We can light a candle on your behalf at Rebbe Meir's Holy Tomb. 
Find out how the ancient prayer of Amar Rabbi Binyamin serves as a segulah to recover what has been lost.
אֱלָקָא דְמֵאִיר עֲנֵנִי. אֱלָקָא דְמֵאִיר עֲנֵנִי. אֱלָקָא דְמֵאִיר עֲנֵנִי. בִּזְכוּת הַצְדָּקָה שֶׁאֲנִי נוֹדֶב לְעִלּוּי נִשְׁמַת רַבִּי מֵאִיר בַּעַל הַנֵּס, זְכוּתוֹ יָגֵן עָלֵינוּ, תַּעֲזֹר לִי לִמְצֹא אֶת הָאֲבֵדָה שֶׁאִבַּדְתִּי
“Said Reb Binyamin the son of Yefes: all [of reality] can be assumed obscured from sight – until the Holy One Blessed Be He, illuminates [man’s] eyes. As it is written (Bereishis 21:19) “And G-d opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water and she went and filled the drinking pouch”.
God of Meir, answer me.
God of Meir, answer me.
God of Meir, answer me.
In the merit of the charity which I am donating for the sake of the soul of Rabbi Meir the Miracle Worker may I find the object which I have lost.
When something important goes missing, many turn to the time-honored Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Segulah for finding lost objects. This powerful combination of prayer and charitable giving begins with the words “Amar Rabbi Binyamin”.
Below, you’ll find an in-depth exploration of the background, meaning, and power of the Amar Rav Binyamin tradition, as we deep dive into how to make the most of his lesson as part of the lost item prayer.
From Darkness to Discovery
Darkness and despair whirl together in a dance of blackness, ruling space. And then – through the word of the One Above – light and color emerge, gracing the world with fresh newness and sight. If that sounds to you like a description of Creation, you’d only be partially right.
As anyone who has lost an object and recited the famous prayer for lost objects knows, every moment of existence involves a re-creation of light, color, vision and reality…for Hashem makes it possible for us to see and find things in every moment. Without His will, there is nothing; and with His help, everything comes into being.
That’s why the prayer for lost objects begins with the Hebrew words ‘Amar Rabbi Binyamin’ (“Reb Binyamin said”). Reb Binyamin’s teaching expounded on the concept of how all is hidden from view – until Hashem wills us to see it. He based this on a verse from the Torah about Hagar (Avraham’s concubine), stuck in the desert and in desperate need of water, who could not see the well until Hashem miraculously opened up her eyes to see it.
When something important goes missing, many turn to the time-honored Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Segulah for finding lost objects. This powerful combination of prayer and charitable giving begins with the words “Amar Rabbi Binyamin”.
Below, you’ll find an in-depth exploration of the background, meaning, and power of the Amar Rav Binyamin tradition, as we deep dive into how to make the most of his lesson as part of the lost item prayer.
From Darkness to Discovery
Darkness and despair whirl together in a dance of blackness, ruling space. And then – through the word of the One Above – light and color emerge, gracing the world with fresh newness and sight. If that sounds to you like a description of Creation, you’d only be partially right.
As anyone who has lost an object and recited the famous prayer for lost objects knows, every moment of existence involves a re-creation of light, color, vision and reality…for Hashem makes it possible for us to see and find things in every moment. Without His will, there is nothing; and with His help, everything comes into being.
That’s why the prayer for lost objects begins with the Hebrew words ‘Amar Rabbi Binyamin’ (“Reb Binyamin said”). Reb Binyamin’s teaching expounded on the concept of how all is hidden from view – until Hashem wills us to see it. He based this on a verse from the Torah about Hagar (Avraham’s concubine), stuck in the desert and in desperate need of water, who could not see the well until Hashem miraculously opened up her eyes to see it.
Step-by-Step Guide to the Amar Rabbi Binyamin Segulah
Now that we’ve explored the background to the Amar Rabbi Binyamin tradition and how it can help us find lost objects, let’s tie this back into step-by-step directions. You’ve lost something, and really need to find it.
