Ayin Hara: A dangerous spiritual force or behavioural guide?

 few days ago, I received a Whatsapp message advertising the services of an “Ayin Hara lady” who could, it promised, banish any unwanted afflictions caused by the Evil Eye. Molten lead included. All for the small fee of $101!

The advertisement prompted me to recall an excellent Shiur I heard from Rabbi Aubrey Hersh a few years ago on the subject. I also noted that it has relevance to yesterday’s Torah reading, with Bilaam characterised by the sages as having possessed an “Evil Eye”.

Rabbi Hersh’s unexpected source for the concept of Ayin Hara was a series of verses towards the end of Parashat Mishpatim in which we are warned not to oppress or taunt strangers, widows and orphans. If such vulnerable people are mistreated, the passage continues, there will be a measure-for-measure punishment: “My wrath will be kindled, and I will slay you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children orphans.” (Shemot 22:23).

Without entering into the many questions that this raises concerning the nature of divine justice, there is a very clear message which can be taken from these verses. If you are fortunate enough to have been blessed with family, health and wealth, then these are blessings which God has showered upon you in order for you to have the wherewithal to improve and develop yourself and help those around you. But what of someone who has been blessed by God and subsequently uses their position in order to taunt and oppress those who are lacking and vulnerable? “If you oppress him, [beware,] for if he cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry.” (Shemot 22:22).

This then is the reason why one should not flaunt one’s blessings in front of others. Proudly talking of one’s children and grandchildren – or one’s investments and vacations – in front of others in a way that might lead to jealousy and resentment. If people are oppressed because you are blessed, then the “Evil Eye” will cause it to be divinely redressed. It is not a dark or evil force that can be offset by strange rituals of molten lead. It is divine punishment for a severe character failing and misuse of divine blessings which can be set right by, as the Haftarah concluded yesterday, “walking modestly with God”.

Many of the traditional teachings concerning Ayin Hara also fit this model. Yosef was understood to be immune to the effects of Ayin Hara. This imparts an important principle since Yosef did achieve a position of wealth and prominence in his later years but, in contrast to (and perhaps in response to) the behaviour of his youth, his blessings were used to benefit those around him rather than engender jealousy.

The notion that fish symbolise some form of antidote or exception to Ayin Hara likewise makes sense without viewing them as magical creatures imbued with special protective powers. While fish are “blessed with multitudes of offspring” – the prayer recited Rosh Hashanah night asks God to make us as fertile as fish – their blessing is concealed beneath the water and thus not considered to be flaunted at others.

One prominent example of Ayin Hara found in the Midrash is found in the context of Sara and Hagar, where Sara is understood to have “placed an Evil Eye” on Hagar after she conceived, causing her to miscarry. Setting aside the implications for peshat and how literally we approach such a Midrash, this certainly fits the teaching presented here since Hagar, as a result of conceiving where Sara could not, now looks down on and mocks her mistress causing her to cry out in pain to God.

The evil eye here, again, is not about magical or demonic powers but rather it is a profound metaphor for character development, the proper approach to blessings and training oneself to consider the feelings of others.

Bilaam’s association with the Evil Eye is a little more complex. Judaism Reclaimed develops a theory, based on Midrashic interpretation sprinkled with a few hints from the verses, that Bilaam primary complaint against the Jewish nation arose from a form of jealousy. He recognises that they have ancestral merit working in their favour from the Avot and he is constantly attempting to argue that they are not worthy of this special assistance. He wants to present the nations as unjustifiably slighted as a result of Israel’s blessings and cries out to God in prayer as a result.

However, there is an additional dimension to Ayin Hara which is particularly pertinent to our discussion. Rambam, in his commentary to the 5th chapter of Avot (5:19), discusses the reasons why those with “Ayin Ra” are labelled students of Bilaam. There he contrasts the behaviour and attitudes to materialism displayed by Bilaam and Avraham. Bilaam, he points out, was so motivated by the wealth promised by Balak that he rushed over from Syria to curse the Israel; Avraham in contrast, even having fought in the battle of the 4-5 kings to rescue Lot, refused to take even a shoe strap as compensation.

