Question:
there is a segula to say a certain paragraph (“אמר רבי בנימין etc.”) when one has lost something…in there it has the word אלקא…. when one is actually saying it should they say this with a” ה” or as i have spelled it here? also i have seen it broken up into 2 parts sometimes..should one say the entire thing 3 times straight through, or ethe first part three times and then the second part three times? thanks!!!
Answer:
This minhag is brought down in Pesach Einayim ( Chida A:Z 18a), and in many other seforim , and the sefer Hameir Laaretz talks extensively about this topic. The word is said with a ה’, and it is permitted to say because it is part of a tefilloh. There are those that say אלקא דמאיר ענני three times and others say it only once. Some have a little tefila with it and others don’t. There are others that don’t even say the words אלקא דמאיר ענני, but only give tzedakah l’iliuy nishamas Rabi Meir Baal Hannes. It doesn’t really matter which way it is done, because the main point is that the person is giving the tzedakah l’iluiy nishmoso, and realizing that H-shem is the one who has the power to return his lost item if He so wants.
Sources:
Pesach Einayim ( Chida) A:Z 18a, Maharsa ibid, Refael Hamalach -1, Bais Tefiloh ( Pele Yoetz).
