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EXODUS | 20:14 everything — EXOD488 Rabbi Joshua said: An evil eye, the evil ...

EXOD488 Rabbi Joshua said: An evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred of people remove a man from the world. Pirkei Avot, Perek II, mishnah 16. Note that Rabbi Joshua uses the singular, "an evil eye." To view things with one eye only is already evil. We must remember to look with both eyes, to get a balanced view. In the Tenth Commandment we are told not to covet a neighbor's house, wife, servants, ox… "and everything that belongs to him." (this verse and Deuteronomy 5:18). Does this sweeping "everything" come to add? It means to tell us that whenever you are stricken with envy or jealousy, look with both eyes and see "everything." Get the full picture. See the other side of the coin, the reality behind the surface. Do you envy your neighbor his wonderful house? You would like to own one just like it? But do you know how much his upkeep costs him? Do you know that if a pipe burst in the middle of the night and he cannot get a plumber, he is in deep trouble! It may cost him many days and many dollars before everything is repaired. Look with both eyes. Perhaps you yearn for his sleek, handsome limousine. You would not be so envious if you knew how much gasoline it consumes and what a headache it can cause in a congested, traffic-jammed city. Again, pangs of jealousy may assail you when you find that he is married to a most beautiful woman. But perhaps, if you knew her, you would realize how vain and empty-headed she is, and how irritating and difficult to live with. Would you then still envy your neighbor? Look with both eyes. Look at "everything that belongs to him," the liabilities as well as the assets. If you look with only one eye, you develop the "evil eye" of irrational, unwarranted envy.

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Source KeySINAI1
Verse20:14
Keyword(s)everything
Source Page(s)192

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