Spices Box

Hamsa ben porat Josef framed designed by the israeli artist Shraga Landesman

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall (Genesis 49:22, King James Version)
This is the blessing Jacob gives to Joseph before his death. We find this verse written on amulets from the first century, and with good reason. In Talmudic times, Talmudic sages taught that Joseph and his descendants were protected against the Evil Eye; that is, the Evil Eye has no power over them. The Talmud compares Joseph’s descendants to fish in the sea—the water covers them, so the Evil Eye can’t control them. So it is for Joseph’s descendants, too: the Evil Eye can’t control them.