Jewish Understandings of Human Nature: The Good and Evil Inclinations With several millennia of history and experiences behind them, it is reasonable to posit that many people of the Jewish faith have sought to better understand human nature and its dichotomous aspects of good and evil. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the relevant literature concerning the history of the Jewish understanding of the good and evil inclinations of humankind and the various approaches to it taken by different Jewish religious scholars. In addition, an examination of the contemporary relevance of the good and evil inclination to Jews, Judaism, and Jewishness is followed by an analysis of the similarities and differences between different Jewish ways of thinking about these issues. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the Jewish understandings of human nature are presented in the paper’s conclusion.

Review and Analysis

Jewish understanding of the good and evil inclinations of humankind

Because humankind is comprised of mere mortals with all of their good as well as less desirable qualities, the vast majority of humankind is both good and evil during various points in their lives. Therefore, it is the preponderance of one tendency over the other that tends to shape contemporary views about human nature and what constitutes good or evil. For example, Griffith (2011) advises that, “The term ‘human nature’ is much more than a reference to human behavior; it actually refers to our species’ less-than-ideally behaved, seemingly-imperfect, even ‘good and evil’-afflicted, so-called human condition.”[footnoteRef:2] [2: Jeremy Griffith, “Human Nature” World Transformation Movement (2011). Available: https://www.humancondition.com/human-nature/.]

On the one hand, the Jewish people have had abundant time to consider the good and evil inclinations of humankind. In fact, the Jewish people have been witness to the good and evil qualities of human nature longer than anyone today. For instance, according to Hanukoglu (2018), “The people of modern day Israel share the same language and culture shaped by the Jewish heritage and religion passed through generations starting with the founding father Abraham (ca. 1800 BCE). Thus, Jews have had a continuous presence in the land of Israel for the past 3,300 years.”[footnoteRef:3] [3: Israel Hanukoglu, “A Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People” Israel Science and Technology (2018). Available: https://www.science.co.il/israel-history/.]

On the other hand, though, these issues are sufficiently complex that they defy easy understanding. Nevertheless, the modern understanding of the good and evil inclinations of humankind is firmly based on the empirical observations of the Jewish people over the four millennia of their history, lending particular credence to their views about people. In this regard, Rayner (1998) emphasizes that, “We have been conquered, enslaved, expelled, scattered, persecuted, and subjected to every crude and subtle pressure to abandon our distinctiveness, and more than one tyrant has tried to put an end to our very existence on earth, to make the world judenrein.”[footnoteRef:4] [4: John D. Rayner, A Jewish Understanding of the World. Providence, RI: Berghahn Books (1998), 14.]

Arrayed against this genocidal backdrop, it would be readily understandable for the Jewish people to develop an understanding of human nature as being inherently evil, an understanding that is further reinforced by Jewish religious practices. For example, Rayner adds that the miraculous survival of the Jewish people over the millennia in the face of overwhelming evil is memorialized in Jewish prayers. According to Rayner, “The Midrash, for instance, observes: 'Kingdoms come and kingdoms go, but Israel endures for ever' and we recite the words of the Passover Haggadah: 'God's promise has sustained our ancestors, and it sustains us still. For not only one enemy has sought to destroy us, but in every generation evil forces seek to destroy us, yet the Holy One, ever to be blessed, delivers us from their power.'”[footnoteRef:5] [5: Rayner (1998), 14.]

Notwithstanding this important but isolated dogmatic reference to Jewish vies about human nature, one Jewish scholar points out that, “On the question of human nature, as in most areas of abstract belief in Judaism, there is a lot of room for personal opinion. There is no dogma on the subject, no required belief about the nature of humanity.”[footnoteRef:6] Moreover, the varying views about human nature held by modern Jews are highly subjective, and the extent to which individual Jews view different actions and qualities as being inherently good or evil do not make them good or evil in the process. In other words, the enormous variety of beliefs held by Jews the world over make it problematic...

