Questions tagged [evil-resha]
Questions about the nature and effects of evil, and evildoers.
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Let's Kill Hitler
There is a popular moral question - if you had access to a time machine that was capable of allowing you to do so, should you go back in time and kill Hitler when he was a child, before he had a ...
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Was Vashti Evil?
Is there any basis within the text of the Megillah itself to lend credence to the common Midrashic theme that Vasti was evil?
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What's Neturei Karta's response to the current situation? [closed]
Everyone knows that Neturei Karta has befriended Iranian and Palestinian leaders. Is there any published material from them (articles, videos, etc) on the genocide that has just occurred? Whose side ...
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Someone said that there's a Jewish source which claims that Satan cries when we do something bad? Does anyone know where this is from?
I've recently heard someone claim that there is a Jewish source which states that Satan cries when we do something evil.
As the question title says, does anyone know where this is coming from?
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If we think of evil as the absence of good, then how should we understand sheidim/evil spirits/demons?
Many Jewish commentators such as Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:10 explains that evil doesn't have a reality of its own, but is merely a privation of good) thought that evil was merely the absence of good ...
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How to understand God creating evil? [duplicate]
When God said that he creates good and creates evil, does that mean evil as the ability to rebel against the order established by him but not necessarily that he causes evil? Does this verb to creates ...
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Why does evil exist?
I realize this is a very common question, but the problem of evil is an important one, and as far as I can tell, has not been asked here.
In short, why does G-d allow evil to exist?
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Learning Torah from a confirmed sinner?
A learned friend of mine is of the opinion that it is forbidden to learn from a Rabbi (or anyone else) who is known to have sinned. He used the example of a particular Rabbi caught in a scandal so ...
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How old was Eisav when he fell into bad ways?
Rashi on Bereishis 25:30 states that Hashem shortened Avraham's life by 5 years (180->175) in order that he shouldn't see Eisav, his grandson acting wickedly ('Tarbut Ra-ah').
And on that day, ...
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Rabbinical reaction to Milgram's experiments
Were/are there rabbis that wrote or spoke about Milgram's experiments, presenting a Torah view on the matter (the question of whether the Nazis were unique or the theory that anyone could potentially ...
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What does it mean halachically to not associate with the wicked?
Who are considered wicked? What definition of wicked is being considered here, the one in the Gemara, which I believe means a person who is predominantly evil, or the one in Tanya, where the person ...
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Are bad and evil the same thing?
In English (at least my understanding of it), "bad" is simply the opposite of "good".
If someone builds a useful bench from scrap materials, that is good; if they hit their thumb ...
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HaSatan how should it be described?
The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Bathra 16a) states that the Evil Inclincation (Yetzer ha-Ra), the Angel of Death and HaSatan are identical. The Talmud seems to distinguish between HaSatan outside man (...
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Jewish theodicy on natural evil [duplicate]
Serious question. I understand the free will explanation for why God allows people to do evil things. But why does God allow what is classically called "natural evil"? For example, why does ...
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What did Adam and Chava learn after eating of the Tree?
After reading this question and its answers and related discussion, I am still left with a question (so I don't think this is an exact dulicate):
Is the binary of good/evil (tov/ra) the same as right/...
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Are there specific behaviors that make someone a rasha?
What halachically constitutes a rasha- Wicked person?
Are there parameters with which to determine someone's status in this area?
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Looking at a picture of the face of a Rasha
The Zohar (and Megillah 28a thanks DoubleAA) says that it is Assur to gaze at the face of a Rasha. Would this also apply to looking at an image or painting of a Rasha?
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Is there a concept for individuals who are "too" destructive, in that they destabilize all of those around them?
Obviously, no one is inherently evil. All humans are constantly in battle with their evil inclination and we have to actively work to groom positive traits within us.
That being said, do the sages ...
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What's so bad about looking into the face of a wicked person?
In tractate megila of the Babylonian talmud the sages say that it is forbidden to look into the face of a wicked person. What is the reason for this prohibition?
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How could Midyan born to two Tzaddikim be so bad that it needed extermination?
The Torah says that Midyan was Avraham (Tzadik) and Keturah (Tzaddekes) son:
וַיֹּסֶף אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה׃ וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ אֶת־זִמְרָן וְאֶת־יָקְשָׁן וְאֶת־מְדָן וְאֶת־...
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May you repeat the words of a rasha?
I vaguely remember reading that a rabbi ruled that the words of a rasha (wicked person) must not be repeated, no matter what they are, because he probably said them with evil intent. Is this accurate?...
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Where does evil come from if God is good?
In Deuteronomy 4:35 "Hashem, He is G-d, there is nothing else beside Him". This makes sense since He is the first cause of everything, thus He includes everything.
Now, assuming God is absolutely ...
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Why give gentiles an evil prophet?
Rashi in Bamidbar 22:5 addresses Bilam's being a prophet:
"Why did the Holy One rest his Divine Presence upon a wicked gentile? So that the nations of the world should not have an excuse [as to why ...
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why Adam and Eve felt shame?
after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it says:
"And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were nak-ed, and they sewed fig leaves and made ...
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Do sociopaths/psychopaths lack "דעת" of Good and Evil?
As YeZ points out in this answer, "daat" is the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Do sociopaths and/or psychopaths lack the דעת of the distinction between good and evil?
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Where does Pharaoh's wickedness stem from?
The Torah brings very descriptive lineage of the Good guys (us) and the Bad guys (Eusov's Alufim, Amolek from Eisov etc) but reciting the Haggadah I was stumbled by the fact that Pharaoh's wickedness ...
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How did Lavan become so evil and why wasn't he punished?
As in the previous question, the Haggadah mentions the wickedness of Lavan that surpasses the wickedness of Pharaoh.
