Q&A: Choosing Evil
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Choosing Evil
Question
Hello, hello.
I was wondering whether it is possible for a person to choose evil at a time when he knows it is evil, and without having any inclination toward it. What do you think?
Answer
I’ve written about this several times. It is very hard to imagine such a thing. I once heard that this is the plain meaning of the Mishnah in Avot about the disciples of Abraham our forefather and the disciples of Balaam the wicked. There they learned to be wicked—that is, wickedness was an ideology, not an inclination or a mistake. See Column 173 and here:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%91%D7%97%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94