For instance, Mare (2018) emphasizes that, “There are a variety of contrary opinions expressed on the subject, and one is no less a Jew (and no less a good Jew) for disagreeing with any or all of these opinions.”[footnoteRef:7] [6: Mechon Mare, “Human Nature.” Torah 101 (2018). Available: https://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/human.htm.] [7: Mare (2018).]
While regarding non-Jewish peoples that have persecuted them for centuries as being evil incarnate would be human nature and therefore understandable, the historic and modern trends that have affected the Jewish people fail to include an understanding of the good and evil nature of the Jewish people themselves. Rather than regarding themselves as possessing strictly good or evil natures, some Jewish scholars suggest that the millennia of evil that the Jewish people have faced have resulted in something of an inferiority complex that continues to adversely affect the manner in which they view themselves in general and Jewish males in particular as well as people of other faiths today.[footnoteRef:8] For instance, Hoberman (2009) cites the view of Jewish males as “timid and sickly” that prevailed following the end of World War II. Although this view did not mean that Jewish men of this era were in fact either timid or sickly or that these qualities made them evil, it is reasonable to posit that these views translated into an overarching perception of Jewish people being less than good. [8: John Hoberman, “Legacy of Rage: Jewish Masculinity, Violence, and Culture, by Warren Rosenberg.” Shofar (Winter 2005), 23, no. 2, 175.]

While this type of conceptualization does not necessarily translate into a view of the Jewish people as being either good or evil, it does underscore the sea change in views about the human nature of the Jewish people that has taken place over the past half century or so. Indeed, past views about Jewish males as being the “99-pound weakling” have been replaced with a more masculine version that prizes the "the gentleness, the intellectuality, the commitment to justice, and the humorous garrulity that positively mark the Jewish male.”[footnoteRef:9] These assertions indicate that the Jewish people tend to regard their basic human nature as being fundamentally good, even when they are surrounded by the forces of evil intent on their destruction. It is important to note, however, that there are also some variances in views about human nature that are related to the Jewish people, their faith and how they demonstrate and celebrate it as discussed further below. [9: Hoberman (2005), 175.]

Good and evil inclinations in Jews, Judaism and Jewishness

Any similarities and differences in the conceptualization of good or evil inclinations in Jews are founded in the original covenant that created the religion 3,300 years ago. For example, one rabbi points out that, “Judaism originates as a result of the covenantal relationship between God and Abraham.[footnoteRef:10] Many of the foundational qualities of the origin can be easily regarded as being inherently good. For instance, according to Freeman (2018): [10: James S. Glazer, “What are the main differences between a Jew and a Christian?” Reform Judaism (2018). Available: https://reformjudaism.org/what-are-main-differences-between-jew-and-christian.]

The Torah covenant established a society that was radically different from other societies of the time. For one thing, the rulers were held to the same law as everyone else. Every child had to be educated in the law. Equality before the law placed all citizens on equal ground. Furthermore, all members of society became responsible for the welfare of one another. And God was understood to be equally accessible to all who call upon Him—especially to the oppressed and downtrodden.[footnoteRef:11] [11: Tzvi Freeman, “Who are the Jews?” Chabad (2018). Available: https://www.chabad.org/ library/article_cdo/aid/3852163/jewish/Who-Are-the-Jews.htm.]

The high priority that this religious guidance placed on the mutual benefit of all members of Jewish society likewise points to the inherently good nature of the Jewish people, but Judaism has been criticized by Jewish and non-Jewish scholars alike for its views about the relationship between humankind and the natural world. For instance, according to Schwartz (1995), many scholars regard “Jewish religious life to be transcendental and apart from the natural world, while [other Jewish scholars] believe Jewish religious life has always had a place for a complementary model of spirituality contained within the relationship of the Jew to the natural world.”[footnoteRef:12] [12: .Eilon Schwartz, “Judaism and Nature: Theological and Moral Issues to Consider While Renegotiating a Jewish Relationship to the Natural World.” Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought (Fall…