The , Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara: The Origins and Development of the Inclination

Susanna Towers, Cardiff University, UK

Abstract

Yetzer hara, commonly translated as the ‘evil inclination,’ is a key concept in rabbinic discourse concerning the human propensity to sin. This paper traces the origins of the concept and its subsequent development in , in which it is intrinsically entwined with gender. Firstly, only men are considered to possess the self-restraint necessary to subdue the evil inclination. In contrast, rabbinic texts characterize women as lacking the self-restraint necessary to overcome the yetzer hara, particularly in the arena of sexuality. Secondly, rabbinic texts represent study as the antidote to the yetzer hara. The male culture of Torah study in late antiquity precluded women from this important tool deemed necessary to master the yetzer hara. Additionally, the female form embodies the seductive powers of the yetzer hara to lead astray and constitutes a threat to masculine self-restraint. The gendering of relations to the yetzer hara has significant implications for gender hierarchy, legitimizing the regulation of women’s social behaviour.

Introduction

The concept of the yetzer hara lies at the core of rabbinic debates concerning the nature of human sin. Translations of the Hebrew word yetzer include inclination, instinct, imagination, tendency or disposition. Yetzer hara derives from the Hebrew root verb ytzr (to create or fashion) and adjective ra’ (bad, evil, displeasing, sad or injurious).1 As a noun, yetzer is used figuratively to express the formation of an intention or desire, and is used to designate the human propensity to commit sin. For the purposes of this paper, yetzer hara will be translated as the evil inclination. In rabbinic texts, the yetzer hara becomes increasingly identified with the power of sexual desire to lead astray. This paper seeks to further understanding of the relation between yetzer hara and gender by exploring the origins and development of the concept and its subsequent relation to gender in rabbinic texts. It will be argued that the battle to overcome the yetzer hara is gendered masculine in two respects. Firstly, only men possess the necessary masculinized trait of self-restraint required to subdue the evil inclination. Secondly, the tool required to achieve this – Torah study – is prescribed in rabbinic texts as the reserve of men. In contrast, rabbinic texts characterize women as having little or no control over the yetzer hara, particularly in relation to sexual restraint. Additionally, the female form embodies the seductive powers of yetzer hara to lead astray and thus constitutes a threat to masculine self-restraint. Furthermore, the male must battle to control not only his own sexual desire

1 Women in : A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara but those of the women who surround him. The polarized relation of men and women to the yetzer hara has implications for gender hierarchy, endorsing the regulation of female social behaviour.

1. Origins of the Yetzer Hara

In order to understand the gendered representation of the yetzer hara in rabbinic literature, it is necessary to consider the pre-rabbinic roots of the concept in the and literature. The origins of the concept of yetzer hara lie in three verses of the , in which yetzer is represented as a neutral entity with no connection to gender. In Genesis 2:7, the verb denotes the divine formation of Adam. In Genesis 6:5, the evil nature of human inclinations רַצָי emerges as cause of the divine flooding of the earth. However, in Genesis 8:21, God accepts the existence of the evil inclination in humanity from youth and pledges never again to destroy the earth. These latter two verses indicate that yetzer takes root early in life and resides permanently in the human heart. Whether yetzer is to be understood as an innate human disposition or an independent entity living in the human heart is not specified. God’s knowledge of the nature of human inclinations is made evident in Deuteronomy 31, in which God foresees the future troubles of the Jewish people, declaring: “For I know their inclination what they [are planning] to do today, [even] before I bring them in to the land which I have sworn [to give them].” (Deuteronomy 31:21). In Chronicles I 28, King David prays that the inclination of the Jewish people may remain faithful to God: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our forefathers, keep this forever, even the creation of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and prepare their hearts to You.” (Chronicles I 28:9) Reference is also made to God’s understanding of human inclinations: “for Adonai searches all hearts and understands all the inclinations of people’s thoughts.” (Chronicles I 29:9) The desirability of turning the inclination towards God is apparent in Isaiah 26: “A person whose desire rests on you, you preserve in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3) In summary, the representation of yetzer in the Hebrew bible is neutral and undeveloped; there is as yet no specific entity defined as the yetzer hara and no association with gender.

