Img. ID: 19913

The serious risks associated with childbirth and the dangers related to the first days of a newborn child and his birthmother, were the ambiance in which the folk belief in demons, who kill or steal babies developed. One of the leading demons considered to be the most dangerous creature for the mother and child, was Lilith – the first woman created with Adam (see: Subject document). In order to protect the birthing mother and the baby, various kinds of amulets were created. Our amulet printing plate is a typical example of the incantations against the evil creature and her group of demons, following the East European tradition. The amulet was placed near the mother's bed or around the walls.
The legend including Lilith as the former Eve and her flight from Adam is first mentioned in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, composed in Babylonia in the end of the ninth to the beginning of the tenth centuries. The story in Ben Sira also includes the three angels who excommunicated her after she refused to return to Adam. It seems that the legend appears in Ben Sira to explain the custom of writing amulets against Lilith, which most probably already existed then and was widespread.
The second version of the story, which includes Elijah and appears on our amulet, probably is derived from a different literary source and reflects another tradition. According to Prof. Gaster, a similar narrative of a Holy man, who meets a female demon that kills babies, and excommunicates her, is mentioned in the Manichean literary tradition. The story of Elijah and Lilith is included in the second edition of David's Lida's book Sod ha Shem (Berlin 1710, p. 20a). A female demon with a thousand names,active at night, harming newborn babies and their mothers, is also mentioned in the Testament of Solomon, a Greek work of the third century. In this composition, she is named Obizoth, similar to one of the names in our amulet (Gershom Shalom, Lilith, in Encyclopedia Judaica, Jerusalem, 11, p. 246).

The plate was found in the synagogue of Ranizowiz, a small city near Rzeszow, in Poland. It was purchased by the Museum from Mr. Rabinowiz in 1938.