"Envy a terrible quality"
Why are there people who try to stop and damage your good deeds, your work, and your very life at all costs?
This is often referred to as: "Ain Hara or Evil Eye" A dangerous evil rooted in "envy and gratuitous hatred" is why we have prepared this following text, bringing a useful and positive lesson from the negative.
ENVY is a very bad quality! As the Wise Man said:
"Envy, desires and the pursuit of honors remove a person from the world" (Pirkey Avot 4-1)
The instinct of the individual's heart is evil! And it causes him to long to be "The One of the Generation," both in wisdom and good deeds, as well as in wealth and honors, and so he is distressed! When he sees another equal or better than himself.
Envy desires evil (evil to one's neighbor) and speaks ill of him. Hatred comes from envy! It is like a fire that consumes and there is no cure for it.
He who possesses this evil quality lives all his days in pain and bitterness and eats the bread of sadness. He has no friends or loved ones! (Even if it doesn't seem so now, it will become apparent later.)
This type of person increases disputes and is happy about the calamity of others, and wants his fellow men to stumble in the halakhot (in their conduct according to Judaism) and to turn away and diminish their Divine Service.
He also wants his fellow men to be of little worth and little understanding, erring with many other evils that come from the same envy.
Who can express the seriousness of this quality?
"The man who loves life" will turn away from it "envy", strengthening himself to master his instinct by delving into pure thoughts! He must believe wholeheartedly that no one can take away from another what has been destined for him by Heaven!
Even if the person were alone in the world, he could not have more earnings than what he has already decreed.
And if there were thousands of other merchants working in the same field, he wouldn't lack anything he's already predestined for. This evil is at work in all spheres, even now among those who claim to be dedicated to Torah study and service to the Creator.
Therefore, the individual must be content with his portion! That is the will of the Creator.
The True People of Israel must be like one man, with one body, and it is right for a person to rejoice in the good of others and grieve for any of their misfortunes.
(From the Writings of Rabbi Eliezer Papu)
May the Blessed Creator protect us and free us from these people; as we say in our morning prayer:
"May it be Your will, O Eternal One!, my G-d, and G-d of my fathers... that You free me today and every day... from the Evil Eye, from slander, from the evil tongue, from the insolent... whether or not I am a child of Your covenant..."
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