Questions tagged [evil-resha]
Questions about the nature and effects of evil, and evildoers.
74
questions
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 ...
- 10.1k
17
votes
5
answers
874
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?
- 23.6k
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....
- 141
13
votes
2
answers
605
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 ...
- 5,398
11
votes
5
answers
1k
views
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?
- 111
11
votes
2
answers
284
views
What's the connection between Avraham and Bilaam?
In chapter 5 of Pirkei Avos, it states (from Chabad.org):
יט. כל מי שיש בידו שלושה דברים הללו הוא מתלמידיו של אברהם אבינו. ושלושה דברים אחרים הוא מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע.
19. Whoever possesses the ...
- 21k
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 ...
- 7,896
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?
- 1,703
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 ...
- 141
9
votes
2
answers
681
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 ...
- 14.3k
9
votes
1
answer
260
views
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?
- 361
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 ...
8
votes
3
answers
328
views
Why is the Evil Inclination Called a "Fool"?
Koheles (4:13), (as explained by the Midrash Rabba) describes the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) as "A king, old, and a fool".
It explains:
"...ולמה קורא אותו כסיל? שהוא מלמד לאדם דרך ...
- 21k
7
votes
5
answers
547
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!
- 1,375
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, ...
- 1,083
7
votes
3
answers
348
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, ...
- 4,383
7
votes
2
answers
495
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?
- 16.6k
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 ...
user15672
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 ...
- 2,146
6
votes
4
answers
402
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 ...
- 4,343
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Obliterating the names and memories of evil people
Theoretically the names and the very memories of evil people (rasha'im) should be obliterated. Is this aim seriously pursued?
For example, saying ימח שמו after a name doesn't really help obliterate ...
- 1,565
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 ...
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 ...
- 4,343
5
votes
2
answers
420
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."...
- 10.5k
5
votes
4
answers
580
views
The 4 sons - the evil son
Why on the seder are we excluding the evil son. In the Hagada it says "break his teeth,etc", "tell him if you were in Egypt you would not have been redeemed".
Yet on Yom Kipur we say on kol nidrei we ...
- 21.1k
5
votes
2
answers
744
views
How does Judaism answer the problem of evil? [duplicate]
I would think that after the great amount of suffering the Jews had to suffer in the 20th century a whole lot of them had to review how the deity they believed in could let what was happening to them ...
- 531
5
votes
1
answer
418
views
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 ...
- 51
5
votes
1
answer
928
views
When do we append "ימח שמו וזכרו" to the name of an evil person
When is the phrase 'ימח שמו וזכרו' ('may his name and memory be erased') appended to the name of an evil person? Is it a stylistic and subjective matter of choice or are there specific criteria to ...
- 10.1k
4
votes
2
answers
142
views
Dan LeChaf Zechuth - Exceptions?
What are the exceptions to the requirement to judge one another favorably? Does it apply unless the person has a (proven) reputation of a Rasha'? Is it limited to Bein Adam LaMakom? (If someone ...
- 41.5k
4
votes
1
answer
266
views
Why aren't non-Jews buried near Jews or wicked people near good?
A colleague at work asked me why Jews are not buried alongside Non-Jews. He understood why we don't eat with them, but thought those differences should not extend in death and pointed at the ...
- 401
4
votes
3
answers
268
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 ...
- 73.7k
4
votes
0
answers
51
views
Does כל האומר דבר בשם אומרו מביא גאלה לעולם apply to all people? [duplicate]
Does the statement in pirkei avos (6:6) that כל האומר דבר בשם אומרו מביא גאלה לעולם apply if the original author of the statement is a non-Jew? What if the originator is a rasha?
- 3,835
4
votes
1
answer
215
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/...
- 37.8k
3
votes
2
answers
790
views
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; ...
- 173
3
votes
1
answer
100
views
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 ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
296
views
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?
- 35.4k
3
votes
2
answers
162
views
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 ...
user15672
3
votes
0
answers
449
views
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 (...
- 7,328
3
votes
4
answers
842
views
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 ...
- 1,039
2
votes
1
answer
329
views
Drawing the line between not judging and not being a fool
I am what you refer to as a gentile but I have an interest and cursory understanding of Kabbalah and the red string precept of pertinence to not judging others. i.e. Evil eye.
I've gone to great ...
- 131
2
votes
3
answers
379
views
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 ...
- 21.1k
2
votes
4
answers
444
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 ...
- 21
2
votes
3
answers
180
views
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 ...
- 23
2
votes
1
answer
167
views
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?
- 5,051
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 ...
- 2,062
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 ...
- 339
2
votes
4
answers
163
views
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 ...
- 565
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 (...
- 1,039
2
votes
0
answers
138
views
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 ...
- 24.8k
2
votes
0
answers
184
views
What is the Jewish belief regarding evil spirits? [duplicate]
What do Jews believe about ghosts and evil spirits? It seem to me that the Bible gives clear definition about the fact that they are real. What do Jews believe about this?
- 29