Jewish Conception of Evil

I received a number of inquiries this week on the nature of evil and how one can explain or begin to understand a tragedy of this kind. I thought I would paraprhase the questions and provide my take on an answer for everyone.

There are different ways of looking at the presence of Evil in Judaism. However, all of the different views share one element. The presence of evil is an outgrowth of man’s ability to choose. Without being able to make the wrong choices, there would be no merit for making the correct choice. A person that takes the train is not commended on their driving abilities. The train travels on a straight path and arrives at a pre determined place.

Our lives are not predetermined in this fashion. We have the ability to make choices and select the direction that we travel. One of the outgrowths of this ability is the possibility of choosing the wrong course. While it is very difficult to fathom how a person could take another’s life, there is a commandment in the Torah not to murder. If it were not a possibility there would be no commandment. We are not, for example, commanded to breath. That is something that is a natural outgrowth of life.

Beyond the shared element of free choice the different conceptions of evil can be thought of as falling on a continuum between philosophy and mysticism. For Jewish Philosophy, evil does not really exist. It is only the absence of good. But, Evil has no substance of its own. Maimonides for his part says that there is very little evil in the world. Even when tragedy strikes the vast preponderance of experience is benign. Even in Falluja or Baghdad, the majority of people lead lives untouched by violence.

For Maimonides, Fear and perception are the main factors in determining how we deal with Evil. There is a great paragraph in Guide for the Perplexed that describes a person complaining about evil in the world. To paraphrase; A person eats bad food, copulates to much, drinks and gets a hangover and then complains about the various ailments that befall him. From that perspective much of the pain and anguish associated with the tragedy in Virginia is misplaced. We, as a society, have made choices about gun control. If we feel that it is important to allow people to have semi automatic pistols that can fire 900 rounds per minute, then we should not complain when events like this occur.

Kaballah looks at evil slightly differently. In Mysticism there is a substance to evil. There are negative forces in the world, husks, shells, without G-dly energy that combine to challenge people to choose correctly. These forces form the “sitra achra” the other side. In the Jewish mystical system there is a constant battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The battle takes place on both a micro cosmic level within an individual and on a macro cosmic level between nations. According to this world view, certain people are evil. Their actions can not be explained away or justified. To be able to squeeze the trigger and blow away another human being with out feeling or remorse sets one outside of the brotherhood of man.

So which paradigm is correct? Which one gives us a way of dealing with the Virginia Tech tragedy? The answer is it doesn’t matter. The solution of either paradigm is the same. Increase in goodness and kindness and spread light. If evil is an illusion it will disappear in the light. If evil exists it will also disappear in the light. Be a good person. Say nice things to friends and strangers. Compliment people, spread smiles and the world will change for the better. The performance of Mitzvot, G-dly commandments is also a way to spread light and confront evil.