[Avodah] Yetzer HoRa Issues

[Litke, Gary]

RYGB writes: "I have been asked to address the fundamental statement
made by Chazal (Koheles Rabbah 4:15) 
that is a core issue in the education of high school age students -- 
viz., that while  one is  born with his or her yetzer ho'ra, the yetzer 
ha'tov only begins its development at the age of bar or bas mitzvah."

GL: There are also ma'amarei chazal (including some in the Zohar, I'm
told) to the effect that one's neshomo first appears at age 12/13 and/or
20. Seems that we are discussing a process, not sudden appearances. When
the process ripens it becomes fully a 'yetzer tov' or a 'neshomo'; not
to say there is no yetzer tov whatsoever before that time.





***********************************************************************

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  This e-mail message is intended to be received only by persons entitled to receive the confidential information it may contain.  E-mail messages to clients of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP presumptively contain information that is confidential and legally privileged; e-mail messages to non-clients are normally confidential and may also be legally privileged.  Please do not read, copy, forward or store this message unless you are an intended recipient of it.  If you have received this message in error, please forward it back.  Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is a limited liability partnership organized in the United States under the laws of the State of Delaware, which laws limit the personal liability of partners.
***********************************************************************

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20061205/85fa0338/attachment-0001.htm>