1. Recite Prayer
Recite the prayer for lost objects, starting with the words “Amar Rav Binyamin”
As you say the words of “Amar Reb Binyamin”, keep in mind the Amar Rabbi Binyamin meaning – that all is darkness, unless Hashem graces us with light and sight. The only answer is to turn to Him, and He answers anyone who prays to Him in sincerity.Note: if you have questions about how to pronounce amar, don’t worry; depending on their background, some say “amar Rav Binyamin” and some “umar Rav Binyamin”. Both pronunciations are equally acceptable and do not affect the meaning of the tefillah.
2. Invoke Merits
Keep in mind that you are davening to Hashem in the merit of Rebbe Meir Baal Haness.
As you say the second part of the tefillah [“Elaka D’meir Aneini”/ “G-d of Meir, answer me!”] and donate to charity in his merit, you are perpetuating Reb Meir’s legacy of kindness. This enables him to intercede on high on your behalf all the better.
Repeat the prayer three times
3. Donate
With this combined insight and merit, relax – you and your lost object are in Hashem’s hands. Background: Who was the Rav Binyamin of the Amar Rabbi Binyamin Segulah?
Rav Binyamin Bar Yefes was a third-generation Amora (Sage of the Gemara) who lived in Eretz Yisrael (Israel). During his time, Roman rule of the land was stiflingly oppressive, and the growing influence of Christianity only made life worse for the Jews. (Indeed, the teachings of the Amoraim of Eretz Yisrael in the Talmud Yerushalmi were never edited into final form because persecution forced most scholars to flee elsewhere.)
Rav Binyamin lived in an extraordinary time period in Jewish history, an era where darkness and light seemed to mingle into an almost indistinguishable blur. On the one hand, the teachings of Reb Binyamin and his peers were eternalized in the words of the Gemara and are still the lifeblood of Judaism today. On the other hand, bandits and lawlessness (which also sadly attracted youth from within the Jewish community) as well as abject loss characterized life for many. Rav Binyamin’s rebbe, the great Reb Yochanan Bar Naphcha, lost ten children in his lifetime. Yet even in this profound darkness, Reb Yochanan found a way to bring light to others. He would carry around a remnant of his last son to comfort parents bereaved of only one child, showing them that if he could find comfort after losing ten children, surely they could find strength after losing one.
So what Reb Binyamin internalized – and came to embody in his teachings – was the gift of sight: the ability to always see the light, even when hidden by darkness. It is no surprise, therefore, that the theme of the tefillah of Amar Rabbi Binyamin is all about how vision of Hashem’s world and the goodness in it is not something to take for granted.
The Prayer’s Source and the Prayer’s Message
Sefer Beraishis (Genesis) describes how Hagar strayed in the desert and turned to idol worship. Yet when her young son Yishmael repented and called out to G-d in prayer, she was miraculously gifted with vision to see and provide water for her dying child.
Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefes used this to give us a new perspective on sight, light, and life (found in Midrash Rabbah 53:14). This lesson ultimately became the way Jews throughout the ages began their prayer for lost objects – to the point that it became known as the tefillah of “Amar Rabbi Binyamin”.
Background: Who was the Rav Binyamin of the Amar Rabbi Binyamin Segulah?
Rav Binyamin Bar Yefes was a third-generation Amora (Sage of the Gemara) who lived in Eretz Yisrael (Israel). During his time, Roman rule of the land was stiflingly oppressive, and the growing influence of Christianity only made life worse for the Jews. (Indeed, the teachings of the Amoraim of Eretz Yisrael in the Talmud Yerushalmi were never edited into final form because persecution forced most scholars to flee elsewhere.)
Rav Binyamin lived in an extraordinary time period in Jewish history, an era where darkness and light seemed to mingle into an almost indistinguishable blur. On the one hand, the teachings of Reb Binyamin and his peers were eternalized in the words of the Gemara and are still the lifeblood of Judaism today. On the other hand, bandits and lawlessness (which also sadly attracted youth from within the Jewish community) as well as abject loss characterized life for many. Rav Binyamin’s rebbe, the great Reb Yochanan Bar Naphcha, lost ten children in his lifetime. Yet even in this profound darkness, Reb Yochanan found a way to bring light to others. He would carry around a remnant of his last son to comfort parents bereaved of only one child, showing them that if he could find comfort after losing ten children, surely they could find strength after losing one.
