The Evil Inclination

Rav Nahman bar Rav Hisda expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written, "And the LORD God formed [vayyitzer] the man" (Genesis 2:7), with two letters yod? The Holy One, blessed be He, created two inclinations [yetzarim], one a good inclination and one an evil inclination. Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak objected to this: If so, then a beast, concerning which "and He formed" is not written, would have no inclination? But we see that it injures and bites and kicks! Rather, it is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon ben Pazzi, for Rabbi Shimon ben Pazzi said: "Woe to me from my Maker [yotzeri], woe to me from my inclination [yitzri]." Or else it is in accordance with Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar. For Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: The Holy One, blessed be He, created two faces in the first man, as it is said: "Behind and before You have formed me" (Psalm 139:5). Rav said: The evil inclination resembles a fly, and it sits between the two openings of the heart, as it is said: "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment foul and putrid" (Ecclesiastes 10:1). And Shmuel said: It resembles a kind of wheat grain, as it is said: "At the door sin crouches" (Genesis 4:7). Our Rabbis taught: There are two kidneys in a man, one counsels him toward good and one counsels him toward evil. And it stands to reason that the good one is to his right and the evil one to his left, as it is written: "The heart of the wise is at his right hand, and the heart of the fool at his left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2).