And our tradition, Jewish tradition, certainly doesn’t shy away from trying to answer it.

Today, let's peek into the Book of Jubilees, a text that, while not part of the standard Hebrew Bible canon, offers a fascinating glimpse into ancient Jewish thought. It’s a retelling of Genesis and Exodus, but with some very interesting additions.

One passage in particular, from chapter 10, speaks of a future day of judgment. A day, it says, when God will judge the wicked "with a sword and with fire." Strong imagery. The text suggests this judgment will be for "all the unclean wickedness of their errors, wherewith they have filled the earth with transgression and uncleanness and fornication and sin." It’s a pretty bleak picture of humanity gone astray.

But where does this straying begin? That's where it gets really interesting.

The very next line tells us, "And in the third week of this jubilee the unclean demons began to lead astray the children of the sons of Noah; and to make to err and destroy them." So, according to Jubilees, the source of this widespread wickedness isn't simply human fallibility. There's another force at play: demons.

These aren’t just mischievous little imps, mind you. These are "unclean demons" actively working to "lead astray" and "destroy" humanity. It’s a powerful statement about the nature of evil. It's not just a result of bad choices, but a deliberate, external influence pushing us down the wrong path.

Now, why the "sons of Noah" specifically? Remember, after the flood, Noah and his family were the new Adam and Eve, the progenitors of a renewed humanity. So, when Jubilees says the demons target "the children of the sons of Noah," it's saying they're going after the very foundation of this new world, corrupting it from the ground up.

We could spend hours unpacking the theological implications of this passage. Is it a literal description of demonic activity? A metaphor for the seductive power of temptation? A way of explaining the persistence of evil even after a fresh start?

Perhaps it's all of those things.

What's undeniable is that the Book of Jubilees offers a stark reminder of the ever-present struggle between good and evil, and the forces that seek to pull us away from the path of righteousness. It reminds us that the fight against wickedness is not just an internal one, but also a battle against influences that seek to corrupt and destroy. And maybe, just maybe, understanding the source of evil is the first step towards overcoming it.