The Palestinian Talmud on Amulets on the Sabbath

y. Shabbat 6:2, 8b

220–400

Hebrew

What is an expert [or, proven] amulet?

Any [amulet] with which one has healed two or three [people].

R. Abahu [said] in the name of R. Yoḥanan: The physician is to be trusted who says: With this amulet I have healed once, [and I healed again] a second and a third [person].

R. Samuel [said] in the name of R. Zeira: If it [the amulet] healed one person, it is proven effective for one person; if [it healed] two, it is proven effective for two; if [it healed] three, it is proven effective for everyone.

Thus, one may go out with it whether it is written or [made] with herbs.

Translated by Markham J. Geller and Lennart Lehmhaus.

Credits

y. Shabbat 6:2, 8b, trans. Markham J. Geller and Lennart Lehmhaus, publication forthcoming. Copyright Markham J. Geller and Lennart Lehmhaus. Used with permission of the translators.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

Engage with this Source

On the Sabbath, it is prohibited to carry objects (burdens) from one domain to another. One exception to this is one’s clothing. The Mishnah (m. Shabbat 6:2) considers whether other objects, including amulets, qualify as burdens with respect to this Sabbath regulation or rather are permitted for wearing. This passage from the Palestinian Talmud elaborates on when amulets may be worn on the Sabbath. See also The Babylonian Talmud on Amulets on the Sabbath. (For more about Sabbath regulations, see The Thirty-Nine Acts of Labor Prohibited on the Sabbath.)

Read more
Restricted
Some content is unavailable to non-members, please log in or sign up for free for full access.

Related Guide

Jewish Daily Life in Roman-Era Palestine

1st Century BCE–6th Century CE
Restricted
Some content is unavailable to non-members, please log in or sign up for free for full access.

Related Guide

The Sabbath in Early Judaism

2nd Century BCE–1st Century CE

Sabbath observance served as a key Jewish identity marker in antiquity. Beyond refraining from labor, early Jews organized their lives around a seven-day week involving shared meals, study, and synagogue visits.

Restricted
Some content is unavailable to non-members, please log in or sign up for free for full access.

Related Guide

Medicine in Ancient Judaism

4th Century BCE–6th Century CE

You may also like

The Mishnah on Amulets on the Sabbath

m. Shabbat 6:2, 9–10

Hebrew6:2. A man may not go out [on the Sabbath] with nail-studded sandals, nor with a single [sandal] unless he has a wound on [the other] foot. A [man may not go out] with phylacteries [tefillin]…
View Source