Bidspirit auction | Rare Type of Amulet: True

Rare Type of Amulet: True Amulet Handwritten by the Ben Ish Chai - “May E-l Sha-dai assist us, protect us and help us; amen, may it be His will.” Extremely rare amulet, refined and ”open, ” handwritten by the leading Kabbalist of Iraq, the living lion, Rabbeinu Yosef Chaim of Baghdad. [Baghdad, late 19th century.] All manuscripts by the Ben Ish Chai are known to have been used across generations by Oriental Jews in general and Iraqi Jews in particular as expert amulets, tried-and-true, for healing, livelihood and protection. This is the reason all the Ben Ish Chai's manuscripts are sold as amulets - even if they were not written with this intent - especially those that conclude with his famous blessing, “May E-l Sha-dai assist us, etc.” Some maintain that this blessing was what resulted in all the Ben Ish Chai's manuscripts to be considered amulets above and beyond the manuscripts written by other gedolim  of his generation. Rare manuscript - a blank piece of paper with the Ben Ish Chai's inscription of this blessing only, right at the top. It is refined in this form as a blessing, not the usual concluding line of a derashah . As such, it is not just a segulah manuscript as are the Ben Ish Chai's manuscripts that are occasionally offered at auction. This is an actual amulet, with the sacred Names ”א-ל” and ”ש-ד-י” [responsible for the spiritual power of the amulet, like the soul in a body], followed by the Ben Ish Chai's famous triple blessing for success and protection: May [He] assist us and protect us, and help us, and the affirmation of the blessing with the abbreviation for ”Amen, may it be His will.” Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad . [1] leaf paper, 13.5x10 cm. Fine condition. Tiny tears in the margins. Placed in a magnificent new binding, as befits this sacred amulet.