The Talmud Berachos 20a teaches that Yosef HaTzaddik and his descendants were impervious to the nefarious power of the evil eye. They derive from the above pasuk that the evil eye had no power over them, because Yosef refused to feed himself from anything that was not his. The evil eye is the product of envy, which results from an individual’s character deficiency. He is jealous of others, because he is insecure with himself. Why should a decent person suffer because an individual with a jaundiced character is jealous of his success?
In his Michtav MeiEliyahu 4, Horav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zl, explains that, unless a person is a nosein, has a giving nature, people will be jealous of his success. Therefore, the reason for the envy is the subject’s lack of giving. People are envious of “takers” who succeed; they have no issue with one who is a “giver.” In fact, they wish him well!
Rav Dessler supports this with the Talmud’s exegesis concerning the pasuk, V’yidgu lerov b’kerev ha’aretz, “And let them multiply like fish in the midst of the earth” (Bereishis 48:16). “As fish in the sea are covered by water and the evil eye has no power over them, so the evil eye has no power over Yosef.” Fish are unique in two ways: they are covered by the water – thus not seen. They live in the water, thus having no interaction with the inhabitants of the land. When one lives alone and does not pierce the eyes of those around him, he does not incur jealousy. Keep to yourself and no one will bother you, is a simple and beneficial maxim by which to live. Furthermore, when one lives by himself, he demonstrates that he is secure in his own skin and does not require public adoration to keep him going. When one’s ego is not based upon the whims of others, he will not be susceptible to their evil eye. He rises above them.
