The following is a typical example of a midrashic interpretation: And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)—Rabbi Nahman said in Rabbi Samuels name: Behold, it was good refers to the inclination to good; and Behold, it was very good refers to the inclination to evil. Can then the inclination to evil be very good? That would be extraordinary! But without the inclination to evil, no man would build a house, take a wife and beget children. (Genesis Rabbah 9). This, of course, is not the final midrashic word on the subject. Genesis Rabbah earlier provided a halakhic midrash which seems to place Rabbi Samuels speculation out of bounds: Ask now of the days that are past which were before thee, since the day God created man upon earth (Deut. 4:2). Thus, the scope of inquiry is limited to the time since the Creation (of man) (Gen. Rabba 1). Moreover, while Rabbi Samuel calls the the tendency to evil (yetzer harah) very good, other rabbis claimed that it was among the four things which God regretted having having created (Suk. 52a, b) and identify it with Satan (B. B. 16a). newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Midrash
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 23:44:02 +0000
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