DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 758 KB)
Cards and Stickers With the Words “En Od Milebado”

Rav Haim of Volozhin (1749-1821), in his famous work Nefesh Ha’haim (3:3), mentions that contemplating the words "En Od Milebado" – that there is no power or force in the world besides G-d – is an effective Segula against harm. This concept already appears in the Gemara, which tells that Rav Hanina Ben Dosa was unharmed when sorcerers tried to cast a spell on him, because he said, "En Od Milebado," reaffirming his belief that only G-d controls the universe, and there is no force capable of overpowering Him. Rav Haim writes that contemplating these words and their meaning is an effective Segula to ensure that nobody exerts any sort of control or power over a person (listen to audio recording for precise citation).

Accordingly, it has become common for people to keep near them cards or stickers with the words "En Od Milebado," so that whenever they find themselves in any sort of difficult situation they will be reminded of this concept and thus make use of this special Segula. People keep these in their wallets, on their refrigerators, in their cars, and other places so they will frequently be reminded of this concept.

It should be noted, however, that these cards and stickers require Geniza (burial), since these three words come from a Pasuk in the Torah. Once they start to fade and one wants to replace them, they may not be thrown it in the trash; they must be placed together with other sacred texts which will be collected for burial. This is the ruling of Hacham Moshe Shayo in his Mehkereh Eretz (vol. 4, Y.D. 30).

Summary: Many people have cards or stickers with the words "En Od Milebado" because contemplating these words is an effective Segula for protection against harm. One must ensure not to throw out these stickers or cards, and to rather put them in a Geniza.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Succot- The Mitzvah of Building the Succah
Succot- The Proper Way To Shake The Lulav in Halel
The Proper Time To Say Selichot
Customs of Elul
The Shofar as an Alarm Clock
Hatarat Nedarim – Annulling Vows Before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Reciting Tehillim During the Month of Elul and During the Ten Days of Repentance
Some Laws and Customs for the Month of Elul
The Proper Procedure for Reciting Selihot Without a Minyan
Selihot – The Recitation of the “Yag Middot”
Selichot and Tikun Hasot
Reciting the “Yag Midot” Without a Minyan
Performing Teshuva Each Day; Repenting for Negative Character Traits
Can a Man Represent His Wife in Hatarat Nedarim?
The Structure of the Selihot Service; Health as a Reward for Charity
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found