Yetzarim Tov V'Ra

The mishna articulates a general principle: One is obligated to recite a blessing for the bad that befalls him just as he recites a blessing for the good that befalls him, as it is stated: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The mishna explains this verse as follows: “With all your heart” means with your two inclinations, with your good inclination and your evil inclination, both of which must be subjugated to the love of God. “With all your soul” means even if God takes your soul. “And with all your might” means with all your money, as money is referred to in the Bible as might. Alternatively, it may be explained that “with all your might” means with every measure that He metes out to you; whether it is good or troublesome, thank Him. The mishna teaches several Temple-related halakhot. One may not act irreverently or conduct himself flippantly opposite the eastern gate of the Temple Mount, which is aligned opposite the Holy of Holies. In deference to the Temple, one may not enter the Temple Mount with his staff, his shoes, his money belt [punda], or even the dust on his feet. One may not make the Temple a shortcut to pass through it, and through an a fortiori inference, all the more so one may not spit on the Temple Mount. The mishna relates: At the conclusion of all blessings recited in the Temple, those reciting the blessing would say: Blessed are You Lord, God of Israel, until everlasting [haolam], the world. But when the Sadducees strayed and declared that there is but one world and there is no World-to-Come, the Sages instituted that at the conclusion of the blessing one recites: From everlasting [haolam] to everlasting [haolam]. The Sages also instituted that one should greet another in the name of God, i.e., one should mention God’s name in his greeting, as it is stated: “And presently Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, The Lord is with you, and they said to him, May the Lord bless you” (Ruth 2:4). And it says: “And the angel of God appeared to him and said to him, God is with you, mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12). And it says: “And despise not your mother when she is old” (Proverbs 23:22), i.e., one must not neglect customs which he inherits. And lest you say that mentioning God’s name is prohibited, it says: “It is time to work for the Lord; they have made void Your Torah” (Psalms 119:126), i.e., it is occasionally necessary to negate biblical precepts in order to perform God’s will, and greeting another is certainly God’s will. Rabbi Natan says another interpretation of the verse: “Make void Your Torah” because “it is the time to work for the Lord,” i.e., occasionally it is necessary to negate biblical precepts in order to bolster the Torah.

Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda interpreted homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Then the Lord God formed [vayyitzer] man” (Genesis 2:7), with a double yod? This double yod alludes to that fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created two inclinations; one a good inclination and one an evil inclination.

The Hebrew, satan, is derived from the same root as séteh, “turn away” (Prov. 4:15); it implies the notion of turning and moving away from a thing; he undoubtedly turns us away from the way of truth, and leads us astray in the way of error. The same idea is contained in the passage, “And the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21). The theory of the good and the evil inclinations (yeẓer ha-tob, ve-yeẓer ha-ra’) is frequently referred to in our religion. Our Sages also say, “Serve God with your good and your evil inclinations.” (B. T. Ber. 57a.) They also say that the evil inclination we receive at our birth: for “at the door sin croucheth” (Gen. 4:7), as is distinctly said in the Law, “And the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth” (ibid. 8:21). The good inclination, however, comes when the mind is developed. In explaining the allegory representing the body of man and his different faculties, our Sages (B. T. Ned. 32b) said: “The evil inclination is called a great king, whilst the good inclination is a child, poor, though wise” (Eccles. 9:14). All these sayings of our Sages are contained in their writings, and are well known. According to our Sages the evil inclination, the adversary (satan), and the angel [of death], are undoubtedly identical; and the adversary being called “angel, “because he is among the sons of God, and the good inclination being in reality an angel, it is to the good and the evil inclinations that they refer in their well-known words, “Every person is accompanied by two angels, one being on his right side, one on his left.” In the Babylonian Gemara (Shabbath 119b), they say distinctly of the two angels that one is good and one bad. See what extraordinary ideas this passage discloses, and how many false ideas it removes.

"with all your heart": with both of your inclinations, the good and the evil.

When a person hears favorable tidings, he should recite the blessing: "Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who is good and does good." If he hears bad tidings, he should recite the blessing: "Blessed [are You...] the true Judge."
A person is obligated to recite a blessing over undesirable occurrences with a positive spirit, in the same manner as he joyfully recites a blessing over desirable occurrences. [This is implied by Deuteronomy 6:5]: "And you shall love God, your Lord... with all your might." Included in this extra dimension of love that we were commanded [to express] is to acknowledge and praise [God] with happiness even at one's time of difficulty.

