Hillel Ba’al Shem, Sefer ha-Heshekh, MS Verdnasky National Library of Ukraine, OR 178, Fol. 11a.
For difficulty in childbirth or benemish, that affects women, God save us, whereby her child is switched during birth, or in the seventh month [of her pregnancy], later or earlier. When she is about to give birth, this woman should go to a tree that produces hazelnuts called egoz luz/ hayzin nislekh – and whenever egoz laz (in contrast to luz) is mentioned or written in non-Jewish books, this [usually] refers to וועלסי נוס (a walnut?), [but] egoz luz is written without an ayin. She should stand there in front of the tree facing it, after it has produced its fruit. He should then make a hole with a new awl that a blacksmith made solely for this purpose. He should then take her finger and toenails, as well as some hair from the four corners of her head and he should take some string and weave together with a string which he is supposed to use for measuring from the top of her head to her toe. Then he should collect and place the nails, the hair in a white piece of paper and tie it with the string used above and place it in the hollow [of the tree]. Then he should make a peg from the wood/bark of the hazel tree and strike the above-mentioned hollow with force, saying: “Just as the wood, hair, nails of one’s hands and feet, cannot get out of the tree, so an evil infirmity, calamity, or injury is forbidden to ever enter and come close.” This recipe is good for a difficult pregnancy, epilepsy, and fever. The infirm is permitted to say this in any language: the holy tongue, the vernacular, or Greek.”
Hillel Ba’al Shem, Sefer ha-Heshekh, MS Verdnasky National Library of Ukraine, OR 178, Fol. 43a-b.
Fol. 43a.
Another:
An amulet from the expert physician called Rabbi Yitzhak Fortis, of great prominence in all the Polish provinces, of blessed memory, for difficulty in childbirth:
Take a root called black walnut (juglens nigra) and pulverize finely, like tobacco, and put it in her nose and close her nostrils slightly so that she sneezes, and God willing it will help.
Another:
For a pregnant woman against the switching of newborn during birth, called beinemish: You should fumigate the woman in the seventh month with the following herbs and remedies: astragalus, hyssop, Gulden Widerthon, garden cress (?), Siegel tree (Solomon’s seal?), ginseng (?), myrrh, amaranthum, rue and white bay laurel (?), ruti, watercress, rue, mastic, black caraway seed, cedar, hershin horin that is geroshpilt (?), weld/dyer’s weed (reseda luteola).
Chop all the above [ingredients] very finely and mix them together and fumigate the woman for nine continuous days – evening, morning, and noon – [even] on the Shabbat, with the help of non-Jew. Also, when she is being fumigated, she should cover her head, from the top of her head to her feet, so that the smoke would not evaporate, but rather penetrate her entire body, her clothing, and her robe. Moreover, when the smoke rises, she should say three times, “Let the grace of God our Lord be upon us; May He establish the work of our hands upon us; the work of our hands may He establish (Psalm 90:17).” This recipe is also beneficial for any adversity or mental anxiety, however ‘[re-learning] the old way is harder than [learning] something new’ (possibly a corrupt rendering of Talmud Yoma 29a:2).
Fol. 43b
For a pregnant woman, from the time she gave birth until after eight days, she should say at night, after the shema prayer three times, “And he dreamt and behold, there was a ladder set on the earth, and its top reached to the heaven. And the angels of the Lord ascended and descended on it (Genesis 28:12),” in the name of Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Rafael, and in the name of the great angel RZ’ZH appointed over dreams. If the woman does not wish to say this, then her husband will recite it [for her], close to her bed.
Hillel Ba’al Shem, Sefer ha-Heshekh, MS Verdnasky National Library of Ukraine, OR 178, Fol. 162a-b.
These are the seals, and it is useful to write it on a small axe and the preparation should be for the sake of the [magical] operation and it should be smooth and attractive. Once he completes the inscription, he should dry the metal part of the axe well so that the letters would not become blurred, and he should place it through the entrance or the window where the thief got away with his plunder placing the axe above the door in the lintel or above the lintel of the window if the thief got out through there with his plunder. Thus, it should not be moved until the matter becomes known [the theft], and in any case, the axe should remain there even after the loot is returned to its owner, let the axe be fixed there. This image should be inscribed on the other side of the axe. Once he completes this [operation], he should take this axe, lay it down, and place it in a proper genizah. It is beneficial to use several times and for any instance of theft in his house, he can proceed as he did initially – being mindful of doing everything in silence and with humility, “to walk humbly with the Lord, your God” (Micah 6:8).
Now, these are the cells and the seals, they are beneficial for a variety of issues, as is indicated in several sections of this book, and the person, who trusts in it, “grace shall surround him” (Psalm 32:10). It is also good for a difficult birth, as well as against worms in children, however, each operation requires its own technique, therefore, the image should be written on parchment or paper [when using it for a difficult birth or worms, in contrast to theft].
However, one who does not believe in such things, should not perform this task at all, because Satan accuses human beings relentlessly. This is the image with the writing [that should be inscribed] on the other side of the axe, twice in two places, as it is known. He should write the names anew and efficiently, so you would not be mocked or ridiculed trusting in the word of God and His Torah, so that the operation would be carried out [exactly] as described above. For the Blessed Holy One divided his wisdom amongst those who fear Him, so that a proper person could perform [magical] operations, with God’s help.
