Questions tagged [evil-resha]

Questions about the nature and effects of evil, and evildoers.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
10 votes
8 answers
1k views

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?
Peter Olson's user avatar
  • 1,703
7 votes
5 answers
548 views

Bad things happening to good people

Why do bad things happen to good people? And, even if they do, bad things, not good things, should happen to bad people!
shy''k's user avatar
  • 1,375
17 votes
5 answers
875 views

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?
WAF's user avatar
  • 23.7k
9 votes
2 answers
684 views

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 ...
wfb's user avatar
  • 14.3k
13 votes
2 answers
608 views

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 ...
Michael Sandler's user avatar
18 votes
4 answers
593 views

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 ...
bondonk's user avatar
  • 10.1k
5 votes
2 answers
423 views

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."...
Shmuel's user avatar
  • 10.5k
4 votes
3 answers
269 views

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 ...
msh210's user avatar
  • 73.7k
7 votes
3 answers
350 views

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, ...
Danield's user avatar
  • 4,383
6 votes
2 answers
260 views

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 ...
user9806's user avatar
  • 2,156
5 votes
1 answer
503 views

If prophets can only be "good guys" how come Balaam become a prophet?

I've heard that in Judaism, God don't just randomly appoint people to be a prophet. The prophet must be some "good" guy or pious or whatever. If that's the case, why is balaam a prophet? He's not ...
user4951's user avatar
  • 4,343
2 votes
4 answers
446 views

Davening for someone to get punished

Are you allowed to daven for someone else to get punished? In other words, if a real Jewish rasha in every sense of the word does bad to you for no good reason and you feel incredibly hurt, can you ...
user3480's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
173 views

Do the actions of animals have moral value?

I vaguely remember reading in the Torah some laws regarding the proper restitution when one person's livestock injures or kills someone else's livestock, but as far as I can recall, it was more ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
  • 2,062
1 vote
0 answers
74 views

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 ...
Mark A.'s user avatar
  • 5,051
13 votes
3 answers
502 views

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....
user9844's user avatar
  • 141
11 votes
2 answers
507 views

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 ...
Yehuda W's user avatar
  • 7,896
10 votes
2 answers
719 views

Calling Someone a Rasha

Sometimes people will speak lashon harah about someone saying that it is allowed because he is a "rasha." Then you may hear others saying that today we never really know who is a rasha and we can't ...
Mindz's user avatar
  • 141
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there a Jewish symbol for evil?

Is there a Jewish equivalent to Christian's upside-down cross, a symbol that some Christians believe to mean "evil" or the "devil." Does the "average" Jew have a visual symbol which might be taken to ...
Frederick Volking's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
496 views

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?
Hacham Gabriel's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
2k views

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, ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 1,083
6 votes
4 answers
404 views

Is Cain a prophet?

According to some views, prophecy is not a gift that is arbitrarily conferred upon people; rather, it is the culmination of a person's spiritual and ethical development. When a person reaches a ...
user4951's user avatar
  • 4,343
6 votes
1 answer
590 views

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 ...
user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
260 views

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 ...
not-allowed to change my name's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
216 views

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/...
rosends's user avatar
  • 37.8k
2 votes
1 answer
232 views

Good vs. Evil (wrong)

My question might be similar to other questions posted on this website; After the creation HaShem says: Bereshit 1:31: 'And Elohim saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was tov me’od (...
J.Levi's user avatar
  • 1,039
2 votes
1 answer
171 views

The righteous man who suffers

In Ra'aya Mehemna (Parshat mishpatim) , it's explained that "the righteous man who suffers" is one whose evil nature is subservient to his good nature. I honestly did not understand what that line ...
Charlie's user avatar
  • 339
1 vote
5 answers
503 views

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 ...
ray's user avatar
  • 21.1k
1 vote
1 answer
93 views

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 ...
Mark A.'s user avatar
  • 5,051
1 vote
3 answers
189 views

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 ...
rosends's user avatar
  • 37.8k