Segula Remedies, Incantations, and the Ways of the Emorites
תרופות סגוליות, לחשים ודרכי האמורי
It is forbidden to use segula remedies or incantations that make use of the power of idolatry, because of the prohibition of idolatry (SA, YD 155:1; above 4:4). Likewise, it is forbidden to use segula remedies or incantations that make use of forces of impurity and destructive angels, because of the prohibition of sorcery. Likewise, it is forbidden to use segulot and incantations from non-Jewish customs without doctors or healers claiming that they are effective, because of the prohibition of “the ways of the Emorites” (“the practices of the nations”). But when the segulot and incantations do not make use of forces of impurity, and in the opinion of healers they are effective, even though there is no explanation for the way in which they are effective and their benefit seems like a segula, as long as it is evident that their purpose is healing, it is permitted to use them.
In order for it to be evident that they are for healing, doctors or healers to whom people are accustomed to turn must hold that they can heal. Even healers using alternative methods that have not been proven by scientific research may determine that something is a remedy, since people are accustomed to turn to them for medical purposes. Even remedies that idol worshipers and sorcerers originally claimed work through magical power – if healers who are not connected to that belief now estimate that they are effective and recommend them, it is permitted to use them. As the Sages said (Shabbat 67a), one who suffers from an earache may take a locust’s egg and attach it to his body to relieve his pain, and one who suffers from sleep disturbances may take a fox’s tooth. And even on Shabbat he may go out with them into the public domain, for since the doctors in those days held that they could be effective, they are considered part of his clothing (Rambam, Hilkhot Shabbat 19:13; SA, OḤ 301:27).
Likewise, the Sages permitted (Shabbat 67a) using incantations that were known in those days to be effective. Most of the incantations were said together with certain segula actions. For example, one who had a bone stuck in his throat would bring another bone of the same kind, place it on his head, and say: “Ḥad ḥad neḥit bela, bela neḥit ḥad ḥad” (one by one go down, be swallowed; be swallowed, go down one by one). And if a fish bone was stuck in his throat, he says: “Nena’atzta ke-maḥat, nena’alta ke-teris, sheya sheya.” All this is on condition that healers claim that they are effective. And even when there is no explanation for the way they work, since in practice healers think that they are effective, it is permitted to use them. For it is possible that they are effective in a way that is not yet understood by doctors, and perhaps they are effective in a psychological way (such as the placebo effect).
But remedies and incantations that according to healers of all kinds are not effective, and for which there is also no explanation of how they could be effective – since they are done in imitation of the practices of the non-Jews, they are forbidden because of “the ways of the Emorites.”¹
Notes (1)
- When the segula remedy is connected to idolatry or works by the power of sorcery, it is clear that it is forbidden (regarding healing through sorcery in a case of pikuaḥ nefesh, see below halakha 6). And when it does not work by their power, and experience or logic indicates that it can be effective, it is permitted to use it. As explained in the mishna, Shabbat 67a: “One may go out with a locust’s egg, a fox’s tooth, and a nail from a crucified person, for the sake of healing – these are the words of R. Meir; but the Sages forbid it even on a weekday because of the ways of the Emorites.” The halakha follows R. Meir, who permitted, for it is cited there in the Talmud: “Abaye and Rava both said: Anything that has a healing purpose does not involve [the prohibition of] the ways of the Emorites.” Rambam explained (Guide 3:37): “Anything whose efficacy has been verified by experience, like these, even though there is no logical argument that dictates it, is permitted to do, for it is for the sake of healing.” Similarly wrote Rabbeinu Yona (Sha’arei Teshuva 3:104) and the Mordekhai (Shabbat 360), and so it was ruled in SA, OḤ 301:27. But something that is not known to be effective, but is done without reason in imitation of the non-Jews, is forbidden because of “nor shall you follow their laws,” which is also called “the ways of the Emorites” (Rashba, Meiri, Ritva, Shabbat 67a; Maharik 88). As a rule, according to Rabbeinu Yona, only when the segula remedy is tested is it permitted for use (the view of “some say” in SA, OḤ 301:27). According to the Rambam, it is sufficient that there be a serious claim, usually by doctors, that it may be effective (Guide 3:37). And according to the Rashba and Ritva, even when people who are not doctors claim that it can be effective, it is not included in the prohibition of “the ways of the Emorites,” and only if they tested it and proved that it is not effective is it forbidden (their ḥiddushim on Shabbat 67a; Responsa of the Rashba 1:167; 413). I wrote above in accordance with the intermediate view, while emphasizing that alternative healers too can determine this, for the intention is not to clarify what truly heals, but what is considered healing in the eyes of the various people engaged in medicine, as explained in the next note.