Rebbi Meir used to say, ‘It says [in the Torah], “And you should love Hashem, your God, with all of your heart …” (Deuteronomy 6:5) [That means that you should love God] with both of your inclinations, with the good inclination and with the evil inclination. “… and with all of your soul …” (Deuteronomy 6:5) [That means that] even if He takes away your soul [you should still love Him]. And so also it says, “Because for Your sake we are killed all the time …” (Psalms 44:23) [But there is also] another explanation. “With all of your soul” [means] with the soul that He created within you, as it says “Let my soul live and I will praise You …” (Psalms 119:175) And [also] it says, “All my bones will say,’Hashem, Who is like You?”’ (Psalms 35:10)’ Ben Azzai says, “’With all of your soul’ [means that] you should give over your soul to [the performance] of the commandments.”

As we have discussed, humanity is the creature created for the purpose of drawing close to God. They are placed between perfection and deficiency, and it is in their hands to earn perfection. Humanity must earn this perfection, however, through their own desire and choice because if they were forced to choose perfection then they would not actually be its master, and God's purpose would not be fulfilled. It as therefore necessary to create humanity with free will. One's inclinations are therefore balanced between good and evil and they are not compelled toward either. They have the power of choice, able to choose either side knowingly and willingly, as well as to possess whichever one they wish. Humanity was therefore created with both a good urge and an evil urge. They have the power to incline in whichever direction they choose.

