Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz
I sometimes find myself committing aveirot (sins) that serve no real purpose for me, such as gossiping about people. I understand why I desire physical pleasures, but what is driving me to do things I derive no benefit from? And how can I stay away from this kind of behavior?
Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:
Hashem (God) created a single force of evil that drives us to sin, through what we call the yetzer hara. But even though all evil inclination stems from one source, Rav Yisroel Salanter explains that there are actually two types of yetzer hara—a physical one and a spiritual one. The purpose of both is to present us with challenges to overcome, thereby earning reward in Olam Haba (the World to Come).
Two Inclinations:
The physical yetzer hara refers to forces that are rooted in our physical existence. Its sole drive is the pursuit of physical pleasure. It entices us by focusing our attention on what is immediately gratifying, causing us to overlook the long-term consequences.
But there is also a spiritual yetzer hara, which is an external spiritual force that lures a person to sin. Unlike the physical yetzer hara, which entices us through physical pleasure, the spiritual yetzer hara tries to get us to sin even when there is no pleasure to be gained at all.
Think Of It Like This
Indeed, Chazal describe these two aspects of the yetzer hara. The Gemara (Arachin 15b) relates that, in the End of Days, the animals will confront the nachash (snake) and ask: “Other animals harm in order to eat their victim, but why do you bite if you gain nothing from it?” To which the nachash will respond, “And what benefit does a person derive from speaking lashon hara (evil speech)?”
The animals are parallel to our physical yetzer hara, causing harm out of a drive to attain pleasure. But the nachash represents the spiritual yetzer hara, who creates a drive to do evil even when there is no apparent gain, just for the sake of evil. While a person may sometimes speak lashon hara thinking it will benefit him, there are times a person feels an irrational urge to speak it, despite gaining nothing. This is the influence of the spiritual yetzer hara.
Realize The Difference
Once you understand the different mechanics of each yetzer hara, you will be better equipped to overcome them. In general, it is unwise to fight the evil inclination head-on. Instead, we should seek to appease it so that it will leave us alone, allowing us to serve Hashem undisturbed. However, the method of appeasement must align with the unique nature of each yetzer hara.
When dealing with the drive toward physical pleasure, we can appease it with a measured amount of enjoyment. Instead of withdrawing completely and being overly ascetic, we should eat some good food, get sufficient rest, and engage with the world in a balanced way. By satisfying this drive in permissible ways, the urge loses its intensity and is less likely to drag us toward forbidden behaviors.
Push Off Spiritual Sin
Since the spiritual yetzer hara is a drive in a person toward sin rather than physical pleasure, its form of appeasement must be different. The ba’alei mussar (masters of virtue) suggest that when a person faces an overwhelming urge to sin, such as wasting time during Torah study or speaking lashon hara, a useful strategy is to delay the sin rather than resist outright.
By telling oneself, “I will give in, but in ten minutes,” the spiritual yetzer hara is initially appeased because it seems that the sin will eventually happen. As the person continues to delay, the intensity of the temptation weakens, and eventually, it can be overcome entirely.
In Short:
Besides the physical yetzer hara, the body’s natural drive for physical pleasure, there is also a spiritual yetzer hara, a spiritual force that leads to sin, even without any physical benefit. Fight the spiritual yetzer hara by delaying, and as the intensity of the temptation weakens, you can eventually overcome it entirely.
Written by Rabbi Aaron Shapiro
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