The Red Thread Part II

Follow up to this post here...

A number of readers have inquired as to why R' Bloomenstiel cited the Tosefta Shabbos 7:1 which mentions the red string in connection with darkei ha-Emori. As many have rightly pointed out, the Tosefta refers to tying the string about the finger. Additionally, there exists an alternate text of this Tosefta which states "Ein darkei ha-emori," these are not the ways of the Emorites.

I forwarded these e-mails to R' Bloomenstiel and received the following response:

Both of these points about the Tosefta are correct [that it refers only to a red string on the finger and that there is an alternate reading]. Nevertheless, I still cited this Tosefta as a makor for the following reasons:

• The custom of wearing a string on the hand or finger has not been observed amongst the Jewish people until fairly recently. Yet there was a prior custom to wrap a read thread from kever Rachel about the middle of a woman who wants to conceive or is expecting. If there was a prior accepted practice of wearing red threads about the hand or finger, then I would assume that the correct girsa of the Tosefta is "ain darkei ho-emori." However, we have no such prior custom. Therefore, there is no proof either way as to the correct girsa. Yet, since many other items in the tosefta are treated as darkei ha-Emori in parallel sources and, since we are dealing with d'oraisa issues, it is difficult to rely upon the more lenient text.

• We must understand the boundaries of the Tosefta's prohibition. Perhaps the Tosefta only prohibits wearing a red string about the finger. On the other hand, wearing a red string as a segula may be a general prohibition. Perhaps the tosefta only chose the finger as its example because such was the prevalent way of wearing a red string at the time of the Tosefta.

• I have seen and heard the common version of the Tosefta ( "darkei ha-Emori") quoted in teshuvos and piskei halacha. For example, one of our readers e-mailed me that Rav Hershel Schachter relies upon our girsa to pronounce the strings as ossur d'oraisa. This is also the understanding of Rav Y.S. Eliashiv as well.

• Even without the tosefta as an asmachta (or proof) one can still make an argument that the bendel is darkei ha-Emori. It is too long to get into here, but from the Teshuvos ha-Rashba it appears to me that there are two species of segulos. The first are remedies that operate via natural, yet mysterious mechanisms. The Rashba uses magnets as an example. In his time everyone knew that magnets repel and retract other metals, yet no one knew why. See also the gemora in Shabbos 67a and Chullin 77b which distinguishes between segulos that operate via natural (yet mysterious) mechanisms and those that are "mystical" or “magical," which are darkei ha-Emori. The second type of segula is an action or item which invokes a specific hashgocha pratis. An example of this would be the nachash ha-nechoshes which healed the Jews from the poisonous serpents. See Rashi on Bamidbar 21:8 who writes that the serpent didn’t heal, rather it brought people close to HaShem and He healed them as a result. Eventually, the serpent came to be worshiped. The populace attributed its powers of healing to the serpent itself rather than to HaShem. In reaction, the serpent was then destroyed by Chizkiyah ha-melech. So the question is: how do we tell the difference between a segula which invokes hasgocha and one that is darkei ha-Emori? It seems to me that the difference is that a hasgocha-based segula is one from which we have a mesora from the rabbonim or daas Torah. After all, the nachoshes was transmitted to us by Moshe Rabbeinu. So, it appears that any segula or charm operating by "mystical" or "metaphysical" properties and for which we do not have a valid mesora must be suspect. Now, there was never a rabbinic or Torah-based mesora for wearing a red thread about the hand, wrist, or finger as a segula. The closest mention of such a thing is wearing a red thread about the finger-- yet this practice is identified as darkei ha-Emori by the Tosefta! This fact, combined with the evidence that it was worn by non-Jews long before Jews took on the practice, points strongly to darkei ha-Emori.

- Avi Bloomenstiel