The Jewish people, time immemorable, have always tried to avoid an Ayin Hora, the Evil Eye. Our Sages have advised, stay out of the public eye, as much as possible. Drawing attention to oneself is not recommended. The less people can talk about us, the better it is for us. Needless chatter and being in the limelight can cause “not fargining” and envy. That sets the stage for the evil eye to take hold. Our Sages have also warned us time and again, not to make other people the subject of our conversations. We may Chas V’sholom cause a friend, unwillingly, hardships and mishaps. Instead of being happy for someone who is successful, as we always should be, at times we may be resentful, jealous and even judgemental. Does he or she really deserve that kind of success? Why not me? What follows is Ayin Horah. Therefore it is wise, to avoid being the center of attention and topic of discussion. Best not to give people reason to mind our business and talk about our lives. Sometimes, its just unavoidable, out of our control and difficult to stop. Regrettably, that is what happened to my family many years ago.
Was renovating a house I had recently purchased for my growing family. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, it became the talk of the block, although nothing unusual was taking place. What followed was devastating. Shortly after moving in everyone started to get sick. Throughout the first year, my wife, children and I wound up in the hospital, for no apparent reason. It made no sense. After consultation I was told that most likely we were effected by an Ayin Hora. Was very troubled by this revelation and phenomenon. Asked Rabbonim if they knew someone of Holy statuer that could eradicate an Ayin Hora. Unfortunately they could not point me in the right direction. At the time I was a Rebbe in Yeshivas Karlin Stolin. One day I went over to the renowned Rav Meyer Pilchick z”l and explained my dilemma. He looked concerned and said, I know just the right Jew who can help you. Needless to say, I was relieved to hear, that there was someone out there that could be of assistance. Asked him who that Rabbi may be. He said, his father, the humble Rav Nissim Pilchik z”l. He then went about arranging a time for me to meet with his father to remove the Ayin Horah. One morning I arrived at Rav Nissim’s home. He asked me to share with him everything I and my family had been going through. He then handed me a Special Sefer and told me to recite certain prayers in one room, while he would simultaneously recite some other prayers in a different room. After we completed our recitals, he told me, to go to the synagogue, to light candles at the Omid and to give charity. He assured me that my family would no longer suffer from the evil eye that had been hovering over us the past year.
So it came to pass, our lives returned to normal and continued uneventful.
Many years later, I merited to stumble upon his grave site in Tiberias by Divine Providence. What a privilege it was to offer up prayers at his gravesite and to have the merit of repaying him in some small way for his kindness.
What goes around, comes around. He had prayed for me and my family and now it was my turn to pray for him.
How careful we must be from chattering about other peoples lives and successes. Our Sages teach, that real blessing takes hold only on things that are hidden from the eye. By minding someone else’s business instead of our own, we can unconsciously cause a person and his family harm. When we don’t fargin and believe we deserve what the other person has been granted, we invite the Evil Eye. A Jew that trusts and believes in Hashem, that all resonates from Him, must always be happy with his or her lot. We must know that we can never have what is destined for someone else. Whatever Hashem blessed someone else with was meant for them. If it was meant for us, Hashem would have blessed us with it also. Hashem has enough to go around. We can never have what was not meant for us and we can never take away from someone else what was meant for them. When we know deep down that Hashem is the exclusive Giver and that there is no other power besides Him, our eyes, hopes and prayers will be focused heavenward, only looking up to our One and Only beloved father.
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