Mythology of evil in Judaism

Abstract

The specific problem of evil?human evil, "those evils which everyone causes to himself by his own actions," to use Maimonides' description of psychological evil?has long been of concern to both theologian and psychologist. Long before Freud, the rabbis understood that man's psychic drives were largely responsible for the evil he commits. Of course, the rabbis did not achieve Freud's systematic and scientific level of research and observation; neither did they possess his knowledge of neurology and medicine. Yet they did share with him a mythology of evil that, as I shall demonstrate, is not only comparable in providing a functional myth for understanding evil or sin, but also serves as a theoretical basis for the rabbinic resolution of the problem of sin. Although many of Freud's clinical techniques have now been surpassed by contemporary psychiatry, his philosophy is still very much a part of our intellectual life. The works of Herbert Marcuse and Norman O. Brown serve as adequate examples of the metaphysical Freud. It is within the context of this Freud who taught us an appreciation for primitive and instinctual forces in our life that we can come to appreciate the rabbinic formulation of the Yezer as the personification within man's soul identified with Satan and responsible for the commission of evil deeds. In talmudic theology, sin originates in man's soul. There is a factor or element of his personality responsible for generating an inclination to do evil. The rabbis referred to this aspect of man's psyche as Yezer ha-ra or sometimes in the abbreviated form of "Yezer"; usually translated as "evil inclination." However, rabbinic statements indicate that often the adjective "evil" was merely attached as part of a technical phrase.1 Thus Yezer ha-ra can be construed, without too much argument, as analogous to Freud's concept of the id as a source of instinctual energy. Like the id, which releases instinctual energy or libido, the Yezer ha-ra releases a powerful stream of energy.2 This interesting but facile analogy between the rabbinic concepts and psychoanalytic thinking is merely a superficial similitude. The true correlation lies in the mythic power of the Yezer and the mythological foundations of Freud's psychoanalysis. Through Freud's writings on religion, one becomes aware of his deep appreciation for the "numinosity" of man's unconscious. As Christine Downing spoke of it: "Yet he, himself, in order to suggest the numinous power of