The hamsa and the evil eye – what Jewish tradition says חַמְסָה

The Sages took the evil eye seriously as a concept. Pirkei Avot lists “an evil eye” among the things that drive a person from the world (Avot 2:11) and praises the “good eye” of Abraham’s disciples (5:19). The Talmud warns against looking enviously at a neighbour’s field (Bava Batra 2b), and teaches that the descendants of Joseph are not affected by the evil eye, reading “a fruitful son by the eye” (Genesis 49:22) as a promise (Berakhot 20a).

In these sources the evil eye is closely tied to envy, stinginess and showing off. The remedies the Sages emphasise are modesty, a generous “good eye” towards others, and trust in God – not objects.

The name comes from the Arabic word for five. Jews in Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq and elsewhere hung it in homes and on jewellery, and in Israel it remains a popular decoration. Some call it the “hand of Miriam”, but this is a modern name with no source in the Torah or Talmud.

Jewish law takes a cautious view of amulets. The Talmud recognises only an amulet written by a proven expert (Shabbat 61a–b), while the Rambam strongly opposed using charms and verses for protection. The Torah’s call to “be wholehearted with the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 18:13) is understood as not chasing omens and signs (Pesachim 113b). A hamsa is therefore neither a mitzvah nor a source of protection by itself; many treat it as harmless decoration, and some rabbis discourage relying on it.

The hamsa is mainly a Sephardi and Mizrahi custom; Ashkenazim have their own folk expressions such as saying “kein ayin hara” or “bli ayin hara” (“without an evil eye”) after praise. The red string sold at some holy sites is not a Jewish law either; the Tosefta even lists tying a red thread among forbidden “ways of the Amorites”, though some communities have kept the custom.