What Is the Yetzer Hara? Understanding the Evil Inclination- Part 1

What is the yetzer hara (evil inclination)? Is it possible that the Creator designed something specifically to harm us? Why is it that some people manage to overcome it, while others stumble again and again?

For many of us, when we think of the yetzer hara, we picture a dark, ominous force, a shadowy figure with cruel eyes, lurking in the background, waiting for the chance to trip us up and do us harm.

The Misunderstood Evil Inclination

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, in his commentary on the Torah, addresses this exact issue, and first laments the common misunderstanding surrounding it: “It is regrettable that people have interpreted the yetzer hara as a kind of ‘evil force’- as if there were something inside a person that pushes him to do wrong. This led to a desperate belief...the idea that a person is at the mercy of some internal force of evil. But nothing could be further from the truth.”
(R. Hirsch on Genesis 6:5)

In another place, he writes with similar pain: “Some groups have misunderstood this concept so badly that it must be protested in every possible way...as though the yetzer lies in ambush like a wild animal, eager to overpower a person and make him sin. But a thoughtful and honest analysis shows the opposite.” (R. Hirsch on Genesis 4:7)

What Is the Yetzer Hara, Really?

Let’s look directly at the Torah: “For the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” (Genesis 8:21)

Rabbi Hirsch explains: the yetzer hara isn’t some external being or force but is something born of the human heart- our own thoughts.

Our thinking creates belief systems, and these beliefs shape how we use our physical desires, either toward good or evil. In this view, our thoughts are what create the yetzer- it’s not something imposed on us from the outside.

Interestingly, this idea is very similar to modern cognitive therapy, which teaches that our thoughts shape our feelings and behaviors. That psychological approach, developed about 100 years after Rabbi Hirsch, has been validated by hundreds of studies.

In this view, the yetzer hara is the internal ideology or perspective that pulls us toward the wrong path. The desire itself isn’t evil- it can be good and pure, if directed the right way.

Harnessing the Yetzer for Good

This is what our sages meant when they taught: “Love G-d with all your heart- with both your good inclination and your evil inclination.”
(Mishnah Berachot 9:5)

How can one serve G-d with the yetzer hara, if it supposedly causes us to sin?

The yetzer hara refers to a basic human drive, such as desire. That same drive, when channeled properly, can serve holy purposes. For example, you can eat with enjoyment- not out of gluttony, but to nourish yourself with joy, in order to live and serve G-d with energy. As the verse says: “In all your ways, know Him.”

G-d didn’t create an evil monster inside us just to make us fall. As both Scripture and logic teach, G-d doesn’t create evil for the sake of harming His creations. (For a deeper discussion, see Emunot V’Deot by Rav Saadia Gaon.)

Another View: The Emotional Drive

A similar but distinct understanding appears in the teachings of Rambam (Maimonides) and other sages: the yetzer hara does not refer to thoughts, but to natural emotional drives and traits such as anger, arrogance, and lust.

As the Midrash teaches: “Antoninus asked Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi]: ‘From when does the evil inclination enter a person?’ He answered, ‘From the moment he emerges from the womb.’” (Bereishit Rabbah 34)

Maimonides writes: “‘Serve Him with all your heart’- with both your good inclination and your evil inclination. That is, you should set your heart on loving and believing in G-d even in moments of anger or emotional upheaval- for these are expressions of the evil inclination. As the sages said: ‘In all your ways, know Him- even in a moment of temptation.’” (Commentary on the Mishnah, Berachot 9:5)

According to this view, the yetzer hara is not a foreign enemy, but our own emotional pull toward physical pleasure. Even when it wants to pull us in the wrong direction, we are commanded to rise above it.

The Snake: A Symbol of Subtle Seduction

Another essential insight comes from the Sforno’s commentary on the story of Adam and Eve. Drawing from Maimonides (Guide for the Perplexed 2:30), the Sforno explains that the snake represents the yetzer hara. Like a snake, it operates silently, blending in, barely noticeable so that its “bite” catches us off guard. We don’t feel threatened until it’s too late, and by then, we’ve already been pulled down.

The yetzer hara is not a demon, monster, or a separate force of evil stalking us. It is either a product of our own thinking, or a part of our emotional nature, and in both cases, it can be redirected and elevated. For this reason, the sages emphasized that we should serve G-d with both of our inclinations, which is certainly possible when we gain mastery over our desires.

In the next article, we’ll explore how to relate to the yetzer hara in real life, and how to channel it for good.