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hey s20 haven’t seen u on in awhile welcome back
Welcome back s2021.
First of all, I think that we need to define what is an Ayin Hara.
I know of two explanations:
1) Psychological – someone stares at you and gives you the creeps
2) Spiritual – Someone looks at you with bad intent and bad things happen. Why? because their malicious stare (and sentiments) can be like a prayer to Hashem.
I beleive that either of the above can happen.
does anyone do the red thread? or the yad that protects you from ayin hora?or the eye?
There is such a thing as Ayin Hara. But at a class i went, a way to protect ones self,is to use what you have for Mitzvot. For example, “Motty” has a big beautiful house but doesn’t share it with anyone. He never has guests and his door is closed. Basically, the heavenly advocates look at his doings and if they find fault, well, that’s the Ayin Hara, and “Dovy” also has a big house, but uses what Hashem gave him properly. His home is always open to guests. He has meetings to raise tzedaka. His home is open to torah classes. He has given himself a protection from Ayin Hara, because the Melachim can say, he used his gifts properly. So basically, if you have something you want to protect, use it L’Shem Shamayim. All the red strings, hamsas, etc… are helpless.
I have noticed that “evil eye” jewelery has become very popular lately. Is wearing something like that supposed to protect you or is it just another way of making money?
Also, another way to protect from Ayin Hara, is to keep those things hidden. For exp, If a couple is dating, they shouldn’t tell their friends, until they are engaged. Or let’s say you are trying to buy a home, you shouldn’t really tell anyone. The beracha comes when things are hidden and the whole world doesn’t have to know everything. keep things low key and B’H, all should be well.
Ayin Hara actually literally means, the eye of an evil one. Other-wise, in order for the expression to mean evil eye, it would lingusitically have to be ayin hara-ah, as ayin is loshon nekaiva. Just saying. An eye is not evil, but the evil person who has bad intentions towards someone, just might have enough zechyos (hard as that might be to believe), to have his tefilos for evil answered by Hashem. And if the person towards whom he directs his evil thoughts is possibly lacking in some area, it just might be enough to tip the scales against him.
This is one reason why tefila b’tzibur is better than yichidus. Collectively ALL our merits might tip the scales in someone’s favor for his bakashos, even if he alone does not deserve it.
I’m not so much the “Ayen Horah” type as the “Al tiftach peh l’sotan” believer. I have seen this over and over again.
I once heard a shiur from Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, a noted Kabbalist, where he compared (with a chuckle in his voice) the red string to Avodah Zara.
Yes, ayin hara is very real. i remember learning that ayin hara can come when one looks at his friend’s beracha with a critical eye. i.e. “what did he do to deserve that?” at this point judgement takes place in shamaim for both parties. if the person who received the beracha is indeed found “unworthy” then the beracha is taken away. but the person who is looking on with the critical eye is found to have a lot of beracha as well he is considered a cafuy tova and some of his beracha is taken away as well.
I don’t know how or if it works, but I know that my family has experienced many yeshuos by following the pasuk ???? ???? ?? ?’ ?-????.
the tosefta says that wearing a red string around the wrist is darkei emori and is therefore assur m’d’oraisa. there are probably other opinions, but apparently, rabbi yaakov hillel holds like that. (he’s a mekubal, and he probably knows what he’s talking about.)
As for the “hamsa,” its origins are very suspicious (there is much archaeological evidence that it comes from avodah zara, and the sifrei kabbalah make no mention of the “hamsa”), and according to Rabbi Zev Leff, people shouldn’t use/believe in it, unless they have a strong mesorah for it.
(many sepharadim have a mesorah for it. most askenazim don’t.)
The Qur’an mentions the Hamsa as one of the idolatrous images their leader uprooted. Apparently he was successful where we, unfortunately, were not.
Quark2: Please quote me the source of the Gemarah u have mentioned, I believe its an error, for example we see the Gemarah asks how Reb Yochanan wasnt scared of Ayin Horah & the gemarah says that he was from Shaivet Yosef which are shielded from ayin horah, why dosent the gemarah just say that he didnt worry about it?!
tell you what
if you really do believe in ayin hara but just say you dont, i bet the ayin hara boogeyman will get you real bad
i dont get it! in lots of places eg the thing you put into a newborns crib it has a hamsa so it must be in the sifrei kabbala(although i have never learnt it obviously)but im sure it must be from kabbala- it is such a jewish symbol! also i have another question- how come all this hamsa jewelry is much more popular with non frum ppl than with frum?
My halacha teacher this year said ayin hara doesn’t happen unless you believe in it.
Then he showed us something cool to see if you have ayin hara or not.
He filled up a bowl with 6 spoons of water then you dip the tips of your 10 fingers in the water and put in on your face.
After that, count how many spoons are in the bowl. If there’s more than 6, you have ayin hara on you. 2 girls in the class tried it. 1 girl had less than 6 spoons and 1 girl had more. My sister tried it at home and had 9 spoons at the end!
Ayin Hora is real and is often the cause of why bad things happen to people who are wealthy…and flaunt it.
kylbdnr
Your story gave me a good laugh. Thanks!
I had heard that you shouldn’t talk about the vacations you took, about how smart your kid is, etc., because it will arouse ayin hara in the person you are talking to. You will share in the blame if the other person is caused to think about why is this guy so lucky or fortunate? You cause them to be judged, and are judged in turn.
