The Classical Ayin: Good and Evil Eyes

The classical pictograph of Ayin is constructed of a descending Yod and an embedded Zayin. It resembles two branches with an eye in each branch that ultimately meets at one eye of conclusion. We can identify with the symbolism of the classical Ayin as having two eyes that connect to a common optic nerve that leads to the brain. The two eyes, one good and the other evil, symbolize the choice or actions of a person's will. We can make a choice of using the good eye or the evil eye in our perception. In Hebraic thought, the left eye is the good eye, and the right eye is the evil eye. Ultimately, the eye reflects the world outside and also reveals the world inside a person and uncovers their inner character. This is to say that we can either view the world from the positive left eye or from the negative right eye. When a person's eye is evil, it holds them captive to the purposes of sin and evil inclinations. As it is widely believed, the eyes are the window to the body and also to the soul. Therefore, when the eye is evil, the heart conveys the evil messages, and the body sins and transgresses.

Now let's look at the devotional of Ayin. I think it'll give us some great in-depth knowledge of this letter now that we have the basic idea of what the letter is about. It's about our eyesight, it's about discerning our eyesight, to have a good eye and not an evil eye. And now let's look at a devotional that will tie this in even more so, to put the cherry on top, if you will.

Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount bestows great wisdom and simple clarification of many essential topics as it relates to the way we need to live according to His Word. In Matthew 5:8, the Rabbi teaches us the basic premise concerning the good and evil eye. The precise understanding of this can only be obtained through the basic knowledge of the letter Ayin. In the Gospel account of Matthew, Yeshua substantiates the importance of understanding the concept of the good left eye and evil right eye in regard to lust. He boldly exclaimed that "if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell." This clearly reveals Messiah's knowledge of the Ayin, and it also confirms the right eye is the evil eye. See, isn't that amazing? We've probably read that Gospel account over and over and over again, but now that we know the Hebrew understanding of it, with the Hebrew letter of the right eye being the evil eye, that's why He said about the right eye. So that's what I've been saying about the Hebrew language and also the letters: if we have this extra understanding of the letters, then we'll have greater revelation when it comes to what He said, because that's what He was speaking in: Aramaic Hebrew. He wasn't speaking in English, as we can all agree with. So this is one great example of how we can get the insight of the Gospel accounts by understanding the basic revelation of the Hebrew letter Ayin in this circumstance.

Again, in the Gospel account of Matthew, Yeshua speaks about lust. He boldly exclaimed that "if your right eye causes you to sin, let's pluck it out and cast it from you. For it is more profitable for all of us that one of our members perish than for our bodies to be cast into hell." This clearly reveals Messiah's knowledge of the Father's elect, and it also confirms the right eye is the evil eye.

Now, when we turn to Matthew chapter 6, Yeshua gives us additional revelation in our devotion of the good and evil eye. He is warning His followers about the dangers of money by proclaiming to "not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven that will last forevermore. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Subsequently, Messiah correlates His message to the Ayin for more clarification. He expounds by declaring, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good... your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?" Going back to our scripture before we began the lesson.

In this incredible lesson, Messiah confirms the importance of living and viewing our life with our good eye so that our whole body is full of light and laying up our treasures in heaven. On the contrary, if we live and view our life with the evil eye and store up our treasures on earth, then our body will be full of great darkness. Just like He said, "It is written: A man with an evil eye hastens after riches and does not consider the poverty that comes upon him" (Proverbs 28:22).

This lesson is extremely imperative for us to understand on our purification journey, as money will cause our eye, our Ayin, to become evil if we do not have our priorities aligned with Elohim. Of course, we all have to make a living to support our families and other things. I do not think people with wealth are all evil, nothing like that. It's just the priorities. It's the priorities that we have with our money. It's not about money; it's the love of money. That's what the problem is. It's not money; it's how we view it and how we use it in our life, and whether we are fools or wise. We are wise or fools depending on how we use our money. So, I think the majority of us have had our time with money, as the majority of us have had our times with lust as well. We all have to overcome that in this life: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. When you look at the temptation of Yeshua by Satan, that's what He was tempted by: those three things. And what did He say? "It is written. It is written. It is written." Bye-bye, Satan. After you say "It is written" with the Word of God, Satan has no power or authority whatsoever. So Yeshua told us exactly how to defeat Satan. Unfortunately, including myself, sometimes we forget to use the Word of God. He quoted His Father's Word: "It is written. It is written. It is written. Get out of here. Go to somebody else." So, that is something for us to understand. And He was tempted with the lust of the eyes, the flesh, and the pride of life, which we all have to crucify our flesh. Because again, the lust of the eyes, the flesh, and the pride of life. Remember, this is the month of eyesight. So, don't be surprised if we're not tempted. I know I was tempted during this past month already, and it's Tammuz, it's the middle of the month, the full moon, with lust of eyes and stuff like that, and God overcame. Whatever it was, it doesn't matter, but I overcame. Sometimes I have failed in my life with that. So, again, we always have to go through this purification process to make sure we are in alignment.