14:36:16


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Bidding Information
Lot #    23077
Auction End Date    3/3/2009 12:23:00 PM (mm/dd/yyyy)
          
Title Information
Title (English)    Ben Porat Joseph
Title (Hebrew)    בן פורת יוסף
Author    [Kabbalah - Amulet]
City    North Africa
Publication Date    19th cent.
          
Collection Information
Independent Item    This listing is an independent item not part of any collection
          
Description Information
Physical
Description
   Small paper (vellum?) covered in glass, 83:60 mm., light age staining, small string, to hang as charm, attached on verso.
          
Detailed
Description
   Amulet to ward off evil eye and grant success inscribed with Ben Porat Joseph and several of G-d's names, angels, Rebbe Meir Ba'al ha-Ness, all surrounding the Kabbalistic hand. Amulets made in the form of hands are common and are usually North African in origin and the hand is supposed to ward off the "evil eye." The tradition of using hands on amulets still persists strongly in Morocco, Tunis, and Algeria, as well as throughout the Muslim world.

Amulets are frequently mentioned in talmudic literature. The term used is kame'a or kami'a (pl. kemi'ot or kemi'in), a word whose origin is obscure. The written kame'a was a parchment inscribed with one or more quotations from a variety of sources, including the Scriptures (cf. Shab. 61b). Later amulets were inscribed with quotations relevant to their specific purpose. The text of the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6:24–26) was considered effective against the "evil eye." Permutations and combinations of the letters of the different names of G-d were frequently used; names of angels were also very common. Amulets subsequently merged with the Kabbalah and came to be known as "practical Kabbalah." Many mystical texts, such as the Sefer Yezirah and the Sefer Razi'el, contain instructions for the preparation of amulets and other charms, for a variety of purposes.

          
Reference
Description
   EJ
        
Associated Images
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Listing Classification
Period
19th Century:    Checked
  
Location
Other:    North Africa
  
Subject
  
Kabbalah:    Checked
  
Characteristic
Language:    Hebrew
  
Manuscript Type
Other:    Amulet
  
Kind of Judaica