Obj. ID: 36443 Kos shel Eliyahu me-Shmirot Kodesh, Ukraine, circa 1880
sub-set tree:
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
Among some Hassidic courts it was a practice for the Rabbi to give a blessed silver coin to his Hassidim as an amulet. Such protection might be given for all manner of life events, from healing from an illness to success in travel and the amulet was carried on the body of the recipient. This custom was particularly popular among the Ryzhiner Hassidim and these coins were called "Shmirot". To such coins were attributed extraordinary power and value and they were treasured with great care and love.
After the specific event for which they had originally be given, such a coin or coins were used in the making of other objects, which maintained the special aura of the Rabbi. Such a coin would be melted in other silver with the amuletic valued being spread evenly to all the silver. Then a ritual object would be fashioned by a silversmith and the special nature of the item would be inscribed on it, indicating in one of several ways that this object had been made from "Shmirot". Such objects in the Gross Family Collection include Kiddish cups, a Havdalah tray, a Shabbat salt holder, a Chanukkah Menorah, a Torah crown, and a fork and spoon. All are of considerable rarity.
This object is a Kiddish cup fashioned from such silver. On this cup, the inscription indicating Shmirot is found in the inscribed words "Zeh ha-Kos min Shmirot" (This is the Beaker from Shmirot). Such cups were used for blessing wine so that each use conferred again the power of protection granted by the Rabbi.
These cups were decorated, using both vegetal motifs and the figures of different animals. In this instance, a rampant and unicorn stand on the two sides of a shield in which the inscription appears. These two figures appear often in the area of Galicia on such silver items, among the painted decorations in Synagogues on caved headstones. The object is marked "made from the holy shekel", referring to the "shmirot" and is marked as well with the fact that it is to be used as Elijah's cup, an unusual phenomenon for Shmirot cups. Inscription: Reb Ephraim Had this Cup of Elijah Made from Holy "Shmirot"