Difference between revisions of "Category:Yetzer Hara (subject)"

Yetzer Hara

Overview

In Rabbinic Judaism, yetzer hara (Hebrew: יֵצֶר הַרַע‎) refers to the congenital inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. The term is drawn from the phrase:

• "the imagination of the heart of man [is] evil"
• (Hebrew: יֵצֶר לֵב הָאָדָם רַע, yetzer lev-ha-adam ra),

which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, in Genesis 6:5 and 8:21.

The yetzer hara is not a demonic force, but also comes from God. Humans don't acquire a yetzer tov ("a good inclination") until an age of maturity—12 for girls and 13 for boys—has its source in Chapter 16 of the Talmudic tractate Avot de-Rabbi Natan. They are not responsible before that age.

While God has created man with both good and evil inclinations, the two powers or tendencies that pull him in opposite directions, God commands each man to choose the good and right path over the evil.

The first occurrence of the concept of the yetzer hara is in 4 Ezra at the end of the 1st cent. CE.

Iblis in Islam

The Satan in Islam is an enemy of humankind, not an enemy of God. Islam rejects the idea that the devil is an opponent of God. As a merely creature, Iblis can not be the cause or creator of evil in the world, he is just a tempter who takes advantage of the inclination of humans to be self-centered and to lead them away from God's path.

When God created Adam, He ordered all the angels to bow before the new creation. All the angels bowed down, but Iblis refused to do so. He argued that since he himself was created from fire, he is superior to humans, made from mud, and that he should not prostrate himself before Adam. For his haughtiness, he was banished from heaven and condemned to hell. Therefore, Iblis made a request for the ability to try to mislead Adam and his descendants. God grants his request but also warned that he will have no power over God's servants.