Submitted by Gail Drutman on Tue, 11/20/2018 - 14:27
Superstition and the
ayin hara, the evil eye, plays an interesting role in Judaism. Not only are these superstitions folklore that have been passed down from generation to generation.
These superstitions and beliefs are discussed in the Talmud and Kabbalah in different events. What exactly is the evil eye in Judaism all about? It is the idea that someone can cause you harm just by looking at you. In other words by giving you the evil eye, the ayin hara. It is believed that once the evil eye has been provoked, the only way to fight it, is to use magic.
This magic is believed to be blue and red objects as these colors repel the evil eye. It is common to find these protection objects in the form of jewelry. The most common ones are the evil eye pendant which is generally a pendant with a blue eye amulet, the Hamsa the five fingered hand which is also used for protection and the red string which has been specially wrapped around the graves of holy Rabbi’s to offer protection. Its popular in jewelry designs, to include the evil eye in the hamsa hand.
The ever so
popular Star of David used in jewelry is also a source of protection from the evil eye. In it common for Ashkenazi Jews to say kinehora, let it be without the evil eye. The Sephardi Jews say Ben Porat Yosef, ,a descendent of Josef, to offer protection. The concept of the evil eye is first mentioned with connection to Sarah who in her jealousy, gave the maidservant Hagar the evil eye which in turn caused her to miscarry. In the Talmud, it explains that the reason we do tashlich by a water source with fish on Rosh Hashana, is because fish are not affected by the evil eye. This is also one of the reasons why some hamsa pendants have a fish in the middle of the hand as the fish are not affected by the evil eye and so we wish to be protected just like the fish of the sea. Choosing the right amulet to protect you is an individual choice. You have to decide which amulet speaks to you and offers you the most protection. But once you have found the right evil eye jewelry amulet, you can rest assured that you will wear the pendant everyday and enjoy the protection it offers from the evil eye.
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