Jewish Beliefs:  The Nature of Human Beings
Sermon, June 15, 2007
Rabbi Bruce Kadden

If you want to start an argument throw out the question:  Are human beings basically good or evil?  Some people wholeheartedly believe that human beings are good, but learn evil behavior.  Others believe that human beings are basically evil, but learn good behavior.  And still others say that human beings are born with a clean slate and learn from there.

This evening, as I continue my series of sermons on Jewish beliefs, I want to discuss what Judaism believes about the nature of human beings.  Although much of the basis for the Jewish view of human nature comes form the Torah, it was the rabbinic interpretation of the Torah which most fully develops Jewish thinking in this area.

First of all, the rabbis believed that human beings shared certain characteristics with angels (yes, Judaism does believe in angels) and other characteristics with animals.  According to a midrash (Genesis Rabba 8:5), like the animals we eat, drink, reproduce, and die.  And like the angels, we stand erect, speak, understand and see [from the side as well as from the front].”  Now, while we might want to focus on the qualities which we share with the angels, any discussion of human nature needs to begin with the qualities we share with the animals.

The Torah tells us that after completing the works of creation “God saw everything that had been made and found it very good (Genesis 1:31).”  According to Rabbi Nachman in the name of Samuel the words “very good” refer to the yetzer hara, the evil inclination.  (Genesis Rabba 9:7). 

Each of us, according to the rabbis has a yetzer hara; we are born with it and it remains with us our entire life.  The yetzer hara is what we share with the animals:  our natural instincts to eat, to survive, and most importantly to procreate.  If we do nothing to tame these instincts then we would behave like animals.  We would eat anything and everything that is put before us, we would defend our territory with violence if necessary and we would indiscriminately engage in sexual intercourse. 

Unfortunately, we see examples of such behavior all the time.  Left unchecked, the yetzer hara will lead to rape and other violence; it will cause death and destruction.

Fortunately, though, each of us also has the ability to cultivate the antidote to the yetzer hara, which the rabbis call the yetzer hatov, the good inclination.  Unlike the yetzer hara, which the rabbis believe is with us at birth, the yetzer hatov must be cultivated and learned and only comes into its own at age 13, the age of responsibility in Judaism. 

In her book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, Wendy Mogel notes that children spend a good portion of their time being bad.  “The parents’ challenge is to teach their child how to control the energy of his yetzer hara and transform it into greatness.”

In many ways the yetzer hatov is similar to what we call the conscience, the ability to know right from wrong and to do right and refrain from doing wrong.  While the yetzer hatov begins to take hold at age 13, it must continue to develop throughout our life in order to confront the persistent challenge of the yetzer hara. 

The mitzvot, in large part, are designed to develop and strengthen our yetzer hatov.  The laws of kashrut, for example, humanize the eating process, assuring that we consciously reflect on what we eat and how we eat it.  Other mitzvot guide our behavior with regard to sexual relationships.  The rabbis particularly respected the male sex drive, and believed that the mitzvot serve to direct it to appropriate channels.  Rather than trying to repress human sexuality, Judaism attempts to contain and direct it. 

Indeed, the rabbis offer a number of important insights about the yetzer hara:

--“At first the evil inclination,” they teach “is like a passer-by, then is called a guest, and finally becomes master of the house” (Sukkah 52a).

--“When a person has committed a sin once and then a second time…it appears to the person that it is permitted” (Yoma 86b).

--“If a person indulges one’s evil inclination in youth, it will in the end, in old age, be master” (Genesis Rabba 22:6).

--“The greater the person, the greater one’s evil inclination” (Sukkah 52a).

--And finally, the rabbis ask:  “Who is strong?  One who subdues one’s evil inclination” (Pirkei Avot 4:1).

So if the yetzer hara presents us so many challenges and can be the cause of so much destructive behavior, why did God create it in the first place?  Why do we have to live with it?  Why, the rabbis ask, is it among those creations that are referred to as “very good” in Genesis?

Because, they answer, “were it not for the evil inclination, we would not build homes, take wives, have children, or engage in business.” (Genesis Rabba 9:7)  Without the instinctual drives that comprise the yetzer hara, we would not have the motivation necessary to o these basic human endeavors. 

So God, therefore, created us with the yetzer hara, but also gave us the Torah, which contains the blueprint for learning right from wrong and being able to control the yetzer hara and channel into appropriate behavior. 

Furthermore, God “bestowed free will on every human being,” according to Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, the Rambam.  “If one desires to turn toward the good way and be righteous, one has the power to do so.  If one wishes to turn toward the evil way and be wicked, one is at liberty to do so.”  (Mishneh Torah, T’shuva 5:1-4)

So our responsibility is to consistently nurture our yetzer hatov, our good inclination, so that it will be able to control our yetzer hara, and allow us to lead an ethical productive life. 

[back to list of sermons]

[back to top]