אות - רמא

He said: The matter of the evil eye is real,[430] for there is an actual power in sight. For the power of sight goes to one's fellow and harms him when one's eye is evil. For sight is an actual power that goes forth and strikes the thing seen. And when one's eye is evil it harms through one's actual sight as mentioned. And therefore a menstruating woman [niddah] when she gazes at a mirror, a mark of blood will be found there, as is brought.[431] Know that a segulah for the evil eye is a fish fin to smoke with it. And the sign: fin [snapir] in gematria equals evil eye [ra ayin]. And it is especially efficacious — the fin of a certain fish that they call in Yiddish "schlayen." A play on words for "of the eye" [shel ayin]. I further heard in his name, o.b.m., another version: to hang the abovementioned fin upon the person or child who is accustomed to sometimes have an evil eye upon him — hang upon him the abovementioned fin and he will be saved, as mentioned. And he further told me then that he said that the evil eye is drawn from the four hundred men who went with Esav to fight Yaakov, as it is written (Bereishis 32:7): "and four hundred men with him." And it is brought[432] that they went to cast an evil eye, Heaven forbid, upon the camp of Yaakov. And "snapir" is the number four hundred which is precisely the number of "evil eye" as mentioned. And all this corresponds to the four hundred men of Esav mentioned above from whom the evil eye is drawn, as mentioned. And therefore the fin saves from this, as mentioned. And he also thought then of several other things that add up to four hundred which are relevant to this matter. 430. RAK: Bava Basra 2b; Eruvin 64b in Rashi, s.v. ba'al; Pesachim 26b; Bava Metzia 30a; Zohar III, 111b. 431. RAK: Rambam, Vayikra 18:19. 432. RAK: Maggid Meisharim on Bereishis 32:7.