Lachash Le’Ayin HaRa — The Whispered Charm Against the Evil Eye
This protective whispered charm against the evil eye is attributed to Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai — known by his acronym 'the Chida' (1724–1806), one of the greatest Sephardic Torah authorities — who recorded it in his work Avodat HaKodesh as 'tested and proven.' The charm adjures all forms of the evil eye in the name of the divine, ever-watchful Eye described in Kabbalistic tradition, and concludes with Psalm 91, Judaism's great psalm of protection. It may be recited over any person felt to be harmed by an evil eye. Every reader, whatever their background, is welcome to engage with these ancient words.
I adjure you, every kind of evil eye:
black eye, scorched eye, blue eye, green eye,
long eye, short eye, wide eye, narrow eye,
straight eye, crooked eye, round eye,
sunken eye, protruding eye,
seeing eye, gazing eye, piercing eye, absorbing eye,
eye of a male, eye of a female,
eye of a man and his wife, eye of a woman and her daughter,
eye of a woman and her kinswoman,
eye of a young man, eye of an old man, eye of an old woman,
eye of a maiden, eye of a married woman,
eye of a widow, eye of a wed woman, eye of a divorced woman —
every kind of evil eye that exists in the world
that has seen and gazed and spoken with an evil eye against [Name, son/daughter of Name] —
I decree and I adjure you
by that supernal Eye, that holy Eye, that singular Eye, that white Eye,
the Eye that is white within white,
the Eye that is wholly white,
the Eye that is entirely of the right side,
the open Eye,
the Eye of constant watchfulness,
the Eye that is entirely mercy,
the Eye that is mercy within mercy,
the Eye that encompasses all mercy,
the Eye over which there are no eyebrows,
the Eye that neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the Eye before which all evil eyes are subdued and hidden away in the clefts of the rock,
the Eye that watches over Israel —
as it is written: 'Behold, He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps,' (Psalm 121:4)
and it is written: 'Behold, the eye of Adonai is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His kindness,' (Psalm 33:18)
by that supernal Eye I have decreed and adjured you, every kind of evil eye,
that you depart and flee and run away and distance yourselves
from [Name, son/daughter of Name] and from all the members of his/her household,
and that you shall have no power to rule
over [Name, son/daughter of Name] or over any member of his/her household,
neither by day nor by night,
neither in waking nor in dream,
nor in any limb among his two hundred and forty-eight limbs,
nor in any sinew among his three hundred and sixty-five sinews.
From this day and forever. Amen, for eternity, selah and ever.
You are a shelter for me from the enemy; You preserve me; cries of deliverance surround me, selah. (Psalm 32:7)
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)
He says to Adonai: my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust. (Psalm 91:2)
For He will save you from the fowler's snare, from the plague of destruction. (Psalm 91:3)
With His pinion He will cover you, and beneath His wings you will find shelter;
His faithfulness is a shield and a rampart. (Psalm 91:4)
You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, (Psalm 91:5)
nor the plague that walks in darkness, nor the scourge that ravages at noon. (Psalm 91:6)
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand — but it shall not reach you. (Psalm 91:7)
Only with your eyes will you look, and you will see the punishment of the wicked. (Psalm 91:8)
For You, Adonai, are my refuge; the Most High you have made your dwelling. (Psalm 91:9)
No harm will befall you, no plague will come near your tent. (Psalm 91:10)
For He will charge His angels on your behalf, to guard you on all your ways. (Psalm 91:11)
On their hands they will bear you up, lest your foot strike against a stone. (Psalm 91:12)
You will tread upon the lion and the viper; you will trample the young lion and the serpent. (Psalm 91:13)
'Because he clings to Me I will rescue him; I will set him on high, for he knows My name. (Psalm 91:14)
He will call to Me and I will answer him; I am with him in distress; I will deliver him and honor him. (Psalm 91:15)
With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.' (Psalm 91:16)
Mashbia ani aleichem kol min eina bisha,
eina uchma, eina tzruva, eina techelta, eina yeroka,
eina arucha, eina ktzara, eina rechava, eina tzara,
eina yeshara, eina akuma, eina agula,
eina shoka'at, eina bole'tet,
eina ro'a, eina mabetet, eina boka'at, eina sho'evet,
eina dedechura, eina denukva,
eina de'ish ve'ishto, eina de'isha u'vita,
eina de'isha ve'krovata,
eina devachur, eina dezaken, eina dezekena,
eina devtula, eina deve'ula,
eina de'almana, eina denesu'a, eina degrusha,
kol min eina bisha sheyesh ba'olam
shere'ata vehibita vedibra be'ayin hara al [ploni ben plonit],
gazrana ve'ashbe'analechon
behahu eina ila'a, eina kadisha, eina chada, eina chavara,
eina de'ihi chivar go chivar,
eina dechalil kol chivar,
eina decholah yamina,
eina pekicha,
eina de'ashgachuta tadira,
eina decholah rachami,
eina de'ihi rachami go rachami,
eina dechalil kol rachami,
eina delet alah gavnini,
eina dela admeich vela naim,
eina dechal einin bishin itkafyan ve'ittamran go kifin min kadamohi,
eina denatur leYisrael
kidichtiv: Hineh lo yanum velo yishan shomer Yisrael,
vechechtiv: Hineh ein Adonai el yere'av lameyachalim le'chasdo,
behahu eina ila'a gazrit ve'ashbe'it aleichon kol min eina bisha,
sheteisuru vete'arku vetivreku vetarchiku
me'al [ploni ben plonit] ume'al kol benei veito,
velo yihyeh lachem koach lishol
b'[ploni ben plonit] uvechol benei veito,
lo vayom velo valay'la,
lo vahaketz velo bachalon,
velo beshum ever memei'ah esrim ushmoneh evarav,
velo beshum gid mishesh me'ot vechamisha gidav.
