I don’t remember any source for it in Jewish books. I think it is a Hindu thing. Why it got to be so popular in Israel is beyond me. In most Jewish books that I remember it says keeping God's commands is the best bet to be saved from difficulties in this world and the next.
The only context in which I approve of the Red String is when one goes to Rachel's Tomb and does it for him or herself. I mean, we can do that, actually go to the Kever and make an act of acquisition by walking around it. And then the string may mean something, at least to the person who made aliyah to Kever Rachel.
I don't care where it came from. The fact is, you are putting your faith in a piece of string! The fact that it was wound around Kever Rachel and then used as an amulet makes an even stronger case that it is witchcraft and therefore assur!
I have to admit that I don't really know what this red string is, but, I wasn't going to turn down a discussion topic from a regular reader. In fact, keep 'em coming guys.
The red string is a pathetic and inane fetish that makes a mockery of Torah and everything that Am Yisrael is supposed to be.
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I don’t remember any source for it in Jewish books. I think it is a Hindu thing. Why it got to be so popular in Israel is beyond me. In most Jewish books that I remember it says keeping God's commands is the best bet to be saved from difficulties in this world and the next.
ReplyDeleteWitchcraft, pure and simple. According to the Torah, major assur. So, I don't know why so many "frum" people believe it has any powers.
ReplyDeleteThe Curmudgeonly Israeli Giyoret says:
ReplyDeleteThe only context in which I approve of the Red String is when one goes to Rachel's Tomb and does it for him or herself. I mean, we can do that, actually go to the Kever and make an act of acquisition by walking around it. And then the string may mean something, at least to the person who made aliyah to Kever Rachel.
I don't care where it came from. The fact is, you are putting your faith in a piece of string! The fact that it was wound around Kever Rachel and then used as an amulet makes an even stronger case that it is witchcraft and therefore assur!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I don't really know what this red string is, but, I wasn't going to turn down a discussion topic from a regular reader. In fact, keep 'em coming guys.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was rooted in the string tied around Perez's leg to mark him as firstborn of Judah and Tammara, also ancestor of King David and Moshiach.
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