ayin hara

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Pronunciations

ayin hara (AH-yin HUH-ruh) listen
ayin hara (AH-yeen hah-RAH) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The evil eye.

Example Sentences

  • "The idea of an ayin hara is found in many places in the Talmud and Jewish law. For example, we are told not to gaze at a fellow's field of standing grain, lest we damage it with an evil eye, and the custom is not to call two brothers (or father and son) up to the Torah consecutively because of the ayin hara that may come from drawing too much attention to a single family. The evil eye is also the reason why we don’t 'count' people." (source)

  • "I’m concerned about Ayin Hara. Last week, someone commented on my special water bottle: how nice and unique it was. The next day it broke. Similar kinds of things happen often to me and to people I know." (source)

  • "We have many minhagim that are based on a fear of ayin hara, which echo Yaakov Avinu’s instructions to his strikingly handsome and powerful sons to enter Mitzrayim through different gates, lest someone see them and cast an ayin hara on them (Rashi, Mikeitz 42:5)." (source)

  • "I heard that you shouldn't count your money because of the ayin hara (Evil Eye) or something like that. Can anybody bring the source for it?" (source)

  • "What is the source for not being afraid of ayin hara because we are all considered Yosef Hatzadik's descendants since he sustained the whole world in Mitzrayim (and ayin hara doesnt affect Yosef's offsprings)?" (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • עין הרע ayin hara 'evil eye'

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      ayen hara, ayin hora, ayen hora, ayin hore, ayen hore, eyn hara, eyn hora, eyn hore, eyn hara, ein hara, ein hora, ein hore, ein hara, ayn hara, ayn hora, ayn hore, ayn hara, ayinhara, ayenhara, ayinhora, ayenhora, ayinhore, ayenhore, eynhara, eynhora, eynhore, eynhara, einhara, einhora, einhore, einhara, aynhara, aynhora, aynhore, aynhara, ayinara, ayenara, ayinora, ayenora, ayinore, ayenore, eynara, eynora, eynore, eynara, einara, einora, einore, einara, aynara, aynora, aynore, aynara

Notes

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