The Evil Eye in Jewish Tradition

רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר, עַיִן הָרָע, וְיֵצֶר הָרָע, וְשִׂנְאַת הַבְּרִיּוֹת, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם:

Rabbi Yehoshua says: The evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred of the creations remove a person from the world.

(ח) (ח) הנהר וכו' - ולומר תשוב תרחמנו וגו'. משום דאיתא במדרש שעבר אברהם אבינו עד צוארו במים כשהלך להקריבו ע"ג המזבח ואמר הושיעה כי באו מים עד נפש ואנו עושין זה זכר לעקידה. וטוב למקום שיש בו דגים חיים לסימן שלא תשלוט בנו עין הרע ונפרה ונרבה כדגים. ובכתבים כתב נהר או באר וטוב שיהיה מחוץ לעיר.

Mishnah Berurah 583:8

Because there is a Midrash that Abraham crossed the river up to his neck when he went to go sacrifice his son Isaac. He then said, (from Psalms 69:2): Save me, O God, for water has come up to my soul. So we do Tashlich as a way of remembering the Akeidah/binding of Isaac. And it is good if it is a place that has living fish as a sign that the evil eye should not fall upon us and we should be able to multiply like fish, as fish are incapable of being affected by the evil eye. And in the writings it says at a river or well, and it is good if it is outside the city.

משנה אבות ה׳:י״ט

(יט) כָּל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִי

הַלָּלוּ, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים אֲחֵרִים, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע. עַיִן טוֹבָה, וְרוּחַ נְמוּכָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ שְׁפָלָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. עַיִן רָעָה, וְרוּחַ גְּבוֹהָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ רְחָבָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע.

Pirkei Avot 5:19

(19) Anyone who has these three things is from the students of Abraham, our father, and [anyone who has] three other things is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer: [one who has] a good eye, a humble spirit and a small appetite -- is from the students of Abraham, our father. [One who has] an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a broad appetite - is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer.

#What is Ein Tova/Ein Raah?

ברכות נ״ה ב:י״ב

פתח אידך ואמר האי מאן דעייל למתא ודחיל מעינא בישא לנקוט זקפא דידא דימיניה בידא דשמאליה וזקפא דידא דשמאליה בידא דימיניה ולימא הכי אנא פלוני בר פלוני מזרעא דיוסף קאתינא דלא שלטא ביה עינא בישא שנאמר (בראשית מט, כב) בן פורת יוסף בן פורת עלי עין וגו' אל תקרי עלי עין אלא עולי עין ר' יוסי בר' חנינא אמר מהכא (בראשית מח, טז) וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ מה דגים שבים מים מכסים עליהם ואין עין רעה שולטת בהם אף זרעו של יוסף אין עין רעה שולטת בהם ואי דחיל מעינא בישא דיליה ליחזי אטרפא דנחיריה דשמאליה

Berakhot 55b:12

Another began and said: One who enters a city and fears the evil eye should hold the thumb [zekafa] of his right hand in his left hand and the thumb of his left hand in his right hand and recite the following: I, so-and-so son of so-and-so, come from the descendants of Joseph, over whom the evil eye has no dominion, as it is stated: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain [alei ayin]; its branches run over the wall” (Genesis 49:22). Do not read it as alei ayin; but rather, read it as olei ayin, who rise above the eye and the evil eye has no dominion over him. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: Derive it from here, from what is stated in Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s sons: “And let them grow like fish into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (Genesis 48:16): Just as fish in the sea are covered by water and the evil eye has no dominion over them as they cannot be seen, so too the offspring of Joseph, the evil eye has no dominion over them. And if he is concerned about his own evil eye, lest it damage others, he should look at the side of his left nostril.

Evil Eye - Ayin Hara: Kabbalah Response on Ask the Rabbi
Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
The concept behind it is actually rather straightforward. If we flaunt our blessings and draw undue attention to ourselves, it invokes the jealous notice of others. Drawing such negative attention also draws the notice of the Heavenly court. And it causes our judgment to be revisited: Do we really deserve this blessing which has engendered the ill-will of so many others?
Thus, in the eyes of Judaism, “evil eye” is not some spooky, nebulous force which goes about attacking the unsuspecting. It is a logical phenomenon – and for the most part, the result of our own indiscreet behavior....
The Talmud (Brachot 20b) does observe that one who does not covet what others have is less susceptible to the evil eye himself. He himself does not look askance at others’ blessings. As a result, the jealous stares of others will not affect him. Likewise, Joseph, who refused his master’s wife’s advances and did not covet that which was not his, became immune to the effects of the evil eye – as did his descendants for all time.
Regardless, when things go wrong, our general approach is not to blame it on invisible forces such as the evil eye – although of course we should always be wary of flaunting our blessings. Rather, we should take it as a sign from God to improve our ways. The Talmud writes that when suffering is visited upon us we should examine our ways (Brachot 5a). When things go wrong, our first reaction should be to turn to God and attempt to determine His message for us – as well as praying to Him for illumination. Before blaming our problems on mysterious forces, we look up to Heaven to help us.
(http://www.aish.com/atr/Evil-Eye-Ayin-Hara.html)

ברכות ה׳ א:ב׳

א"ר לוי בר חמא אמר ר"ש בן לקיש לעולם ירגיז אדם יצר טוב על יצר הרע שנא' (תהלים ד, ה) רגזו ואל תחטאו. אם נצחו מוטב ואם לאו יעסוק בתורה שנאמר אמרו בלבבכם אם נצחו מוטב ואם לאו יקרא קריאת שמע שנאמר על משכבכם אם נצחו מוטב ואם לאו יזכור לו יום המיתה שנאמר ודומו סלה.

Berakhot 5a:2

Incidental to the verse, “Tremble, and do not sin,” the Gemara mentions that Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: One should always incite his good inclination against his evil inclination, i.e., that one must constantly struggle so that his evil inclination does not lead him to transgression.
If one succeeds and subdues his evil inclination, excellent, but if he does not succeed in subduing it, he should study Torah, as alluded to in the verse: “Say to your heart.”
If he subdues his evil inclination, excellent; if not, he should recite Shema, which contains the acceptance of the yoke of God, and the concept of reward and punishment, as it is stated in the verse: “Upon your bed,” which alludes to Shema, where it says: “When you lie down.”
If he subdues his evil inclination, excellent; if not, he should remind himself of the day of death, whose silence is alluded to in the continuation of the verse: “And be still, Selah.”