According to Kabbalah, the material world was created by twenty two letters and ten numbers. The human body is a part of it, having been created from earth. The human soul was created by the twenty two letters. Therefore, the letters are the primary power of creation given to Man by God. Each letter has great energy of its own; the precise combination of letters, words and sentences, will result with a potent influential synergy that can be channeled to aid and protect, according to need.

This explains the importance of names, which affect one's personality as well as one's destiny. A Kabbalah expert may change the name of a person in need, or add letters to it, to promote healing or to change the person's destiny.

An authentic Kabbalah amulet employs the power of letters, and its letters may be written on almost any material. The amulet's strength stems mainly from the letters which compose it, the material it is made of being of secondary significance. As a designer in this domain of energies, I make use of letters, and base my work on the Bible and on the Book of Creation.

The mystery

Writers of amulets use prayers and Biblical texts, first and foremost verses from the Torah. As a rule, the user of an amulet should not be able to comprehend the wording, so it is coded for secrecy. This is done for two reasons:

1. A person who understands the content of the amulet might interpret it in his own way and doubt or oppose it, and thus hinder the amulet's force.
2. As the ancient saying goes, "Blessing prevails in the mysterious".

The user should only know the purpose of the amulet. His wish to be helped by the amulet, his trust and his faith promote the amulet's influence at least as much as does the writing.

To enjoy the amulet, one should be aware of it all the time. He should not try to will the amulet into action, but allow it to bring its power into effect. It would be best to relax, acknowledging the existence of a benevolent power, and giving it the time and space to act.

The King Solomon School

Several schools of amulet makers are known, the highest of which is the King Solomon School.
King Solomon was a philosopher who studied the faith and beliefs of many nations, and derived from them new elements to be used in amulets. He always approached problems in his dual way, opposing and complementary. He wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes: "Around and around goes the wind, ever returning to its place of origin", many centuries before Sir Isaac Newton stated the rule that to each force in nature there is an equal balancing force. King Solomon based his teachings of amulet making on this understanding, and always saw more than one solution for any problem. King Solomon's amulets are designed to remedy very specific difficulties, and there are countless amulets following his school, made by Jews and by non-Jews.

My amulets and jewelry

The amulets and jewelry that I plan and design are written in the original ancient letters of the time of King Solomon, 800 BC, the letters in which the Bible was written. When writing in the Canaanite-Phoenikian Hebrew letters, the authenticity of the amulet is preserved as well as the secrecy of its contents, since people are not familiar with them. These letters possess a special magnitude of influence on the subconscious, and from them the contemporary Hebrew letters developed.

There are three elements which are essential for the amulet to function:
First, there should be an appeal to the High Power, God or one of the angels, whose help is asked for.

Second, the problem that needs to be solved should be defined.

Third, and most important is the awakening of the Spark.

In Kabbalah, the word "spark" equals will, so that by awakening the spark we mean the awakening of the person's will to help himself. Help from above will only come where there is a willful effort of the person to solve his difficulty. The secret of the amulet's success, then, lies in the right choice of words it contains.

Materials

Basically, the letters on the amulets bring the effect, but the material of which the amulet is made may influence it too, assisting or diminishing its power.

We divide materials into primary and alloy, lasting and perishable. Gold, silver, copper and leather are lasting natural materials, and therefore their energy supports the writing. Iron, wood, stone and other metal alloys are perishable, as time goes by they will disappear and the amulet will be lost. One should choose, then, to make an amulet out of a lasting primary material.

One of the best materials for amulet making is parchment. The four elements of parchment (air, water, earth and fire), are also the elements of Man. The disadvantage of parchment is the fading of the ink.

Among the metals, silver is the first choice. Silver belongs in the sphere of Grace (Hessed), and it is unconditionally helpful, like the moon, which belongs in the same sphere, and reflects sunshine unconditionally. Gold belongs in the higher sphere of Justice (Din) and Fortitude (Gvura), and it helps those who deserve its help very effectively. Gold is paralleled with the sun that generates its own energy, but can also damage the unprotected.

Copper of all kinds belongs in the Base sphere, giving and taking evenly, and it is also safe for the making of amulets.

An alloy named "The five metals" is currently very popular, but it is not used in Jewish amulets. It is a reminiscent of the Middle Ages alchemists' desire to produce gold out of lesser metals.

All materials generate energy, stars as well as plants and minerals. Their energy is secondary, since it does not create, but affects material world. The energy of the letters is the primary and creative power.

When looking to be assisted by energy, one has to make a decision – should one lean on the true source of energy, or settle for its secondary derivates.

In a way, it is like the choice between drinking from a pure spring of water, or from a water-tap far away from it…

Dan Raveh, Israel