Img. ID: 544940

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

A small amulet, this talisman is one of the few in the Gross Family Collection that is signed by its maker. In this case the amulet scribe was Yitzhak Moshe Ferrera, a well known Kabbalist during the last half of the 19th century and until he passed away in 1917. He was connected to the Beit El Yeshivah and was a student of the Rashash. It was known that he supported himself by writing amulets. This was made for Menachem Chaim Eliyahu, for whose family two other amulets were written: Gross Family Collection 027.012.233 for his wife and 027.012.235 for him.

The Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Moshe Ferrera was the son of the reknowned Kabbalist Rabbi Aharon Rafael Chaim Moshe Ferrara (died 1887) who was the author of Toldot Aharon v'Moshe and Efer Moshe. Yitzhak came to Israle with his father to Jeruslame from Salonika in 1848. He was a Jerusalem Kabbalist and belonged to the Beit El Yeshiva community. He delivered a sermon every evening in a yeshiva in the Old City. He worked as a scribe for the Kabbalist Beit El Yeshiva, writing and copying Kabbalistic books of the Rashash as well as his father;s compositions and earned his living by writing amulets (thee are in the Gross Family Collection). He wrote several books on Musar in Ladino, published his father's book Meil Ha-Kodesh u-Bigdei Yesha (Jerusalem, 1888) with his own additions with penetrating comments on Kabbalistic matters. He is also the scribe of the Siddur Rashash, EI.011.017, in the Gross Family Collection.

He wrote books as well, one of which, "Me'il Kodesh ve-Bigdei Yesh'a", is in the Gross Family Collection as well as a New Year Greeting in Ladino in beautiful script. These as well as the three amulets are connected to one Menachem Chaim Eliyahu.