So what Reb Binyamin internalized – and came to embody in his teachings – was the gift of sight: the ability to always see the light, even when hidden by darkness. It is no surprise, therefore, that the theme of the tefillah of Amar Rabbi Binyamin is all about how vision of Hashem’s world and the goodness in it is not something to take for granted.
Deep Dive Into the Text
Now that we understand who Reb Binyamin bar Yefes was and where his teaching comes from, several deeper questions about the Amar Rabbi Binyamin tefillah arise:
First, why start the prayer by mentioning R. Binyamin at all, rather than simply beginning with the teaching itself?
And what connection exists between someone who lost an object and Hagar’s story? Even more so, we need to
understand the link between Rav Binyamin’s teaching and the prayer’s conclusion, where we invoke the merit of
Rebbe Meir Baal Haness (a great Tanna who lived generations before Rav Binyamin).
Not surprisingly, the answer to this whole set of questions can be offered in three words: LIGHT AMIDST DARKNESS.
Reb Binyamin Bar Yefes of “Amar Reb Binyamin” lived in an era where most people would have despaired of the Jewish nation’s continuity in Eretz Yisrael. Where he lived, there was poverty, crime, and suffering. But amidst all the difficulty, continued learning and teaching Torah, showing us how to find – and create – light, for his Torah teachings literally give us sight until this day. And since his life story exemplifies how to see where others cannot, it is appropriate that a prayer beseeching that Hashem grant us sight begins with his name.
But there’s more that we have to learn about light amidst darkness, and that comes from his actual teaching on the verse from Bereishis. When Hagar miraculously saw a well in the middle of nowhere, was it created for her that second – or had it really been there all along? According to Rav Binyamin Bar Yefes, it was there, in a sense, all along. How? Jewish tradition teaches us that every second of physical existence involves an act of re-creation of sorts from Hashem, for every second of life requires the active will of Hashem to sustain it.
That’s why miracles can occur in nature – because if nature is constantly being recreated, a miracle is but a creation of something different than what was created the moment before. Without Hashem’s will, all would cease and wither into darkness and void.
So in other words, light and color and vision are all aspects of being that are willed and recreated anew every millisecond. That is why, from the Jewish perspective, everything (as Hagar’s experience shows) becomes possible with prayer.
Even Hagar and her son, who had sinned with idol worship, merited water in the dry desert when they sincerely cried out to Hashem in repentance. While we may not be able to see how salvation can come, Hashem can create it within the next second and reveal it to our eyes – if we so merit. That is exactly what happened to Hagar – and that is exactly what the Amar Rabbi Binyamin tradition is all about.
Since the fastest possible way to merit miracles is through connecting to Hashem through prayer, we begin the prayer for lost items with the teaching of Amar Reb Binyamin. And, once we internalize the message of Rav Binyamin, we then turn to Hashem in tefillah, recognizing that only He can help us see light amidst the darkness.
Hagar…and Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
The conclusion of the Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Prayer asks for help in the merit of the great Rebbe Meir, that he intercede in heaven on behalf of all who donate charity for the elevation of his soul.
Why? We invoke the merit of the great Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, whose very name Meir means ‘giving light’. Rav Meir’s life and legacy is all about spreading the light of Torah kindness through the world, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Indeed, so deep was his commitment to helping others that he promised that even after his death he would intercede in heaven on behalf of people who helped others. We, too, then spread and perpetuate his light by donating to support needy families in Israel in the merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness.
Take Away Thoughts: Amar Rabbi Binyamin for Life
You’ve lost a precious object: a sentimental heirloom, a wallet stuffed with every ID card you have, or the car keys you really need in order to make your flight. Darkness and despair whirl together in a dance of blackness, ruling the space in front of you. And then – through the word and will of the One Above – light and color emerge, gracing the world with fresh newness and sight.
So the next time you’ve lost something – or the next time you encounter a challenge that seems to throw blackness and blindness in your face – remember the words of “Amar Rabbi Binyamin”. Our words of sincere prayer and our acts of charity have the power to bring light, sight, and color from Hashem into the world. So say the prayer – and see the light recreate and reveal itself.
