A Jewish View on an Eternal Question
"And G-d saw that it was good." - Bereishit (Genesis) 1
As soon as we open the first pages of the Torah, we hear it again and again: HaShem creates, and He sees that it is good. Light is good. Water is good. Life is good.
But then comes the question: if everything is good, where does evil come from? And even deeper: could evil possibly also be... something good?
This is not a modern question. It is an age-old quest and the Torah itself gives clues to it.
G-d also created evil?
The prophet Isaiah says it plainly:
"I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil."
- Yeshua (45:7)
The Torah is not afraid to admit: G-d also created evil. Not because HaShem is evil, G-d forbid, but because evil has a role in the larger plan.
Why would HaShem create evil?
According to the Rambam (Maimonides), evil is not an entity in its own right. It is simply the absence of good - just as darkness is not an entity, but the absence of light.
But the Ramban (Nachmanides) and the Midrash see it differently: evil is deliberately created. Not as an end, but as a means. To make room for:
- Free will (bechira)
- Personal growth
- Merit and reward
- True connection with Hashem
If we could not choose evil, the good we do would have no value. A robot that cannot make wrong choices cannot earn mitzvot either.
The Yetzer Hara: curse or tool?
The yetzer hara (inclination to evil) is often our greatest adversary. But the sages teach us: even that inner strength has a purpose.
The Talmud (Yoma 69b) says that without the yetzer hara, the world would stand still. No one would build, marry, work, or exert themselves. Our job is to channel that energy - to use passion, ambition and desire for good.
As the Chassidic masters said:
"Not everything that seems bad is really bad. Sometimes it's just unpolished good."
The Kabbalistic view: shadow and light
In the Kabbalah, we learn about the Sitra Achra - "the other side" - the spiritual source of evil. That side does not exist as an end in itself, but as a contrast. Light is not really light until you also know darkness.
The AriZal (R' Yitzchak Luria) teaches that Hashem created the world via tzimtzum - hiding His light. That hiding makes room for freedom, choice, and ultimately: the revelation of something higher.
So... is evil good?
Not in itself. Evil is not meant to be loved, or emulated. But in the bigger picture - as a challenge, as a mirror, as an opportunity for choice - it takes on a mysterious value.
The ultimate task is not to embrace evil, but to overcome or even transform it. For it is precisely when we choose light, despite the shadow, that the whole universe is elevated along with it.
When Hashem says "it is good," He does not always mean "it is pleasant" or "it is easy." He means: it serves a purpose. Even the difficult, the dark, the terrifying - can be a bridge to something greater.
As King David wrote:
"Even though I pass through the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil - for You are with me."
- Tehillim (Psalm) 23:4
Written by Sarah Bakker
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