Category:Yetzer Hara (subject)
Yetzer Hara / Evil Inclination
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.
Pages in category "Yetzer Hara (subject)"
The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.