"The phrase to which you refer can be pronounced either “Bli Ayin
Hara” in Hebrew, or “Kein Ayin Hora” in Yiddish. Both expressions
translate as, “without the evil eye” or “there should be no evil eye.”
When it’s said quickly is can sometimes sound like “Kina Hora.”
The concept of the “evil eye” is primarily related to the destructive
power of envy. When our patriarch Jacob blessed his grandchildren
Ephraim and Menashe, part of his blessing was that “they should
multiply like fish within the land” (Genesis 48:16). The Sages tell us
that Jacob wanted them to emulate fish when it came to multiplying
because fish do so under the water. It is impossible to view the
fruitfulness of fish precisely because it occurs in a place that is
shielded from view, and this hiddenness acts as a type of protection
against the evil eye, in accordance with the Talmudic idea that
“blessing only rests upon something that is concealed from the eye”.
For this reason, when people relate their or others’ gains, assets or
blessings, they say “kein ayin hora”—if they are bold (or, some might
say, foolish) enough to speak of these things at all. Wealth, physical
and spiritual, is not distributed evenly in the world. G-d gives to
one person something that He does not give to another. This can
naturally cause envy, which essentially is an emotion that corresponds
to a sense of injustice. The Torah tells us that the resulting
spiritual energy can actually trigger a process of judgement against
the one who is envied and lead to very destructive consequences for
them.
May we all learn to be happy for others, and be protected from the evil eye!"
On Thu, May 19, 2011 at 4:24 PM, philkatz27 <philkatz27_at_aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> Do "Kennahora" and the "evil/bad eye" have a connection? to this day, when I say ANYTHING in a positive way, regarding any subject, my wife says: "Keep quiet, don't give yourself a "Kennahora". It's probably the incorrect spelling so I tried to write it phonetically
> Phil
>
>
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Received on 2011-05-20 05:38:29
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