Yetzer
Yetzer is a Hebrew term meaning inclination, impulse, or disposition. The root Y-T-Z-R conveys shaping or forming, and yetzer is used in biblical and later Jewish thought to denote the inward motive that directs a person’s actions and character.
In rabbinic literature, the concept is most often discussed through two related ideas: yetzer hatov (the good
In later Jewish philosophy and Kabbalistic thought, the two yetzerim are expanded into broader psychological and
In modern usage, yetzer often serves as a shorthand for inner moral balance—yetzer hatov as the drive