Tisha B’av 5786: An Arrow in the Eye

**light spoilers for The Odyssey movie**

In the movie The Odyssey, which opened a week ago, Odysseus faces many challenges on his journey home from the Trojan War. In one memorable episode, he and his men become trapped in a Cyclops’ cave. After losing several companions, they outwit the Cyclops by blinding its single eye with a sharpened, burning stake, then escape among the Cyclops’ sheep.

All of the surviving men make it safely out of the cave and are on their way back to their ship. But then Odysseus turns around. Having already escaped, he shoots an arrow into the Cyclops’ eye (an eye that has already been painfully blinded). His men protest, reminding him that the Cyclops is a child of the sea god Poseidon. Much of the suffering that follows for Odysseus and his crew can be understood as Poseidon’s curse, provoked by Odysseus’ unnecessary and cruel act.

An arrow to the eye. It is an act of violence and revenge after the danger has already passed.

It’s also an image that would have been familiar to the Talmudic sages. They speak of driving an arrow not into the eye of a Cyclops, but into the eye of Satan—the Adversary, the being that tempts humans toward sin and accuses them before God.

One sage, Peleimo, began each morning by declaring, “An arrow in the eye of Satan!” With these words, he mocked the evil inclination and its temptations, thinking himself victorious against them. So on the evening of Yom Kippur, Satan appeared outside Peleimo’s house disguised as a beggar (very Odyssey-coded). Peleimo first brought him bread, but Satan gradually talked his way into the house and eventually to a seat at the table, where he behaved so disgustingly that Peleimo rebuked him. Satan then pretended to drop dead, prompting others around the table to cry, “Peleimo has killed a man!” Terrified, Peleimo fled and hid in the bathroom. There Satan confronted him, asking why he insisted on taunting him every morning with “an arrow in the eye.” Instead, Satan told Peleimo, he should pray that God be the one to rebuke Satan. (Kiddushin 81a-b)

Another sage, Aha bar Yaakov, would wave his lulav and proclaim, “This is an arrow in the eye of Satan!” Despite Satan’s efforts to thwart the Jewish people, we continue to perform mitzvot. Yet the Talmud concludes that this, too, is unwise. We are warned not to gloat over victories against our evil inclination. Such boasting only incites Satan to redouble his efforts. (Sukkah 38a)

An arrow in the eye of Satan. An arrow in the eye of the Cyclops. In both cases, the arrow comes only after the adversary has already been subdued. The extra blow accomplishes nothing except to invite further struggle. We may overcome our evil inclination today, but we cannot assume the battle has been won for good. Tomorrow, we may be overcome.

On this Tisha B’Av, as we reflect on the consequences of sinat chinam—baseless hatred—and the moral failures that led to destruction, we are reminded of the importance of striving to overcome our evil inclination. But we are also reminded that this is constant work. It does not serve us to become overconfident or gloat, or to think that we will always succeed in following our positive inclinations.

Instead, may we continue, in partnership with God, to subdue our evil inclinations day after day. And may we have the humility and strength to overcome sinat chinam with ahavat chinam—baseless love—and to build communities of compassion, generosity, and inclusion.

Rabbi Claire Shoyer