yetzer hara

Definitions

• Lit. 'the evil inclination'

Example Sentences

• "The yetzer hara is particularly strong during thesis work." (A thesis advisor in regard to working on one's thesis)
• "The yetzer tov is good, but the yetzer hara is very good, because without it a man wouldn't marry, procreate or go into business." Talmud Ber 61b.

Languages of Origin

• Textual Hebrew

Etymology

• יצר הרע

Who Uses This

• Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

• North America

Dictionaries

• Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
• The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
• The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

Alternative Spellings

yeytser hore