עיניך בשדה אשר יקצרון. פירוש, דכתיב (משלי כ״ב:ט׳) טוב עין הוא יבורך, עין נקרא חכמה, ובאמת ההסתכלות הוא מדרגה התחתונה של החכמה, ומי שהוא טוב עין דהיינו חכמה טובה, כשהוא מסתכל בדבר מביא ברכה באותו דבר, כי כשמסתכל בדבר, יודע שהדבר ההוא כאין נגדו יתברך, דהיינו שהוא באמת אפס ואין בלתי אלהותו יתברך השרוי בתוכה, דהיינו כח הפועל בנפעל וזולתו הוא אפס, על דרך דכתיב (בפ' בשלח) ונחנו מ"ה, על ידי ההסתכלות כזה ממשיך חיות יותר לאותו דבר מאלהותו יתברך, וזה טוב עין הוא יבורך לאותו דבר, וכן להיפך מי שהוא רע עין, כשהוא מסתכל על הדבר ההוא ומתמיה עליו, דהיינו מה נאה דבר זה, ועושה אותו דבר לדבר בפני עצמו, והוא נרגן מפריד אלוף (משלי ט"ז, כ"ח) שעל ידי הסתכלותו, נפסק אותו דבר מהשורש, ומהחיות דהיינו האלהות, כידוע שההסתכלות עושה כלי, ועל ידי זה בא עין הרע רחמנא ליצלן: (לקוטי אמרים די"א ע"ג)
Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go you after them. (Ruth 2:9)
It is written: “A good eye will bless” (Proverbs 22:9).8The literal reading of this verse should be: “A good eye will be blessed.” However, without the vowel points, the verse can also be read as above, according to the interpretation of the Baal Shem Tov. The eye is called Wisdom, for truly, vision is the lowest level of wisdom. And a person with a good eye, that is, with good wisdom, brings blessing wherever he gazes. When he looks at a thing, he realizes that it is nothing compared to the Blessed One. That is, it truly has no existence other than the Divinity within it, [for the] the essence of a creator is in his creation.9Whenever a person creates something, an essential part of his soul is captured in the creation. This is even truer of the universe, which is continually being created and sustained by G-d. Without this it is nothing, as it is written: “And what are we” (Exodus 16:7).10When the Children of Israel complained to Moses and Aharon in the desert, after the food they took out from Egypt was exhausted, they responded: “…for He has heard your murmurings against the L-rd; and what are we, that you murmur against us?” They realized that they were nothing without the presence of G-d within them. On a deeper level, the Hebrew word “what” – mah (מה) – corresponds to the sefirotic structure of Zeir Anpin. It also has the same numerical value as the word “Man” – Adam (אדם), because the essence of a human being is neither the body, nor the thoughts and emotions. Rather, it is the Divine soul, which derives from this supernal level. Through this type of looking, one draws from His Divinity increased vitality to the thing. Thus, “A good eye will bless” that thing. The opposite also applies. When a person with a bad eye looks at something and is impressed with it; for instance, [he says] “How beautiful is this thing,” then he separates it from its root and vitality, that is, from the divinity. For it is known that all vision creates a vessel, and because of this comes the evil eye, G-d save us. Likutey Amorim, p.11c
עיניך בשדה אשר יקצרון. פירוש, דכתיב (משלי כ״ב:ט׳) טוב עין הוא יבורך, עין נקרא חכמה, ובאמת ההסתכלות הוא מדרגה התחתונה של החכמה, ומי שהוא טוב עין דהיינו חכמה טובה, כשהוא מסתכל בדבר מביא ברכה באותו דבר, כי כשמסתכל בדבר, יודע שהדבר ההוא כאין נגדו יתברך, דהיינו שהוא באמת אפס ואין בלתי אלהותו יתברך השרוי בתוכה, דהיינו כח הפועל בנפעל וזולתו הוא אפס, על דרך דכתיב (בפ' בשלח) ונחנו מ"ה, על ידי ההסתכלות כזה ממשיך חיות יותר לאותו דבר מאלהותו יתברך, וזה טוב עין הוא יבורך לאותו דבר, וכן להיפך מי שהוא רע עין, כשהוא מסתכל על הדבר ההוא ומתמיה עליו, דהיינו מה נאה דבר זה, ועושה אותו דבר לדבר בפני עצמו, והוא נרגן מפריד אלוף (משלי ט"ז, כ"ח) שעל ידי הסתכלותו, נפסק אותו דבר מהשורש, ומהחיות דהיינו האלהות, כידוע שההסתכלות עושה כלי, ועל ידי זה בא עין הרע רחמנא ליצלן:
(לקוטי אמרים די"א ע"ג)
Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go you after them. (Ruth 2:9) It is written: “A good eye will bless” (Proverbs 22:9).8The literal reading of this verse should be: “A good eye will be blessed.” However, without the vowel points, the verse can also be read as above, according to the interpretation of the Baal Shem Tov. The eye is called Wisdom, for truly, vision is the lowest level of wisdom. And a person with a good eye, that is, with good wisdom, brings blessing wherever he gazes. When he looks at a thing, he realizes that it is nothing compared to the Blessed One. That is, it truly has no existence other than the Divinity within it, [for the] the essence of a creator is in his creation.9Whenever a person creates something, an essential part of his soul is captured in the creation. This is even truer of the universe, which is continually being created and sustained by G-d. Without this it is nothing, as it is written: “And what are we” (Exodus 16:7).10When the Children of Israel complained to Moses and Aharon in the desert, after the food they took out from Egypt was exhausted, they responded: “…for He has heard your murmurings against the L-rd; and what are we, that you murmur against us?” They realized that they were nothing without the presence of G-d within them.
On a deeper level, the Hebrew word “what” – mah (מה) – corresponds to the sefirotic structure of Zeir Anpin. It also has the same numerical value as the word “Man” – Adam (אדם), because the essence of a human being is neither the body, nor the thoughts and emotions. Rather, it is the Divine soul, which derives from this supernal level. Through this type of looking, one draws from His Divinity increased vitality to the thing. Thus, “A good eye will bless” that thing.
The opposite also applies. When a person with a bad eye looks at something and is impressed with it; for instance, [he says] “How beautiful is this thing,” then he separates it from its root and vitality, that is, from the divinity. For it is known that all vision creates a vessel, and because of this comes the evil eye, G-d save us.
Likutey Amorim, p.11c