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Jewish World Review
The Other ‘Evil Eye’
By
Yaffa Ganz
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Several months ago, the world began looking somewhat hazy. When I realized that no,it wasn't smog, I decided the time had come to remove a cataract which had made its home on my eye. The procedure left me walking around in world of psychedelic colors. Although I couldn't see very well for a few days, I could still hear, so I attended a religious lecture that sounded interesting. And what I heard set me thinking.
The religious lecture dealt with the topic of Judgment. Not the Divine kind, but the human variety. How we judge our fellow man. Thanks to the Chafetz Chaim, our generation is more aware of the evils of Lashon Harah — Evil Speech (i.e. gossip and related topics) even if we don't always manage to stay clear of the pitfalls. But, said our lecturer, Lashon Harah is only a manifestation of something even worse — an Ayin Hara — an Evil Eye.
Good Speech, said the rabbi, depends upon viewing the world with an Ayin Tova — a good and benevolent eye. If we see our fellow man/woman and judge him/her in an uncritical, well disposed and favorable manner — we surely will not speak badly of him.
The idea of an Evil Eye intrigued me. What did it mean? How did it work? I knew people were always making mention of the Evil Eye, but was it really dangerous? And if so, what could we do about it? A little Biblical research uncovered a virtual treasure trove of information on the Evil Eye in the Torah portion in which Balak is discussed.
This is where we find the story of Bil'am, the gentile prophet whose prophetic status was considered equal to that of Moses. But Bil'am was afflicted with a fatal flaw; he had an Evil Eye — an ayin harah!
The Torah describes him as having a "hollow-holed eye". This physical disability, however, was a reflection of a deeper, spiritual flaw. While not mitigating his great gifts, the Torah describes him as a one-eyed scoundrel and conniver. With his limited uni-lens vision, Bil'am did not see the world clearly. Instead of G-d's infinite love and goodness and blessing, he chose to see hatred, sorrow and fear. Instead of mercy, he saw the glow of power. With his narrow vision, he saw only greed instead of generosity. Therefore, instead of enriching the world by acting as a pipeline for G-d's Divine blessings, he attempted to thwart G-d's Will and to distribute curses. Such were the distortive powers of an ayin hara.
On the other hand (or eye….) our father Abraham symbolized an Ayin Tova — a Good Eye. He gazed upon the world with love and compassion. He looked for the Divine Image in everyone he encountered, including his less-than-perfect nephew Lot and King Avimelech of Gerar. Even the evil men of Sodom were not summarily dismissed. Abraham embraced all of mankind, firmly believing that every person was created in the Divine Image and each had within him the power to be good. Because of this compassion, because of the ayin tova which he displayed toward G-d's world and creatures, Abraham became a source of blessing for all of mankind. His were the first pair of "Jewish eyes" — an a yin tova versus Bil'am's ayin hara.
Now please note: Abraham was not in the least bit myopic. He simply saw reality as G-d wished it to be seen. Is the glass half empty or half full? Either answer may be correct, but one view sets the stage for pessimism, cynicism and sorrow, while the other readies us for optimism, love, hope and faith. A pithy expression in Yiddish sums it up: Think good and it will be good!
Rabbi Akiva was another one with good, Jewish eyes. "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," was his golden rule —- a klal gadol ba'Torah — a basic rule in the Torah. Hillel the Elder went even further. When asked to explain the entire Torah while a cynical would-be convert stood on one foot, he simply stated, "Don't do unto others that which is hateful to you. All the rest is commentary. Now go and learn."
But that sounded too simple. Maybe the convert understood, but I didn't. Is that really all the Torah? Important yes; but all ?? What about the other 612 commandments? Could the entire Torah really be condensed into one seemingly minute instruction? Suddenly as my psychedelic colors began to clear up and I regained two-eyed vision, I slowly began to see the light. A G-d of love and kindness and mercy, of goodness and blessing, could not be properly seen or approached through an Ayin Harah. For an Ayin Hara leads to harsh, critical judgment which leads to feelings of superiority, which leads to Evil Speech and to sin'as chinam — dissonance and baseless hatred.
An Ayin Tova, on the other hand, leads to judging people kindly (or not judging at all!). It prevents criticism and separatism. It prevents us from doing unto others that which we'd rather they didn't do unto us. It leads to ahavas chinam — "free", undemanding, unrequited love. It creates a world of shalom and unity and re'ut — friendship. This is what Torah is all about. Putting the pieces of our fractured selves and souls together and joining our fellow Jews in an attempt to unite with the ultimate Unity. So long as we are divided, we cannot become one with the One, Indivisible G-d. This then is the foundation stone of the entire Torah.
So my cataract proved to be a highly propitious push towards clearer vision. A new pair of glasses with a new prescription to fit my newly unclouded sight painted the world in Jewish colors. The rose-colored lenses focused on compassion, understanding and peace. On love and forgiveness. On menshlichkeit. As Hillel said, the rest is all commentary. All I have to do now is remember to keep those glasses squeaky clean.
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JWR contributor Yaffa Ganz is the award-winning author of more than forty titles, including "A Different Dimension".
ENJOY THIS COLUMN?
We recommend you pick up "A Different Dimension", the author's latest. From contemplating the complexities of candlesticks to pondering the power of computers -- with every imaginable topic in between -- this book is a delight for the mind and the soul; a fresh, original look at life.
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© 2009, Yaffa Ganz
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