Mehayom ule'olam. Amen netzach selah va'ed.
Atah seter li mitzar titzereni
roni fallet tesoveveni selah.
Yoshev beseter Elyon betzeil Shaday yitlonan.
Yomar l'Adonai machsi umetzudati Elohai evtach bo.
Ki Hu yatzilcha mipach yakush midever havot.
Be'evrato yasech lach vetachat kenafav techseh
tzinahve'socharah amito.
Lo tira mipachad layla mechetz ya'uf yomam.
Midever ba'ofel yehalech miketev yashud tzohorayim.
Yipol mitzidecha elef urvavah miyeminecha eilecha lo yigash.
Rak be'einecha tabit veshinmat resha'im tir'eh.
Ki Atah Adonai machsi Elyon samta me'onecha.
Lo te'uneh eilecha ra'ah vanegah lo yikrav be'aholecha.
Ki malachav yetzaveh lach lishmorcha bechol derachecha.
Al kapayim yisa'uncha pen tigof ba'even raglecha.
Al shachal vafetenidor'ch tirmos kefir vetanin.
Ki vi chashak va'afal'tehu asagvehu ki yada shemi.
Yikra'eni ve'e'enehu imo anochi vetzara achaltzenu va'achavedehu.
Orech yamim asbi'ehu ve'ar'ehu bishu'ati.
Common Questions
The evil eye (ayin hara in Hebrew) refers to the harmful spiritual force believed to flow from an envious or malevolent gaze. Far from being a folk superstition on the margins of Judaism, the evil eye is mentioned in the Talmud (Bava Metzia 107b), in Kabbalistic literature, and in the legal codes, and great rabbinic authorities across the centuries — including the Chida himself — treated it as a genuine concern warranting practical remedy. The belief is rooted in the idea that human attention carries spiritual weight, and that concentrated envy can cause real harm.
Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724–1806), universally known by the acronym 'Chida,' was one of the preeminent Sephardic scholars of the eighteenth century — a halakhic decisor, Kabbalist, bibliographer, and traveler who spent decades journeying through Europe and the Middle East on behalf of the Jewish communities of the Land of Israel. His Avodat HaKodesh is a practical guide to Jewish mystical customs and remedies. That a scholar of his stature recorded this charm — and attested to its efficacy with the phrase 'tested and proven' — signals that it stands within the mainstream of Sephardic spiritual tradition.
The charm uses the language of the Zohar, the foundational text of Jewish Kabbalah, to invoke what it calls the 'supernal Eye' — the divine gaze of God, described as utterly white (symbolizing pure mercy), ever open, and never sleeping. In Kabbalistic theology, God's watchfulness over Israel is characterized entirely by mercy, with no admixture of judgment. This divine Eye is the antithesis of every evil eye: where human gazes can carry envy and harm, the divine gaze carries only protection. The charm essentially calls upon the higher to overpower the lower, commanding every harmful gaze to flee before God's merciful watchfulness.
Psalm 91 is one of the most beloved psalms in Jewish tradition, often called the 'psalm of protection' or the 'psalm against evil forces.' It speaks of one who dwells in the shelter of the Most High being shielded from plague, terror, and danger — with angels charged to guard every step. The Talmud associates it with protection against harmful spiritual forces, and it appears across Jewish liturgy in contexts of vulnerability and nighttime danger. Closing the evil eye charm with Psalm 91 grounds the Kabbalistic adjuration in the scriptural bedrock of Israel's trust in God.
This charm is rooted in Jewish Kabbalistic tradition, invokes specifically Jewish scriptural verses, and refers to God's protection over Israel — so it is, in its nature, a Jewish text. A non-Jewish reader can absolutely read, study, and be moved by it, and there is no prohibition against a non-Jew praying for protection from harm in their own tradition. That said, the charm's internal logic — including its invocation of the divine Eye described in the Zohar and its quotation from Jewish scripture — presupposes a relationship with the Jewish religious world; a non-Jewish reader drawn to its power might consider holding it as a window into another faith's deep spiritual vocabulary rather than transplanting it wholesale into their own practice.
The enumeration of evil eyes by color (black, dark, blue, green), by shape (long, short, wide, narrow, straight, crooked, round, sunken, bulging), by action (seeing, gazing, piercing, absorbing), and by the identity of the person whose eye it is (man, woman, husband and wife together, old man, old woman, virgin, married woman, widow, divorcée) is a classic feature of Jewish and broader ancient Near Eastern protective charms. The logic is comprehensive coverage: by naming every conceivable variation of the harmful force, the charm ensures none can claim it was left unaddressed and therefore retains power. This kind of exhaustive legal-style enumeration reflects the influence of rabbinic thinking even on folk-mystical texts.