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Dear Rebbetzin Chana Bracha,
I’m concerned about Ayin
Hara. Last week, someone commented on my special water bottle: how nice and
unique it was. The next day it broke. Similar kinds of things happen often to
me and to people I know. For example, someone asked my friend if she could look
at her chicken coop to get an idea of how to make her own. The next day my
friend found one of her favorite chickens dead. This could not be just a random
incident, since none of her chickens had died for the last several months. I’ve
become really afraid of the evil eye. Each time someone mentions something nice
that I have or do, I cringe inside with fear that I may now lose it. I am
trying my hardest to hide whatever I get that is new, but you cannot hide
everything, like a new car! On the other hand, I’ve heard that Ayin Hara
has no power if you don’t believe in it. Yet, how can I not believe in the evil
eye when I have experienced time after time the loss of something precious,
soon after someone has been enchanted by it?
Ma’ayan Iris (name changed)
 |
| Hamsa against the evil eye |
Dear Ma’ayan,
I
can understand that you are concerned about Ayin Hara. Although it is
said that the evil eye doesn’t harm people who don’t believe in it,
nevertheless, the Torah, Talmud and Halacha are replete with cases of Ayin
Hara. Moreover, the Sages were very careful to protect themselves against Ayin
Hara, and established numerous halachic guidelines to protect oneself from הזק ראיה/hezek reiyah – the damage of the
eye. For example, we do not call a father and son up to
the Torah one after the other, in order to avoid Ayin Hara (Shulchan
Aruch, Orech Chayim 141). It is forbidden to stand by the neighbor’s field and look
when the crops are high, in order not to damage them by Ayin Hara… It
is good manners, when one sees one’s neighbor busy at his work to bless him,
“May you succeed in your work” (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 183:6, Laws of
Financial Damage). Some people do not believe in Ayin Hara,
claiming, “I’m the master of my own destiny; therefore other people’s energy
cannot hurt me.” There is truth to this claim but it is not exact. We do have
free will, but so does the person who sends negative energy. Therefore, we need
to find the right balance between taking protective precautions without
becoming overly neurotic about Ayin Hara and negative energy. Too much
preoccupation and fear of Ayin Hara lowers our vibration and makes us
more susceptible, according to the principle of, “what you resist persists.”
The Human Eye Has Power to Affect Our Environment
Just
as we are surrounded by air that cannot be seen, so is there invisible energy
all around us. When we come into a holy place, where people, who are close to
Hashem think holy thoughts, pray, learn Torah and perform mitzvot, we can feel
the holy energy. On the other hand, in a place where people with negative
thoughts and actions reside, negative energy can be sensed. Dr. Masaru Emoto found that human thought has
the power to directly affect the world around us. He demonstrated this with
pictures of frozen water under a microscope, after people had directed their
thoughts at the water. Amazingly, when subjected to good thoughts, the frozen
water crystalized into beautiful shapes. Conversely, when people thought
negative thoughts near the water, the shapes became lop-sided and ugly. Even
more potent than thoughts, the human eye is an energy center that can send out
either negative or positive energy. By means of looking, a person affects reality, through Ayin Hara, and Ayin Tova
(The Good Eye). Ayin Tova has an even greater influence (Rav Tzadok of
Lublin, Takanat Hashavin 6). Some people have a high threshold of
susceptibility to negative energy, but even they are not always able to avoid
the influence of very high density of Ayin Hara that some people send
out.
Bil’am’s Evil Eye
The
concept of Ayin Hara plays a pivotal role throughout Parashat Balak.
