Is it Permissible to Wear a Red String?

Greetings,

Some have written to prohibit wearing a red string because of the customs of the Amorites; however, the opinion of most poskim is that there is no prohibition.

Sources: As stated in the Tosefta, Tractate Shabbat (Chapter 7, Law 1), 'One who ties a red string on his finger is engaging in the ways of the Amorites'; however, in another Tosefta (there, Chapter 8, Law 4), it is stated that tying a red string is not considered the ways of the Amorites according to Rabban Gamliel. Rabbi Elazar ben Tzadok says it is the ways of the Amorites. It seems that the first Tosefta specifically refers to one who ties a red string on his finger, which is prohibited by all due to the ways of the Amorites, while the second Tosefta refers to one who ties a red string elsewhere on his body, where there is a dispute among the Tana'im whether it should be prohibited due to the ways of the Amorites. According to this, one should lean toward prohibition—in line with the Gemara's ruling in Avodah Zarah (7a) that in a dispute about a Torah matter, one should follow the stringent opinion. Indeed, this is what is brought in the book *Reshit Chochmah* (Derech Eretz, Gate 4) that one who ties a red string on his hand is engaging in the ways of the Amorites. Hence, it has been ruled as prohibited.

Moreover, some have raised concerns regarding the custom of wearing a red string as a Segulah —see in the book Chakuch M'Metakim (Part 1, page 287) citing Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l, who raised concerns about the Segulah surrounding the tomb of our matriarch Rachel, where the pregnant woman wears it to complete her pregnancy without endangering the fetus, that one should not encircle or carry a red string, as it constitutes the ways of the Amorites. This is also brought in the book Segulot Raboteinu (page 135) in the name of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky shlit"a.

However, in Responsa Vayein David (Part 3, Section 54) he elaborates on permitting wearing a red string on the hand against the evil eye based on several doubts: a. The very matter is a dispute among Tana'im; b. There are two uncertainties regarding the text of the Tosefta (whether it reads ‘on top of red’ or ‘there is nothing due to the ways of the Amorites’). c. It is not clear that there is a prohibition to tie one when doing so for the benefit of being saved from the evil eye and not for the ways of the Amorites. d. There is a dispute among the later authorities about whether the prohibitions of the Amorites ceased if they stopped doing so. e. Based on the words of the Birkei Yosef in Yoreh De'ah (Section 178, Paragraph 3), in the name of his grandfather Chesed LeAvraham who wrote in his glosses, that indeed many matters are mentioned in that Tosefta as the ways of the Amorites, and many people stumble in them and no one pays attention, and it may seem to them that one need not be concerned about the ways of the Amorites except for the things mentioned in the Gemara, and other matters listed in the Tosefta there, are not according to halacha; if not, the Talmud would have been silent about them. For further reference, it should be noted that the words of the Birkei Yosef are already written in the Beit Yosef (Section 178). It has already been pointed out in Responsa Yabia Omer (Part 3, Part Yoreh De'ah, Section 24, Note 7), and (Part 10, page 458, Note 22), that the words of the Birkei Yosef in the name of his grandfather Chesed LeAvraham are indeed the words of the Beit Yosef, word for word.

Many others have also written to permit this—see in Responsa Beer Moshe (Part 8, Section 36, Note 3) that this was the custom to tie a red string on a stroller or baby’s crib against the evil eye, and it is included in the custom of elderly women, about whom the Rashba wrote not to take their words lightly or their customs, as their foundation is certainly from the mountains of holiness, even if the reason is hidden from us. This is also elaborated upon in Responsa Rabbot Efrayim (Part 8, Section 51, Note 3, in the response of Rabbi Yosef Binyamin Tzarfati) that the custom of tying a red string on the hand against the evil eye is a fine practice, etc. Furthermore, see in Responsa Vayatzur Yosef (Part 4, Section 117) that since the women today do not tie a red string for the sake of idolatry, it is therefore not prohibited. Additionally, in the book Meorot Natan on Chanukah (pages 35-38) he elaborates on the practice of encircling a red string around the tomb of our matriarch Rachel, zt"l.

This is also the opinion of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt"l, as mentioned in the book Mayim Omer (Part 5, Chapter 8, Section 18). Furthermore, in the book Yeshuot Mordechai (page 103), it is noted from Rabbi M. Eliyahu zt"l that regarding wearing a red string, he encircled our matriarch Rachel’s tomb, saying, ‘This is an ancient custom and it is permissible to continue in this way.’ And see also in Responsa Sha'ilat Shaul (Part 1, Part Yoreh De'ah, Section 28) and in Responsa Chayei Levi (Part 4, Section 57, Note 5 and Part 5, Section 182, Note 9) and in Responsa Divrei Eliyahu (Part 9, Section 59).

Blessings,

Hillel Meirs