The beginning of wisdom is fear of God. This is the foundation for God-fearing men. When you set out to do anything think (of it as) if another person were doing it and asked for your advice: what would you say to him? So did the rabbis say, “That which also honors him in the sight of mankind.” As you advise others so do for yourself. The beginning of wisdom is to acquire wisdom. When your son reaches the age of learning, acquire for him a teacher who is a scholar, and God-fearing, for it is written “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). This is to introduce him to the fear of the Lord. In addition, from all firstlings give Him, “The first of all the first fruits of everything, and every heave offering of everything” (Ezek. 44:30). So too, give Him the beginning of the day and night (in which) to bless Him for that which man enjoys day and night. Thus does he say, “When I behold the heavens the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast established” (Ps. 8:4). It is He who brings on the evening twilight and forms light when you arouse from your sleep and awaken. She will speak to you, and when you open your eyes put upon your heart your tasks and needs, but prior to setting yourself aright there is fear of the Lord, as it is written “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). How so? When a man leaves prison he is obliged to thank the Holy One, blessed be He, and inasmuch as there is no greater imprisonment than sleep, he must bless the Holy One, blessed be He, because prior to awakening there was no power to do anything nor mastery over body. Bless Him for every limb with which you perform your work which was previously immobilized but is now useful. And concerning the hands which were initially in a state of uncleanliness with the spirit of uncleanliness prevailing over them, in order that you not be harmed, wash your hands. Similarly do not put your hands to your eyes until you wash them. Our scholars instituted blessings for every activity. It happened with a certain pious man who recited a blessing for each and every limb and Scripture supported him “My heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God” (Ps. 84:3). And it is written, “All my bones shall say, Lord who is like unto Thee” (Ps. 35:10), and he prayed for all of the limbs that were created part of him that they serve Him who created them for His glory and that they not sin against Him. For the Holy One, blessed be He, puts into the heart of the good that they (do) not sin against Him, nor that sin be brought about through them, for it is said, “There shall no mischief befall the righteous” (Prov. 12:21). Good and evil inclinations can serve beneficent ends with the righteous. He sees how the wicked with deliberate cunning seek to fulfill their lusts even but for a moment, and because of their appetites they often place their lives in danger for (this) momentary fulfillment, as in the case of robbers, thieves, and adulterers, who do so, all for the sake of questionable results. But I have all the more need to be cunning because of the Holy One, blessed be He, who grants to His loved ones their desires in the hereafter and for eternity supreme joys far beyond the voluptuous indulgences of the wicked. If man’s good inclination overpowers him to do good, as the evil inclination bends him toward the lusts of his flesh and his ambitions, then with ingenious cunning he would seek to fulfill the desires of heaven. That person who has the ability to do everything that his heart desires, and it is possible for him to do it without risk of shame, he need not be so cunning in the matter. But where the power is not within him to do that which the heart desires, because of so and so and because of someone in such a matter, then he must be cunning so as to make the desires of his heart such that this other matter does not harm him. Since all of these matters involve depth of wisdom and great exertions which are found in those who lust, and are jealous and pursue honor, (therefore) he who fears the word of God sees how they search and lurk to fulfill their lusts which are momentary and questionable of achieving, and they hurl their souls from the distance, so much the more (let him apply this tenacity to himself) myself. “But I will be hallowed among the children of Israel” (Lev. 22:32) refers to those who are slain in Sanctification of the Name, for it is said “Nay but for Thy sake are we killed all the day” (Ps. 44:23). Behold, the evil inclination is good for man, for if there is no evil inclination to govern man, of what significance is the reward which he receives for doing good. Now that his evil inclination overwhelms him and he subdues it because of the Holy One, blessed be He, he receives the good reward. For those that are evil the good inclination is bad, because if they did not taste the good inclination they would have been able to say we did not know the value of the good inclination. If anything presents itself to you in accord with the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, but because of shame you desist from doing it and the matter seems awkward to you or if your evil inclination overpowers you to transgress or to act, reflect accordingly. If you were living at a time of religious persecution, you would have been visited by all afflictions, even death, for the sake of the Creator, for it is said, “Therefore do the maidens love thee” (Cant. 1:3). If they wanted to kill you or inflict punishment upon you to the extent that death would be preferable to life, you would endure them, all the more in this matter which is not so great, where your evil inclination overpowers you. And the person that overwhelms his evil inclination receives greater reward than for a hundred commandments where his evil inclination did not incite, overwhelm or compel him to sin. For they said, there is no reward for meritorious deeds that they shall perform in the hereafter.
“Before the evil days come” (Eccl. 12:1). These are the years of old age and the weariness of years of which you say, “I have no pleasure in them” (Eccl. 12:1), which are the days of the Messiah which have neither merit nor guilt It is therefore better to do that thing wherein the evil inclination overpowers him but he subdues his inclination because of the Creator, rather than commandments wherein the evil inclination does not assert itself. You shall not say behold the commandments are of equal weight, the light ones as the more serious ones. He carries greater sin in a hundred commandments where the inclination does not bother him and he transgresses, than in those commandments where the inclination opposes him. This is a parable to a king of flesh and blood who commands his servants to go to a certain place. One comes and says to his (the king’s) servant, “do not go to that place where the king sends you, and I will give you a pound of gold,” the servant accepts and does not go. The other does not go because one promises to give to him two pennies. Behold this one accepts but two pennies his punishment is greater, because he voids the will of the king in a small matter. Similarly, this one who sins in a matter where his evil inclination does not overpower him his punishment is greater. Anything that comes to your hand to do and you do not do because of the shame, lest they call you “pious fool,” consider yourself as if living during time of religious persecution; you would (suffer death) over a light transgression even a shoestrap, (therefore say) all the more that I will subdue my passion which is given into my hand. If you stole learning it will suffice for you. And if the shame embarrasses you, behold it is for you as an atoning sacrifice. Better that you be embarrassed before a hundred and not be embarrassed before tens of thousands after death. And so he who withholds himself from a meritorious deed because of shame whether in a positive commandment or in a prohibitory commandment, he will be shamed publicly after his death in their presence and perhaps even in his lifetime, as with Zedekiah who said, “Lest they deliver me into their hand and they mock me” (Jer. 38:19), he did not submit to the Lord and they blinded him.
Consider the two letters kof kof, “For every boot stamped …” (Isa. 9:4) for the entire world is judged measure for measure for it is said, “because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy whom the Lord shall send against thee in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things” (Deut. 28:47). And all who have mercy on the cruel show no mercy to the merciful. A man who is obliged to have mercy upon others, such as his sons, his daughters, his brother and his near ones, and they are in need and he is able to feed them but does not, behold everything that he possesses will come into the hands of others and he will receive for this neither merit nor credit. Even if he supports others, but knows that his father, mother and brothers are poor and does not support them, in the end these others that he supports will deal cruelly and mercilessly with him; they will become his enemies and not consider it as a favor the kindness that he did with them. For there is a matter for which a person receives no merit if he does it, but if he does not do it, it is regarded as evil. For instance a man and his wife who love their children and they possess the means for their support and have mercy upon them, behold this is no merit or righteousness because out of love they do this for them, as in the case of dogs, bears and all animals who put their lives in danger to bring prey to their offspring. If parents do not support their children or if they strike them unnecessarily or show no mercy to them or never admonish them and their offspring have nothing, the parent’s transgression is grave. Therefore a father who does favors for some of his children and reviles others and does no good for them, him that he loathes will be his heir.

