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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE EVIL EYE (THE GOOD EYE) EINHORE, by                    
First Line: The child frets / yawns / or cringes a lot
Last Line: Shall she receive an evil eye
Subject(s): Jews;mysticism - Judaism; Judaism


The child frets
yawns
or cringes a lot

The adult
yawns
"he just doesn't feel good"

or
they have a cold or a flu
"a light disease"

II DIAGNOSIS

The mother or the grandmother goes and
licks out the eyes

"the child has einehore the eyes are salty"

"She takes a glass of water
and charcoal

She puts in three pieces of charcoal

If they fall down
If they sink . . ."

or
"You take a glass of water
You put three or four twigs on top of the glass
Crack an egg over the branches

If the egg sticks in them . . ."
"Hold a new knife at the head
If it turns black . . ."

III TREATMENT

By charm
in silence
in whispers
facing east

Schneider:
"I once asked
'Tell me what it is woman
what a good eye means

How do you cast out a good eye?'

She says
'This is a secret'

I say
'Teach me the secret I should know too'

She says
'I am only an old Jewish woman
Should I teach you to cast out a good eye?
It's nothing with nothing
One time it may succeed
and one time it may not succeed'

She teaches me
She says:
'Woe is the child
'So is the mama'

She takes the corner of her dress or apron
She chants
'Orneh borneh
dembeneh korneh
buckwheat and beans
dembeh korneh
oats and black beans:
he who gave you the good eye
from his head his own eyes fly'

or
'In the rafters two cracks lie
in wait to catch the evil eye
Cracks in all the corners lie
in wait to catch the evil eye'

or
'No evil no terror
no wheat and no bran
May Sarah abandon
her crying and pain
Not till the ceiling crops with rye
shall she receive an evil eye'"


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org




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