Clarification/Follow-up by rosends on 05/06/06 9:37 pm:
You have the right to disagree, but as you ask Jews about Satan, your belief system and invocation of the New Testament is useless. the Jewsih cultural history of Satan is based in a theological system which denies the concept of fallen angel or evil one. If you come in expecting a certain type of answer predicated on common beliefs, don't be surprised if the answers fail to address your needs.
Satan as a name is a silly question. Ha-soton, the adversary, is a Jewish concept. The yetzer harah is a concept. I guess you'll have to deal with that in your own way.
Clarification/Follow-up by arcura on 05/06/06 10:22 pm:
Thanks rosends,
I will.
Jesus was/is a Jew so to me he is a part of Jewish cultural history.
Basically I was hoping there was more about Satan or Ha-soton that just in the Garden of Eden and Job in the Jewish history pior to the time of Jesus.
Peace and kindness,
Fred
Clarification/Follow-up by rosends on 05/07/06 9:33 am:
Here are a couple of sites which might provide more detail:
http://www.jewfaq.org/human.htm#Yetzer
http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=224&o=2557
and there is a quote whiwhc references rabbinical legend about the presence of the soton:
"Next week we'll see the angel of Eisav coming to fight Yaakov. Chazal say this is the Soton himself (a.k.a. the evil inclination, a.k.a. the angel of death)! Why didn't the Soton come to fight Avraham or Yitschak? Because Avraham was an emphasis in chesed. This didn't frighten the Soton because the just-be-a-good-Jew doesn't endure."
Clarification/Follow-up by arcura on 05/07/06 12:55 pm:
Thank you much for those links.
They caused me to do some more searching.
Here is something I found that you might find interesting.
Impulse, Desire, Urge, Inclination, Concupiscence
Hebrew theology tells us that humanity was formed with two impulses: a good impulse (the yetzer tov) and an evil impulse (the yetzer ra).
Christian theology combines those two inclinations, or impulses into one word “Concupiscence”.
Most often the term is used in regard to lust for sex, but that is a limiting of the full meaning.
Concupiscence being basic desire can be good (yester tov) or bad (yetzer ra) depending on the situation.
Example: When hungry or thirsty the desire for food or drink.
Peace and kindness,
Fred
