Red string wrapped seven times around Rachel’s Tomb
Israel, 21st Century
Dyed wool
Museum Collection
Must Know
The custom of wearing a red string as an amulet comes from a combination of two customs: the folk custom (that is actually not Jewish) to wear a red string that protects one from the evil eye and the custom to wear a string that is tied seven times around Rachel’s Tomb.
Some people believe that it is a talisman for fertility due to the fact that, though Rachel was infertile, she died while giving birth to her second son, Benyamin. The string is sold mostly for protection, among others at Rachel’s Tomb and at the Western Wall. It is also likely that the story of Rachel was intended to Judaize the folk custom of wearing the string and to authorize it as kosher.
More Info
The custom of the red string was already mentioned in the Tosefta, in the Mishnah, Shabbat 7 Halacha 1, as tying the string around one’s finger is a custom of the gentiles and therefore it is not allowed for Jews to imitate.
There is no written historical source from Rachel’s Tomb that mentions the custom of wearing the red string. Presumably, the idea of wrapping the string around the tomb is that, as the string comes into contact with the tomb and its sacred power, it gives the wearer its blessing and supernatural powers. Nowadays, some relate the red string custom among other things to the story of Rahab. She hung a red string on the window of her house, as the spies instructed her to do, so that the Israeli warriors would not hurt her and her family when they would come to conquer Jericho.
Despite the fact that the custom is not mentioned in the Kabbalistic writings, nowadays the custom is regarded as a Kabblistic one. One reason is that the Kabbalah Centre, an international institute founded in the United States, promotes it as a part of its Kabbalistic New Age direction all over the world and claims that the custom provides us with “a powerful spiritual technique” that aims at “protecting us from negative energy”. “The nature of protective motherly love is the most powerful force on Earth. Thus, the connection of the red string to our mother Rachel fills it with the power of love and protection.” According to the centre’s instructions, the string should be tied around the left wrist with seven knots, by someone the wearer trusts and loves. They recommend tying the string while reciting the ancient piyyut “Ana Becoach”, a Jewish liturgical poem, whose initials, according to the Kabbalah, form one of the names of God (42-name letter of God).
The red string can be today observed on many celebrities who have connections to the Kabbalah Centre: Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, Ariana Grande, Rihanna or Miley Cyrus.
Another foundation that sells the red string is the Rachel’s Tomb Institute. According to the institute “preparing the red string properly while reciting psalms in a special order is very difficult” and therefore they only give one string, properly charged with energy, to those families who donate for the foundation.