We can right ask ourselves whether a person demanding $101 to perform some magical rite in order to “cure Ayin Hara” is actually perpetuating the very ill that she is claiming to heal.

For comments and discussion of this post on Facebook, click here.

The confusing command to "walk in God's ways"

A repeated theme in yesterday’s Torah reading is the instruction that we are to walk in God’s ways – understood by our sages as a commandment to imitate God’s attributes as they define them: “Just as He is merciful so must you be merciful, just as He is gracious so must you be gracious”. As Judaism Reclaimed explores, this is a perplexing idea – particularly from the Rambam’s perspective what does it mean to mimic a deity which is understood to be beyond comparison and cannot even be described in human language?

One fascinating discussion of this concept can be found in the first chapter of Rambam’s Hilchot De’ot, where he contrasts the chacham (wise person) with the chassid. It would seem that according to Rambam’s understanding, an important step in correctly achieving and internalizing wisdom is balancing one’s character so that one’s perspective and analysis is not skewed by undesirable traits. This is the aim of a chacham whose connection to God is focused upon wisdom and intellectual pursuits. It may even be suggested that “walking in God’s ways” means attempting to minimize any imbalance and faulty reasoning in the same way as, it is understood, God’s “thought process” operates without external interference.

In contrast to the “chacham”, Rambam depicts a different mode of approaching God – the “chassid” whose “actions are more numerous than his wisdom” (see commentary to Avot chapter 3:9). The chassid, it would seem, seeks to “walk in God’s ways” by copying His actions of kindness as defined by the sages rather than idealizing the path of balance. The Rashba compiles a list of Talmudic mentions of chassidim, who are depicted as meditating for hours before and after prayer, searching out and removing dangerous objects from the public domain, and being prepared to use all of their possessions for the benefit of others.

Another fascinating dimension of this commandment to “walk in God’s ways” is the extent to which it overlaps with another biblical injunction: To love one’s fellow as oneself. Paraphrasing the sages, Rambam in the final chapter of Hilchot Avel defines this law as performing acts of kindness for others which one would want them to perform for oneself – such as comforting mourners, visiting the sick and rejoicing at weddings.

What emerges is that, when performing such a prescribed act of kindness, one may well be simultaneously fulfilling two separate biblical commands. The first, walking in God’s path, would be categorized as bein adam lamakom (between man and God) – strengthening one’s relationship and connection with God by making oneself more like Him. The second – loving one’s fellow as oneself – is more associated with bein adam lechaveiro (between man and man) as it improves the relationships between people and within communities.

Aside from the different focuses of these two commandments, there may also be circumstances in which they can apply independently of each other.

Imagine a scenario in which one travels for hours to visit a mourner only to find that he has traveled abroad or has closed the house of mourning for the day. From the perspective of “walking in God’s ways”, one may well have succeeded, through the attempted visit, in train his or her traits towards being a chacham or chasid. It is harder, however, to say that one has actually performed an act of kindness towards the other.

Alternatively, for a person whose personality has already stretched too far to the side of kindness towards others (the Rambam says this needs to be balanced with concern for one’s own wellbeing), a long trip to a mourner’s house may not be viewed as “walking in God’s ways” – but nevertheless should certainly constitute an “act of kindness” if he gets to comfort the mourner.

For comments and discussion of this post, click here and also here (on Avot Today)

Maimonidean middot: how Rambam relates to character development

The chapter of Judaism Reclaimed which relates to parashat Vayishlach explores various religious dimensions of interpersonal mitzvot. The parashah certainly provides several potent examples for examining questionable character traits, including Shimon and Levi’s massacre of Shechem and the inappropriate actions of Reuven. While Ya’akov initially rebukes Shimon and Levi for their political miscalculation, it is only later on his death bed that he highlights the character flaws that lay behind his sons’ sins in this parashah.

What, however, is the significance of negative character traits within the Maimonidean understanding of Judaism? Rambam describes how the element of humanity which transcends physicality and can connect to God for eternity is purely the intellect (sechel). How then does he explain the great religious significance placed on character development?

