Questions tagged [evil-inclination]

In Judaism, yetzer hara (Hebrew: יֵצֶר הַרַע‎ yēṣer haraʿ) is 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" (יֵצֶר לֵב הָאָדָם רַע‎, yetzer lev-ha-adam ra).

In traditional Judaism, the yetzer hara is not a demonic force, but rather man's misuse of things the physical body needs to survive. Thus, the need for food becomes gluttony due to the yetzer hara. The need for procreation becomes promiscuity, and so on.

For more see here.

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Is the yetzer hara a separate entity?

This is something that's always bothered me about the classic "yeshivish" presentation of Judaism. Most "yeshivish" people will claim that the yetzer hara is an entity that is almost completely separate from a person. This bothers me, because it…
Samuel
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Does yetzer hatov grow stronger the more we use it

I heard that the more we listen to our Yetzer Hara, the stronger it grows. Is the flip side true? That is, the more we listen to our Yetzer Hatov, does it grow stronger?
Josh Grinberg
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