Auction 74
Lot 267:
New amulet, handwritten by a pious scribe on parchment, similar to the amulet given by the Tzaddik Rabbi Yeshaya ben Rabbi Moshe of Krestir to those seeking salvation. The amulet was written by a pious scribe who used to write Tefillin and was famed for his fine, elegant script and who used to immerse in a Mikveh before writing any amulet. The scribe received instructions on how to write it and which Kavanot to use when writing. After it was written, a special emissary was sent to the gravesite of Rabbeinu in Krestir, where the amulet was placed on the grave while the emissary ended the entire Sefer Tehillim for the success of the owner of the amulet. Then it was placed in Rabbeinu’s home and again, prayers were said. The scribe wrote only 10 such amulets – this is one of them.
Scribal script, black ink on parchment. 8.5X4.5 cm. Very good overall condition.
“The following things the author would write on a small parchment, and no evil would befallen him nor to any members of his household, ” so wrote Rabbi Hillel Liechtenstein in his book “Tshuvot Beit Hillel HaChadash” (32).
"ילשת באשר בוליב והאפה הבמוג ולה" (the words written on the parchment)—three verses for protection are hinted at in it, appearing in the book Elef Katav, and this is the exegesis: “the verses are ‘יְהִי שָׁלוֹם בְּחֵילֵךְ שַׁלְוָה בְּאַרְמְנוֹתָיִךְ’ (Psalms 122:7); ‘לֹא תְאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה וְנֶגַע לֹא יִקְרַב בְּאָהֳלֶךָ’ (Psalms 91:10), linked by the first initials of the first line. The verse ‘אֶת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר פֶּתַח הַבַּיִת הִכּוּ בַּסַּנְוֵרִים מִקָּטֹן וְעַד גָּדוֹל וַיִּלְאוּ לִמְצֹא הַפָּתַח, ” (Genesis 19:1), appears in the first initials of the second line.
For many generations, the deeds of the Tzaddik from Krestir, Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner, have reverberated, especially the story of the Jew who immigrated to the United States, and opened a successful laundromat. Seeing his success, two Goyim opened a competing laundromat across the street. The Jew sent another Jew to Hungary with a request to go to Rabbi Yeshayale and ask him for deliverance from his difficulty. The Jew returned to the United States and brought with him an amulet similar to this one. The competitors decided to burn the Jew’s store, and sent someone to light it on fire, but the person couldn’t identify the storefront and accidentally burned down the competitor’s store. When Rabbi Yeshayale passed away, the Jew dared to open the amulet and was astonished to see the verse "ואת האנשים אשר פתח הבית הכו בסנוורים"
Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner (1852-1925) from Krestir (Bodrogkeresztur) was one of the most important and well-known Admorim in Hungary. When he was 3, his father died, and at age 12 his widowed mother sent him to Rabbi Zvi Hirsch from Liska, where he was until his Rav died, and then he succeeded him, but remained indigent and did not think of himself. He is considered a wonder-worker and many amazing stories are told of him. Until today thousands of people continue to visit his grave and unburden their hearts there, and many amazing stories have been generated about the power of that event. He is known for his merciful heart and his care for the parnasa of the Jewish people. The amulets given during his lifetime to those seeking deliverance were written on parchment by professional scribes who were his disciples, and he would himself bless them before he gave them away. His picture is also known as a Segula against rats in a home, after an incident when following his blessing, there were no rats in the barns of Jews, and another where he blessed a Jew who had been sued and rats came and ate the file with the lawsuit.
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