing.
Segula
As a word, Segula can have different meanings in Jewish culture, the most important of which include “choosing”, “the chosen”, “kedushah” (i.e., prayer), and “berakha” (i.e., blessing). But the word cannot imply any of those meanings independently unless used along with a verb about a positive and useful activity. In other words, “segula” symbolizes something mysterious — rooted in the supernatural — that shall occur. Among Jews, it is commonly believed that by using segula, one can cure disease, bring health and good fate, and repel devil’s eyes, djinn, and ghosts.
Jews used to ask rabbis for solutions to their problems. In response, the rabbi would write a prayer tailored to the individual’s situation, for instance to ward off the evil eye. In other words, the rabbi would design a segula for that person specifically. Sometimes, the rabbi would also give instructions about the correct way to use the segula to increase its effectiveness. Certain segulot, for instance, necessitated recitation at precise moments with a deliberate intention, often along with mentioning one of the forty-two encampments of the Children of Israel in the desert following their exodus from Egypt. Additionally, it was emphasized that the text should be read several times (usually three times) to nullify or remove curses and calamities.
Kamea
Later, the Kabbalists used various designs called kamea, which consisted of encrypted writings with beautiful and sometimes calligraphic scripts, sometimes in Aramaic, adorned with images of objects from the Temple, such as the Star of David, menorah, oil container, ladder, rosewater dispenser, and ketoret. It also included a table specially designed to combine Abjad letters and numbers to harness their hidden positive energies.
While a kamea may not be readily comprehensible to everyone, it is widely believed that when crafted accurately, it can bring about positive outcomes. Typically, those who create or arrange a kamea are expected to possess mystical expertise, adhere to specific conditions, and demonstrate profound knowledge in their practice.
Additionally, during the flourishing days of the Temple, the Levites chanted some sections of the Psalms of David (Tehillim) to bring happiness, good fortune, and health, and ward off poverty, misfortune, wars, famine, jealousy, and the evil eye. These same sections were also used as an amulet in segula and kamea to heal, bless, and protect from negative forces. Rashi, the biblical and Talmudic commentator, referred to the following two verses that were often inscribed in amulets: “I will not afflict you with any of the diseases that I afflicted the Egyptians with, for I am the Lord, your healer” (Exodus 15:26), and “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day” (Psalms 91:5).
Despite the importance of these amulets, they were not always regarded as holy, even if the Excellent Name (Shem HaMephorash) was written on them. If needed, they were burned to ashes.
Judaism believes that in addition to written amulets that are carried around, some holy verses can be recited to prevent harm, demons, and evil eyes. The most important of such verses are the Shema Yisrael and Psalm 91 from the Book of Tehillim (Psalms of David), traditionally attributed to Moses.
The Book of Mishlei (Proverbs 16:30) mentions a segula from Solomon to prevent jealousy and evil eyes. It is a prayer that reads:
Lord, our Creator, have mercy on me and instill good qualities in my heart. Shield me from jealousy and the evil eye, ensuring my heart harbors no envy toward others. Grant me the ability to rejoice in the success of others, making me a person who consistently extends kindness to those around me, gladly sharing in their happiness and looking upon them with a benevolent gaze. My gracious Lord, I beseech you to protect me from being the source of jealousy for others, so that people may find joy in my happiness and the evil eye may not affect me. May blessings, good fortune, and goodness shower upon us and your people, Israel.
In the book of Shemot (Exodus) 16:30, it is mentioned that King Solomon possessed the knowledge to protect himself from the nasty effects of the evil eye and threats from malevolent spirits using various secrets and spells. In essence, he controlled many spirits and demons, and this control persisted until the later stages of his life, at which point Solomon is believed to have committed a sin.
It is worth mentioning that many non-Jews also tattooed symbols or unspecified letters on their bodies, believing that these drawings and letters could protect them from evil forces. These markings were seen as a form of protection against evil.
Source:
Mythical beliefs by Yosef Setareshenas
See also:
Evil eye, Khamsa
