abstract:In Judaism, yetzer hara (, for the definite "the evil inclination"), or yetzer ra (, for the indefinite "an evil inclination") refers to the inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. The term is drawn from the phrase "the imagination of the heart of man [is] evil" (Hebrew: יֵצֶר לֵב הָאָדָם רַע, yetzer lev-ha-adam ra), which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, at Genesis 6:5 and 8:21.