The Torah tells us that Bilam lifted up his eyes in his third attempt to curse
the Jewish people:
ספר במדבר
פרק כד (ב) וַיִּשָּׂא בִלְעָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֹׁכֵן לִשְׁבָטָיו
וַתְּהִי עָלָיו רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים:
“Bilam
lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes…” (Bamidbar
24:2)
Rashi
learns from the expression, “lifted up his eyes” that Bilam tried to impose the
evil eye upon Israel. Rabbeinu Bachaya adds that when Bilam saw “Israel
dwelling according to its tribes,” he noticed that their camps were organized
in such a way, that the tent openings faced away from each other, to avoid
causing evil eye to one another. Why did Bilam, specifically now, after
realizing that the doors of Israel were facing away from one another, try to
impose his Ayin Hara on Israel? The camp of Israel was covered by the
Cloud of Hashem until the sin of the Golden Calf, when the Cloud departed and
the camp of Israel was revealed. Ayin Hara only has power over that
which is revealed to the eye. Therefore, when Bilam realized that the tribes of
Israel were exposed, he wanted to send them his evil eye. However, even so,
Bilam’s evil eye had no power over the Children of Israel because of the
holiness of the camp of Israel. This holy protection was the result of the
opening of each tent facing away from one another, so that the insides of the
tents would not be revealed to one another (The Taz on the Torah, Bamidbar
24:2).
Developing a Good Eye is The Best Protection from the Evil
Eye
“Anyone
who has mastered these three things is from the students of Avraham Avinu, and
[anyone who has mastered three other things is from the students of the wicked
Bil’am. One who has a good eye, a low spirit and a humble soul – is from the
students of Avraham Avinu. One who has an evil eye, a high spirit and a wide
soul – is from the students of the wicked Bilam...” (Pirkey Avot 5:19).
Avraham
is praised for having a “good eye” which entails the characteristic of הסתפקות/histapkut
– ‘satisfaction.’ This is exemplified also by Ya’acov, who said, “I have
everything” (Bereishit 33:11), rather than Esau, who claimed, “I have a
lot” (Ibid. 33:9), implying that he still wanted more. We need to be students
of Avraham Avinu, who was satisfied with what he had, and didn’t constantly
seek to amass more material possessions. Even a shoelace and string he refused
to receive from the King of Sedom. This character trait of developing a good
eye is the best protection from the evil eye.
The Mitzvot Protect against Ayin Hara
Rabbi
Dessler asked his father how it could be fair that a person may suffer because
of the jealousies of another. His father answered him that the person, whose
possessions have caused jealousy, may have been careless and flaunted his
possessions causing jealousy to arise. This jealousy causes the other person to
cry out in pain and his cry rises up to the Heavenly Court. Pele Yoetz adds
that although a person should not flaunt his wisdom,
his good deeds, or his wealth, he must simultaneously act thoughtfully so that
others do not sense that he is being cautious. If someone is poor and notices
that wealthy people avoid him, or someone who is childless notices that a
blessed mother of many children is avoiding her, this could cause them
distress. We must also not refrain from doing any mitzvah due to being
concerned about Ayin Hara. For example, we should not be afraid to bring
a poor man into our home or speak publicly to teach people Torah wisdom. One
“who keeps a mitzvah will be not know any evil,” for a mitzvah protects – it is
a shield and armor.
Strengthen Your Emuna System and Protect Yourselves Against
Negative Energy
We
cannot just dismiss the power of negative energy as nonexistent if we don’t
believe in it. Just as there is light and holiness in the world, so does the
opposite exist. We would be foolish not to strengthen our immune system in
order to protect ourselves against virus and bacteria. Likewise, we need to
strengthen our emunah system in order to protect ourselves against negative
spiritual energy. By raising our spiritual vibration, developing self-esteem
and viewing ourselves with Hashem’s perpetually kind and open eye, it is
possible to rise above the influence of negative energy. We can also work on
removing our own negative energy toward others by consciously sending positive
energy to them. Yet, the greatest protection is to become happy with our
portion like Avraham, and thereby avoid sending out an Evil Eye to others, as
it states, “the evil eye has no power over the eye which did not want to take
nourishment from what did not belong to it” (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot
20a).
Wonderful!
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