With this we begin Had Gadya. What exactly is the significance of the "single kid?" The Had Gadya is a symbol of the free will for which the world was created. God created all things so that there are opposing choices. God created the good and evil inclinations and He gave us a choice between them.
We see this in the symbolism of Yom Kippur. The Torah tells us that, “Aaron shall take two he-goats and let them stand before the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” Why were there two goats? The two he-goats symbolize the good and evil inclinations which are in all human beings. Each tries to advise, one toward good and the other toward evil. But because they are so much alike, we cannot tell them apart. Similarly, we cannot differentiate the two goats on Yom Kippur.
They look alike in all – in height, appearance and color – so that they are interchangeable. We can only tell them apart by drawing lots – one is then designated for the Lord while the other for Azazel.
Similarly both the good and the evil inclinations must serve God, just as these goats do. When we draw lots, we learn that our good deeds lead us to God while sin leads us to Azazel. Yet the goat that is sent to Azazel is also necessary for our repair. The scapegoat upon which the priest confesses our sins also serves a divine purpose since it carries away our sins. In this way, both the good and evil inclination must serve God.
The two goats of Yom Kippur are symbols for the two inclinations in every human being. Similar to the two inclinations, both goats are used in the service of God. One was sent off to Azazel to die, and the other one became a sacrifice to the Lord. Since we cannot tell the goats/inclinations apart, it is easy to confuse them and the one for the Lord must also be sacrificed while the other is led off into the wilderness. Therefore we choose lots so that one is designated for each purpose.
Before Adam sinned, everything was sanctified to God. But once humankind sinned, good and evil became mixed together and “Sin coaches at the door.” The two goats of Yom Kippur are like the twins, Jacob and Esau. In the opening refrain of Had Gadya we say that Father bought the goat for two zuzim; we repeat this refrain twice because in fact he bought two goats for one zuz each. We repeat the words Had Gadya twice as a reference to the two goats of Yom Kippur and the two inclinations. A righteous man who serves God properly uses the evil inclination to turn darkness to light and bitterness to sweetness.
So too when the Jews left Egypt we find that this was the case: The Jews did not abide by their faith very long after they left Egypt. The Torah says, “they tried the Lord, saying: "is the Lord among us, or not?" The evil inclination overcame them and caused them to doubt God‟s providence.

INWARD ABSTINENCE
The abstinence which applies to the third type, namely, what applies exclusively to ourselves - our thoughts, inner life, and our inclinations, good and evil.

But there is a YeTZiRah (formation) for good and for evil. As our Sages taught: “And [God] YiYTZeR (formed)” (Genesis 2:7) —with two Yods. These are two YeTZaRin (inclinations): the good inclination and the evil inclination. In other words, good thoughts are the good inclination and evil thoughts are the evil inclination. This is because the inclinations are essentially the thoughts and wisdom of the heart, as it is written (Genesis 6:5), “for the inclination of his heart’s thoughts….” Thus, when a person thinks evil thoughts, he clogs up creation’s Space, which is where the attributes are revealed.

Therefore, the prophet exhorted us in the love of the Creator, that it should include one's life, body, and money, that a man should volunteer all of these out of love of the Creator, and not be sparing in any of them in the fulfillment of the Creator's will. So our Sages said: "'with all your hearts' means with your two inclinations, the good inclination and [resisting] the evil inclination. 'With all your soul' means even if we have to give up our life. 'With all your means', means with all your money" (Talmud Berachot 54a). They also said: "Do His will as if it were your will that He may do your will as if it was His will. Nullify your will before His will that He may nullify the will of others before your will" (Avos 2:4).

A person’s entire destiny — for good or ill — depends on the thoughts in his heart. The thoughts and ideas in the heart are the basis of the heart’s “inclinations” — the good inclination and the evil inclination. Good thoughts are the good inclination, bad thoughts are the evil inclination (Ibid.).

2) This belief bears great significance on our lives. It implies that there is no value in this world outside adherence to God, and we are thus enjoined to love Him “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” The Sages (Berakhot 54a) interpret these words: “‘With all your heart’ – with both of your inclinations: your good inclination and your evil inclination,” because one’s evil inclination must be controlled to serve God, whether by force or by transforming it into good; “‘And with all your soul’ – even if it takes your life,” for one must be ready to give his life for his belief in God; “‘And with all your might’ (‘me’odekha’) – with all your money (‘mamonekha’)” – even one’s money should serve as a basis and a means to serve God, so that if it were demanded of a Jew to violate his religion or lose all his wealth, he would forfeit his money rather than defy his belief. Alternatively, they interpret, “‘With all your might’ – no matter what He metes out to you (‘be-khol mida u-mida she-Hu moded lekha’), be very grateful to him.”

Since these two qualities, the inclination to the good and the inclination to evil, which correspond to the positive and negative commandments, are impressed upon human nature, the Torah was given with positive and negative commandments to direct an individual and habituate him towards positive qualities. The inclination towards evil would be drawn after the good and annihilated within it. Concerning this our sages said: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart’ [Deut. 6:5]—with your two inclinations, towards good and evil.” This is the purpose of the commandments, the acts of worship, prayers, and fasting. They serve to subjugate the evil inclination so that it might be rendered subordinate to the impulse towards good. Thus the body, whose foundation is dust and nature evil and which descends below, will be drawn after the faculty of the soul, whose foundation is life, whose nature is wholly for the good and ascends upwards. Give careful heed and listen to my wondrous words, let them always be present before your eyes, for they are pleasant and should be stored inside you.