[Avodah] segulah of reciting Parshas Va'yishlach

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Moshe Feldman wrote:
> Someone told me that the Maharil cites a custom that a Jew
> who anticipates an encounter with heathen authorities recites
> as a precautionary segulah measure Parashas Vayishlach (up to
> and not including the episode with Shechem and Dinah) on the
> Motzaei Shabbos beforehand.

This can be taken in two diferent ways:

If one merely "recites" it, and this recitation is done at some particular time on the calendar, then it seems to give the word "segulah" a connotation of "magical incantation", which bothers me to the point of suspecting it might be assur.

But if one *learns* the parsha, and does so *anytime* he needs to prepare for how to deal with non-Jewish governments, then "segulah" has the meaning of "ability", and I have often heard of gedolim who would do this in such situations.

(For another example of "segulah" meaning "ability", see Shemirat Shabbat K'Hilchata, perek 9, footnote 7.)

Akiva Miller