On a basic level, Rambam understands that proper intellectual development is premised upon the person having first achieved a properly balanced set of character traits. As he explains in Hilchot De’ot, each correct 'de'ah' (or ‘character trait’) is the optimal path between two extremes. Over-indulgence and abstinence, brazenness and timidity, generosity and miserliness are all sets of harmful extremes between which a middle path of balance must be navigated. A crucial precondition for the intellect’s ability to function properly, however, is the correct balance of all aspects of the soul. Each imbalanced trait creates a 'mechitzah' — an interference from the physical realm — which weakens the ability of the intellect to grasp and internalise divine truths. This explains why Rambam insists that prophecy, the highest state of the intellect, cannot be found among people with undeveloped character traits, and "not with those who are lazy, sad, frivolous or light-headed".

Rambam relates this teaching to a central theme in the Torah, the repeated demand that we are to “walk in God’s ways” – explained by Rambam in Hilchot De’ot to refer to the intermediate path between extremes in order to facilitate the greatest possible intellectual connection to God. But is it really satisfactory to limit the role of character development in Judaism to a facilitatory role? To a pre-condition for intellectual perfection? This does not appear to be the approach of the sages, who interpret the very same verse of “walking in God’s ways” to refer to positive emulation of God’s actions: “Just as He is Merciful so must you be merciful”.

We note how the conclusion of the Moreh Nevuchim implies a far more positive role for character development. Moving beyond the correct balancing of traits found in Hilchot De’ot, we find that a far more substantive emulation of God is implied by "walking in God’s ways". According to this section, a person's ultimate purpose is to internalise "chessed, mishpat and tzedakah" (kindness, justice and charity). We explore some profound ideas of Rabbis S. R. Hirsch and Joseph B. Soloveitchik as to how the Torah’s teachings of “loving one’s fellow as oneself” do not merely require certain kind actions to be performed. Rather, at their ideal level, they challenge the actor to transform his or her entire perspective of the world in order to view it from beyond the selfish interests and biases of their own personal needs and requirements (more on this here). Thus kindness and character development can have a direct and impact on one’s intellectual development.

These two dimensions of character development and kindness within Rambam’s understanding of Judaism can also be seen in their separate halachic sources. The first chapter of Hilchot De’ot focuses on a person’s need to balance his or her traits correctly strictly in terms of facilitating one’s own intellectual development:

“The straight path: This [involves discovering] the midpoint temperament of each and every trait that man possesses [within his personality.] This refers to the trait which is equidistant from either of the extremes, without being close to either of them. Therefore, the early Sages instructed a man to evaluate his traits, to calculate them and to direct them along the middle path…We are commanded to walk in these intermediate paths - and they are good and straight paths - as [Deuteronomy 28:9] states: "And you shall walk in His ways."”

Elsewhere in his legal writings, however, Rambam discloses the second dimension of character perfection – the requirement to focus on and care for the other:

“It is a positive commandment of Rabbinic origin to visit the sick, comfort mourners, to prepare for a funeral, prepare a bride, accompany guests, attend to all the needs of a burial, carry a corpse on one's shoulders, walk before the bier, mourn, dig a grave, and bury the dead, and also to bring joy to a bride and groom and help them in all their needs. These are deeds of kindness that one carries out with his person that have no limit. Although all these mitzvot are of Rabbinic origin, they are included in the Scriptural commandment Leviticus 19:18: "Love your neighbor as yourself." That charge implies that whatever you would like other people to do for you, you should do for your comrade in the Torah and mitzvot.” [Avel 14:1]

Each act of kindness that a person performs is therefore operating simultaneously on two levels. Both on the “between man and God” dimension – of improving one’s personal traits and thereby allowing the intellect to flourish. And, at the same time, caring for the other, learning to view the world through the perspective of other people’s needs rather than one’s own subjective and ultimately selfish outlook. In this way, one can develop a more divine perspective of the world and truly start to “walk in God’s ways”.

First posted on Facebook 18 November 2021, here.