MS NLI 8 2698, Fol. 36r.
“Write an amulet with this figure (magic square) on one side, and on the other side, inscribe Psalm 67 in the form of the menorah, and when the woman sits on the birthing stool (mashber), place it upon her head and she will deliver. It is true and tested.”
MS NLI 8 2698, 34r-v.
Another [recipe]: This is a received tradition from Rabbi Peretz, from Kadzaloni. Write on parchment on the flesh side (white) and not on anything else, in the name of the woman who has a difficult birth, then place it on her navel, on the right side and remove it immediately after she has given birth, tried and tested many times and this is the image of the diagram.
Manuscript Bill Gross 011 039 224, Fol. 60a.
(Private Collection of Bill Gross shared with us)
Fol. 60a
For a woman who has a difficult birth:
Take a new clay shard and split it into two, then write on each piece the following arrangement [magic squares] and show it to the woman.
Note: the magic squares are framed by the following biblical verses:
Psalm 107: 10, 14 – Those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death shackled in affliction and iron.
Isaiah 42:7 – rescuing prisoners from confinement
Fol. 59b
For a difficult birth: Take four pearls, crush them, and give her to drink in warm water.
Another: Take the dung of black mice and mix it with water or alcohol.
Another: Take the water/juice of rue a little more than a quarter and she should drink it while holding a flint in her hand.
Another: Write on her forehead the following: ק ו ר ק ו פ ל ה
Another: Give her egg white, mixed with the milk of another woman, to drink.
Another: Take fermented leaven and mix it with strong vinegar and lay it on [her] garment placing it on her waist. As soon as she has delivered, remove it, wash it, and fasten her hips so her intestines would not come out, God forbid.
MS NLI 8 2986, Fol. 80a-b.
For a woman, who could not get pregnant after giving birth once, so she would get pregnant [again]:
Take a fish that is inside another fish, that swallowed it, the stomach (alternatively, excrement) of a doe (female rabbit), and the heart of a mouse, and place them in a skillet so they would be roasted dry. Afterwards, stir them with flour adding water and sheep urine, and mix them together. She should drink this, and she will immediately fall pregnant. And Rabbi Yosef the doctor, a preeminent sage, greater than anyone else, and an expert physician, tested this potion, and followed this recipe and the woman immediately became pregnant.
For pregnancy, [a recipe] that Sodi’el, the Angel of Presence, taught to Hulda, the Prophetess:
Take the fat of a bear and rub it on her genitalia, and she should go and stand under a tree that has not yet born fruit, and she should say, ‘Just as this tree will bear fruit, similarly I will also have children.’ On that day she should fast, and she should be pure [from her menstrual impurity], and her husband should be in the city. That night, as they engage in intercourse with each other, she will surely become pregnant. But she should take care to clip seven sticks from the tree and she should place them in her bed, where she lies with her husband.
MS NLI 8 2986, Fol. 80a.
Protection for a woman who gives birth:
Take four eggs and write on them the following names, then place these eggs inside four new pots, and affix the pots with the eggs to the four sides of her bed, and with God’s help it will be beneficial.
Hillel Ba’al Shem, Sefer ha-Heshekh, MS Verdnasky National Library of Ukraine, OR 178, Fol. 200b-201a.
This is the image, which is circular and enclosed within it the Star of David with all the holy names inscribed in it. It is beneficial for a woman with a difficult birth, and there is no need to write or indicate any name, [including] the mother’s name, as is typical with other amulets. However, this amulet does not require the inscription of her and her mother’s name, for she is only permitted to use it for protection. As with several amulets, it must be inscribed in purity, with ritual immersion and fasting, until after its completion, while wearing a white robe. If he does not have another set of clothing then, at the very least, he should clean the robe he is wearing on his body from all dirt and impurity, as explained in numerous places. It is permitted to heal with amulets when they constitute an obvious and efficacious remedy, but never [should they be used during?] the Shema prayer (kriyat shema); as it is written in the Torah, so has the matter been established.
MS NLI 1070, Fol. 9v
“For a difficult birth:
Cook a lot of beans and place them in a pot, with the excrement of a pig and a goose, and place this on hot coals. She should then sit on it and will deliver immediately.”
MS NLI 1070, Fol. 31v
“Bat dung: good for an infertile woman, crushed and mixed with honey water called myod, twice or three times, and she will find obvious benefit in this.
MS NLI 28 8619, Fol. 87a-b
87a
For a woman who repeatedly miscarries:
Write this angelic name, Sandalphon, and place it by the dead fetus in the grave, and from that time on, she will not miscarry.
Another:
Take an egg from which the chick has already fledged, burn it to ashes, and give her to drink.
87b
In the writings of R. Yoel, (z’’l) it is written: the main reason that a pregnant woman would give birth to a fetus covered with rashes and boils and inflammation is that she ate kurkum (saffron/turmeric) and therefore she should never eat kurkum during her pregnancy at all.
The doctors [also] say that blood should not be drawn at all [during her pregnancy] because the blood is vital to the nurture and support of the fetus.