To Ask a Question So as Not to Leave Empty-Handed
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More for the aforementioned [recipe so as not to leave empty-handed]: wash your hands and feet in warm water and file the toenail of the left or right hallux with a new knife. Using a needle—not ink—engrave in your toenail the following names [i.e., Pani’el and ‘Amma’el] in the arch of the nail, and the name Antanai in the middle, and adjure thus three times when the sun rises:
I adjure you Pani’el, Sariel, ‘Amma’el, in the name that is engraved on my right side, the name Antanai, that you reveal to me what I ask of you—explained clearly so that I know and understand what you tell me, and do not frighten me or do me any harm in the world. And may it not be a burden that I troubled you, as it is for my needs that I do so. And now, go in peace, Antanai and his entourage.
Afterwards, put the toenail to your ear and listen. And this is the design that should be made on the toenail [an image appears in original].
And there are those who say that it should be like this: Pani’el, ‘Amma’el, Antniel.
Credits
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
