For Goodness' Sake

by Suzanne Sadowsky

Andreas' article, “The Concept of Evil” in last month's Newsletter was not easy reading, but it was thought-provoking to the point of my wanting to respond. Andreas' talent and interest in linguistics is apparent as his interest in studying historical texts and origins. His investigation of the rabbinic interpretation and syntactical meaning of the term יֵצֶר הָרָע yetzer ha-ra (sometimes translated as ‘the evil inclination’) also shows Andreas' deep interest in ethics and in the idea of evil; ultimately Andreas rejects the concept of evil itself. He defends his argument in part by quoting from Hannah Arendt's study, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. Andreas agrees with Arendt, saying “If we call them [people who do horrific things] ‘evil’ we make monsters of them and forfeit the ability to empathize with them. If we want to correct any problem ascribed to ‘evil’, we need to peer behind the mask of ‘evil’ in order to discover the real causes of the problem.”

I disagree with Andreas on several grounds, but mainly, I think that he did not carry his ideas far enough. The Torah teaches us that both יֵצֶר הָרָע yetzer ha-ra and יֵצֶר הַטוֹב yetzer ha-tov (the inclination to do good) are part of our nature. But that's just the beginning. What the Torah also teaches us is that we have been given the freedom of choice. We are born with the capacity to do good, to contribute to the on-going process of creation by doing life-enhancing acts, to repair the world through תִּקּוּן עוֹלָם tikkun olam to act in ways that show respect and love for others. We also have the capacity to be destructive, to do things that diminish life: destructive acts that are harmful, violent, and that demonstrate a selfish disregard for other people and for the earth. It is the choices that he makes and the acts that he does that determine whether a person is to be considered a good person, a mensch.

Every one of us (except perhaps those who are pathologically unfit) have the capacity to become good —or at least better— people in our lifetimes. But we are not born that way. (The mystical tradition tells us that a Jewish child, while still in the womb, has a perfect knowledge of Torah, but at the instant of birth the infant forgets it all.) We need to learn right from wrong and we are enjoined to teach our children to know the difference. By the time a girl is 12 or a boy is 13 they should have learned enough to make those decisions. Just as healthy children learn to share their toys and be kind and not to tease or bully others, right-minded adults continue to learn that altruism, loving-kindness, and generosity have more value to them and to society than selfishness. Doing the right thing is a lifelong pursuit. For most of us ordinary mortals it doesn't always just come naturally. We make mistakes and (hopefully) we atone for them.

Eichmann and his Nazi compatriots saw themselves not as Menschen but as Übermenschen, a superior race, self-proclaimed arbiters of moral law and authority. The role that they presumed allowed them to put themselves above the basic moral principles that had guided mankind since the time of Moses. Arendt's thesis leads to moral relativism that obfuscates the obligation of a just society to hold criminals accountable for the crimes that they perpetrate in the name of banality. Yes, oppression, terrorism, murder, rape, domestic violence, genocide are all too banal. They exist in every corner of the globe. But that's no excuse for humanity not to pursue and bring to justice those who are responsible for those crimes. If we don't have an objective standard by which we recognize the difference between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ acts, then we are disregarding the value of our Commandments and the teachings of all of the other great religions of the world. As a Jew, I believe that there are ethical principles and moral laws that are universal, that supersede the laws of any nation, culture, or society. It is by not holding people and governments (our own included) accountable for the evil acts that they do, that we demonize them, dehumanize them and thereby turn them into monsters.

So then we have the age-old question: Why did our loving God who is the source of all, God who created everything, also create evil and the capacity of human beings to commit evil acts? This is a question asked by children and adults alike. One answer is so that we might know the difference between the two and thereby make righteous choices. It is by making those choices that we, during our lifetimes, elevate that which is ordinary to that which is holy. By making morally just decisions in how we live our lives, and by holding responsible and bringing to justice those who destroy life, we are taking part in the ongoing process of creation. The ability to make just choices differentiates human beings from the other beings of God's creation. Understanding and recognizing the difference between what is good and what is evil informs the choices that we make and the ways we choose to govern ourselves and live our lives.

—from our February 2002 Newsletter

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