THat wickedness seems inconsistent with the general story of the Torah - Eisov was ...
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Yeshayahu 45:7 Does Rah exist because of the absense of Tov?
Question:
In my own words based on some commentary of Rabbi Hirsch Yeshayahu 45:7 reads: I form ohr (light), and create choshech (darkness); I make shalom (that what is whole), and create rah (that ...
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What עִיקָר is the wicked son denying?
In the haggadah (Mechon Mamre's edition of the Hagadah at the end of Hilkhot Chametz u-Matzah and in some editions of the Mekhilta on Shemot 13:14), regarding the wicked son it states
וּלְפִי ...
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What is the process for purifying your home if you believe it may have been previously used for pagan worship?
Locations of foreign worship are typically of concern. You're not supposed to enter a church for this very reason.
My question relates to the idea that one finds out their home was previously used ...
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How did a Rasha know he was a Rasha?
Related question.
According to Yoma 75,
The Gemara continues to discuss the manna: It is written: “And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it” (Numbers 11:9). And it ...
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Can one cite divrei torah in the name of a rabbi who has gone astray?
In the most recent issue of Jewish Action, there is a brief interview with R. Herschel Schachter about HALACHAH AND THE FALLEN RABBI. The final question is
JA: Can we/should we continue to cite ...
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Are we born wicked/evil?
I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine (he's not Jewish). At one moment he showed me Tehillim 58:4, which states that the wicked are evil since birth:
"זֹרוּ רְשָׁעִים מֵרָחֶם; ...
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Satan meaning Tempter?
I found a great story online from which I would like to quote a part:
The word satan in the Bible seems to mean merely “opponent”. For
instance, the angel who obstructs Bilaam’s progress is ...
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Shepherd and Evil Connected?
Rav Samson Rafael Hirsch often finds connections between similar words in the Torah. What is the connection between evil - רעה - and shepherd - רועה - (especially in the same verse Bereishis 37:2 - ...
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Why does G-d reward reshaim in this world to punish them in the next, if He is good? [duplicate]
The question of "Why do some reshaim people live a good life, while some good people suffer" is often answered that G-d rewards the rasha in this world, in order to punish him in the world to come for ...
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Answer to question in first chapter of Tanya
In the first chapter of the Tanya the Alter Rebbe points out a seeming contradiction between a Gemara in Niddah and a Mishna in Avot, concerning the question if one should see oneself as a Rasha or ...
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How should I understand Rabbeinu Bachya on Numbers 25:13?
ויכפר על בני ישראל, “he obtained atonement for the Children of
Israel.” This verse teaches that he who spills the blood of the wicked
is considered as if he had offered a sacrifice. The idea is ...
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How are things such as evil eyes/dark attachments/evil handled in Jewish tradition?
While the topic isn't discussed heavily in modern Judaism (outside of the evil inclination) the idea that there are dark forces which can negatively impact and overwhelm individuals is a very real ...
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Why didn't Titus consort with someone worse than a harlot?
In the Talmud (Gittin 56b) it states that upon entering the holy of holies Titus had relations with a harlot, to defile that place. Is there a reason he chose to consort with a harlot in that spot as ...
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Why are we so concerned about 1/2 of 1% (Golden Calf episode)
We just read (in Parshat Ki Tisa) that the Levites punished the 3,000 men who took part in the golden calf episode. But 3,000 is only 1/2 of 1% of the 600,000 Israelite men who left Egypt. Why is the ...
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Many Jews died in Plague of Darkness, why not Dathan and Abiram?
Some say only 1/5, others say 1/50 and others say 1/500 of the Israelites left Egypt. This means between 80-99.8% of Jews (the reshaim who did not merit or want the Redemption from Egypt) died, ...
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What's the problem with looking at a wicked person? And who does it apply to? [closed]
Why does Jewish tradition (the Talmud ) say that it is forbidden to look at the face of a wicked person? Does it apply to looking at a picture of a wicked person? And how wicked does a person have ...
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Are Synagogues "holy ground," offering protection from evil creatures?
I'm not a Jew, but I'm writing a fantasy novel set in medieval Europe, and one of my characters is a Jew. I've got a group of people with diverse backgrounds who've come together to fight a great evil....
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Davening for the demise of the wicked
Is it a mitzvah,permissible, forbidden to daven for a Jewish wicked person to die? If the wicked person is someone who is trying convert Jews to Christianity would that make a difference? I am looking ...
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The anger of HaShem, Satan or David Himself? - 2 Samuel 24:1 v.s. 1 Chronicles 21:1
2 Samuel 24:1 v.s. 1 Chronicles 21:1
Both describe the same situation, but one verse talks about the anger of HaShem to be kindled against Israel, while the other one talks about 'satan'.
When ...
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Evil spirits from HaShem
Within 1 Samuel 16 verses 14, 15, 16, 23 and 18:10, 19:9 etc.. is speaking about a ruach rah, likewise in Judges 9:23 a ruach rah is mentioned of which the verse tells us 'vayishlach Elohim וישלח ...
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Were Esav, Yishmael, and Nimrod Evildoers?
This question asserts that Ishmael was an evildoer (rasha). However, based on a simple (p'shat) reading of the relevant texts (in Genesis), neither he nor Esau nor Nimrod appear to do anything "evil."...
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Naming after bad people
Why have there been famous(ly righteous) Jewish people named after Yishma'el, who, Chaza"l tell us, was evil and an enemy of Jews? Has anything similar happened with Esav? Korach? Others?
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The wicked rewarded here seemingly aren't rewarded in full. Fair?
I'm reading volume 1 of Strive for Truth, Rabbi Aryeh Carmell's English-language adaptation of Michtav Meeliyahu, and one of the first essays cites Chazal as explaining that one reason good things ...
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