So, what are Modern Jewish Amulets?

So, what does a Modern Jewish Amulet writer do with all of this data. I want to write amulets that address the things that people are praying for so that they have a physical representation of what is important to them. I also want to be true to my roots as a student of Talmud and a rationalist disciple of the Rambam. So I advocate for Rationalist Jewish Amulets. I advocate for quoting Biblical verses and Rabbinic teachings on amulets as items of contemplation and focus.(1) There are verses in our tradition that are applicable to various situations, and it is already an established practice to recite certain Tehillim (Psalms) for certain occasions (travel, sickness, holidays, etc.). I see no difficulty in actually carrying a verse or teaching with you on your body to help you focus on it, it is for this reason why we have tefillin, after all! We wear tefillin on our upper arms as a fulfillment of the mitzvah in the Shema,

וְהָי֞וּ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם עַל־לְבָבֶֽךָ׃

And these words, that I command you today, will be on your heart.(2)

We are instructed carry the mitzvot with us, actually next to our hearts, and then between our eyes, with the head tefillin. We are also commanded to write them on the doorposts of our houses (mezuzot) so that we encounter them every time we walk through the door. I advocate for treating kameot more like mezuzah and tefillin, as items to remind us what we value and what we are trying to remember and pray for.(3)

In conclusion, I’ve established a set of rules that I will abide by when I write kameot in reference to the texts that I have learned.

If I may be so bold, I certify my amulets as expert. I do this because I do not believe that amulets ever actually heal people. Instead, they serve as an item of concentration for prayer for healing, which is a means for keeping one’s need for healing present in one’s consciousness.(4) As we learn, the Bavli also teaches that verses themselves do not heal. My amulets are expert because I have done extensive learning and do not pretend to peddle magical healing charms. They are reminders and focus items. Consequently, you may wear them into the public domain on Shabbat just as you would your clothing. A wearer of my amulets is not just wearing them because they are pretty jewelry; if you want one, I assume that you connect strongly to the inscription, and don’t just think that the Hebrew alphabet is pretty.(5) I will not write one if you cannot explain to me what the Hebrew you have chosen says and its context.(6) For custom amulets, I require a consultation or a reasoned written explanation of what text you are looking for. I can’t write something for you if I know nothing about you. This is about relationship.(7) My one exception to this is my pre-made jewelry line, which contain an accompanying teaching explaining my choice of the texts used.
My kameot do not contain the names of angels. In line with the Rambam, and my own passionate monotheism, I will not invoke any names of powers other than the Names of Hashem. To avoid the issue of writing out a name of Hashem on an amulet that you will likely come to wear on your body and thus into the bathroom, I offer two options. I will either change a letter in the Divine Name, as I have done here or I will craft a leather cover for your kamea, in line with the Bavli’s teaching on the subject, so that you may carry it anywhere you go. I highly advocate for the first option as we human beings are likely to be forgetful (I know that I am!) and we will come to forget to cover up the Divine Name and thus transgress. Unless you really want me to, I won’t write a Name of God fully on something you are going to wear, I don’t want to be responsible for leading you to transgression.(8) We could also rig a way for your kamea to be a secret just for you and be permanently enclosed in a leather holder.(9)
All of that being said, I am a professional Soferet STaM (Scribe of Sifrei Torah, Tefillin, and Mezuzot) and I am capable of writing out the Names of Hashem with the right kavannah (intention). I will do it for you if you promise to treat your kamea as sacred, which means not wearing it uncovered into the bathroom, kissing it if it falls on the floor (just like a siddur), not burying it under non-sacred things on your desk, etc.
My kameot do not contain codes or acronyms for verses. There is a reason why you chose certain verses or teachings for your kamea, so they should be fully present for you. One of the reasons why I write my kameot on shrink plastic is because it gives me a large canvas to work with that is then shrunk down into a manageable, not-ostentatiously large, size, fit for wearing on necklaces, earrings, etc.
I do not currently write mezuzot (but I have many wonderful colleagues who do!) but if I do, I reiterate, I will never alter the words of a mezuzah to suit personal desires. While this was an accepted practice in the medieval world, I agree with the Rambam on this one.

Kavanot, intentions, as in prayer.
Deuteronomy 6:6
Here, I would like to quote a teaching of one of my Rabbis, Rabbi Ethan Tucker, who taught on his Responsa Radio podcast, “the function of the mezuzah in the house is not just to sort of check off a box of ‘The Torah told me to put this . . . on the doorpost’ and I want to . . . encounter the visual symbol, but there is a reason why there is a specific set of passages written in there and I’m supposed to confront them.” We should check our mezuzot twice every seven years so that we can remind ourselves of the content therein and check in with ourselves to see if we are upholding the mitzvot (all of them) that the mezuzah is supposed to represent for us.
Similar to way that I interpret the Misheberach prayer for healing, in which a person prays on behalf of another person in need of healing, that it is a public acknowledgement that they know someone who is suffering and forces the pray-er to keep their loved one on their mind and to tell others about their need for support and prayers.
It is. And if you want pretty alphabet jewelry, we can talk, but I won’t call it an amulet.
This means that I have discretion for what purposes I write amulets. I am a Jew and I write and teach Jewish texts with Jewish interpretations.
I am a proud student of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where I have been educated by Dean Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson, author of God of Becoming and Relationship and Dr.Ron Wolfson, author of Relational Judaism. The word “relationship” is always on our tongues here.
This is the Rabbinic interpretation of Leviticus 19:14, “You shall not . . . place a stumbling block before the blind."
I’m also quite good at the sewing machine and I can paint leather into whatever color you wish.