In practical terms, it is hard to not kvell over a sister’s upcoming marriage. We are simply expected to have some sensitivity about whether this news might cause some small amount of jealousy or annoyance or resentment. Watching what you say goes farther to protecting you from ayin hara than something you wear.
skiaddict said: “in lots of places eg the thing you put into a newborns crib it has a hamsa so it must be in the sifrei kabbala(although i have never learnt it obviously)but im sure it must be from kabbala- it is such a jewish symbol!”
No, it’s not in the sifrei kabbalah. It’s not in any seforim. It was incorporated into Jewish CULTURE from Islam. It originally stems from the “Hand of Venus,” which is a Greek avodah zarah. The Muslims adopted it as the “Hand of Fatima,” who was Mohammed’s daughter. The Christians refer to it as the “Hand of Mary.” I assume we all know who that was. The Jews who wear it call it “Yad shel Miriam.” Go figure.
Mesorah: It’s by the Zugos Gemaras in the tenth Perek of Pesachim. And it seems (to me, at least) pretty clear that there are some types of Ayin Harah that affect the world no matter what and some that only affect people who are concerned about them.
About the Chamsa, it is an almost universal Avodah Zarah symbol stemming from many religions. Interestingly enough, another early Kabbalistic symbol is also used in almost every mythology to represent some form of Avodah Zarah. That symbol would be the hexagram, or more commonly known nowadays as the “Jewish Star”/”Star of David”. Both symbols are said to hold Kabbalistic powers. While I am very skeptical of Jews dealing with anything that sounds like Avodah Zarah, it is not outside the realm of possibility that Hakadosh Baruch Hu imbued certain symbols with certain “powers” and that the Ovdei Avodah Zarah discovered this in the same way that Kabbalists did. I would still stay away from anything involving them though.
If you are terrified of it, you are just making yourself susceptible to it. If you flaunt what you have, even if you arent afraid, you’re making yourself very susceptible to it.
If you practice Hatzne Leches, and trust HB”H and arent worried about it, then your good to go.
That is Ayin Horah in a nutshell.
kylbdnr; just saw your post, I know you meant it seriously but
LMHO! Girls, lol! I can’t stop chuckling. Thanks!
There’s another test but I cant type when i’m ROTF.
I’ll get back to you when I calm down and think of s/t funnier.
Doesn’t the Gemorah say 99% of people die early due to ayin hora?
Sam, if you take a peek at the wiccan books, you’ll see that, amongst other things, they quote kabballa or cabbala, or perhaps qaballa if they’re in a good mood. The four elements are common to all other-than-science systems. They took ideas from up way back when, and continue until our time. In the little bit that I read about Greek mythology, it was interesting to note that when you get past the lowly behavior attributed to deities, they have stuff that match pretty well with the setup according to Kabballa. So, as is often important to point out, we shouldn’t base our actions on Ovdei Avoda Zara, not by following them nor by dropping anything found alluded to in their writings. We come from our own sources and that’s it.
The Gemara in Bava Basra says that 90% of people are in the cemetery due to ayin hara. That doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t end up there anyway, thank you nachash (also Bava Basra).
The gemara talks about zugos, and says that if you’re not makpid, then it won’t bother you. That’s because zugos brings on SH’Ds. They don’t like it when you obsess over them, so they come and get one who is obsessed, when he trips up.
That is not ayin hara. That has a power to be me’orer kitrug, whether you pay attention or not.
the less you say, the better.
I think you can find the Magen David symbol in the ancient mosaics in Eretz Yisroel. I can’t really say that is a good proof, though, since you can find some other symbols there, too. Perhaps not all of them were so Frum. Also, the Gemara says that if a non Jew made one of the images that we are prohibited from making, you may Daven there. I doubt that applies to the Jupiter images though.
Yesterday, I saw a Tshuva from Reb Moshe. The questioner asked if he is Mechuyav to rip off the Magen David from the Paroches, since as we all know, it is Avoda Zara Mamish. Reb Moshe replied that although he doesn’t know the significance of the symbol, while he does suggest one, it has been on Perochos for centuries — long before Zionism. All of our greatest leaders had it in their Shul and it never bothered anyone.
Actually, in one of the Heimishe papers, a few years ago, there was a supplement about old Shuls of Europe. In the picture of the big Shul of Satmar, you can see a nice Magen David on the outside of the Shul.
So here’s the question. Although my family is genetically Sephardic, we have been “Ashkenaz” for quite a few generations. I have always felt weird about the hamsa. We have one that someone gave us with Birkas Habayis on it. Can I get rid of it? Is it shaimos?
why is a magen david avoda zara mamish.
Chacham said: “why is a magen david avoda zara mamish.”
Because it’s the symbol of Zionism, which is avodah zarah mamash.
(Don’t argue with me. I myself don’t agree with what I just wrote.)
I believe in a T’shuvah about whether it is Muttar to have an Israeli flag in a Shul, Rav Moshe writes that just because the founders of the Zionist movement were Resha’im (his Lashon) that doesn’t make their symbols anything Assur.
oy vey- as long as you don’t agree with what you wrote.
Chacham: The earliest example of a Magen David yet found is from the Northern Kingdom, which was known for Avoda Zarah even more than Yehuda. Also, the Western occultist movement — which is about as idolatrous as you can get — adopted it as the “seal of Solomon.” When people call the Magen David a”z they don’t know it, but they are somewhat right by accident.
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