The representation of yetzer undergoes significant development in literature of the Second Temple period. These developments set the stage for rabbinic conceptualizations of the yetzer hara. The Second Temple period extends from the construction of the second temple (538 BCE) until its destruction by Roman forces in 70 CE. Literature of this period may be divided into the three categories: apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, literature from Qumran, and compositions of the Greek-

2 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara speaking diaspora. The conceptualization of yetzer in literature of this period reflects contemporaneous developments in Jewish thought. In particular, variants of dualist doctrine emerge including ethical dualism (division into two paths or ways of ), anthropological dualism (division of people into good and evil), cosmological dualism (two opposing universal forces of good and evil), psychological dualism (the internal conflict between good and evil) and cosmological dualism (the distinction between earth and heaven).2 The origins of dualism in Jewish thought are multiple. Firstly, dualism of body and spirit reflects the assimilation of Hellenist philosophical thought. In particular, Neo-Platonism is considered to have influenced the development of Jewish Gnostic dualism. Furthermore, research demonstrates the influence of Persian dualism on the development of doctrine at Qumran and subsequently on the Babylonian .3

The first reference to the yetzer hara as a definite concept appears in Ben Sira, which uses the Aramaic yatsra as an adaptation of yetzer: This appears in a pericope, which discusses the nature of true friendship and warns the reader of those who are friends when convenient but turn away in times of trouble. Ben Sira contains further references to yatsra as a distinct entity. Chapter 15 locates the origin of the human yatsra with God: “From the beginning it was he who created human beings, and he handed them over to their yatsra.” (Ben Sira 15:14).4 Chapter 21 states that yatsra may be controlled by keeping the law: “Whoever keeps the law controls his yatsra.” (Ben Sira 21:11).5

Texts surviving from the library of the religious community, which inhabited Qumran between 200 BCE to 73 CE represent the yetzer hara as a demonological force that requires expulsion or exorcism from the human body. Most of these texts pre-date the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and thus date to the Second Temple period. The sectarian Plea for Deliverance categories the yetzer hara with demons and evil spirits: “Let not a rule over me, nor an unclean spirit; neither let pain nor evil inclination have power over my bones.” (Plea for Deliverance, 11Q5 XI)6 In the sectarian prayer Barkhi Nafshi (4Q434–438), the supplicant describes divine release from yetzer hara: “The evil inclination [you] have driven with rebukes [from my innermost parts and the spirit of ho]liness you have set in my heart.” (Barkhi Nafshi (4Q434–438).7 Eibert Tigchelaar notes the appearance of the verb gaar (to rebuke or drive with rebukes), which commonly denotes exorcism of spirits or demons.8 Ida Fröhlich argues that the demonization of the yetzer hara in these texts reflects not only a demonological belief system, but also the ethical dualism of the Qumran community, which posited two opposing groups of men, the ‘sons of darkness’ and ‘the sons of light’, the latter representing the members of the Qumran covenant.9 3 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

In Second Temple literature, psychological and ethical dualism is reflected in the polarization of yetzer hara by yetzer hatov (the good inclination). This is exemplified by the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (henceforward 12TP).10 Written between 330-285 and 200-150 BCE, 12TP survives in a Greek Christianized form. The discovery at Qumran of Aramaic fragments of the Testament of Levi and Napthali suggests the existence of an early Jewish collection of testaments.11 The construction of the yetzer hara in 12TP is embedded in the pervasive cosmological and ethical dualism of the text. This is exemplified by the Testament of Levi (henceforward T. Levi) in which ethical and cosmological dualism entwine with the exhortation to “choose, therefore, for yourselves either the light or the darkness, either the law of the Lord or the works of Beliar.” (T. Levi 19:1-2).12 The Testament of Reuben (henceforward T. Reuben) tells that the demon Beliar maintains control over the human body with seven ‘spirits of deceit’ (T. Reuben 2:1-3:8).13 Each spirit rules over a specific organ of the human body and hence maintains control over the internal human body.14 The human heart is the battleground for two yetzarim (pl. of yetzer). According to the Testament of Asher (henceforward T. Asher) the two inclinations determine human action:

Two ways hath God given to the sons of men, and two inclinations, and two kinds of action, and two modes (of action), and two issues. Therefore, all things are by twos, one over against the other. For there are two ways of good and evil, and these are the two inclinations in our breasts discriminating them. Therefore, if the soul take pleasure in the good (inclination), all its actions are in righteousness; and if it sin it straightway repenteth. (T. Asher 1:3-9)15 The Testament of Benjamin (henceforward T. Benjamin) indicates that the possession of two yetzarim creates a dangerous ethical duality, expressed as the possession of “two tongues, of blessing and cursing, of contumely and of honor, of sorrow and joy, of quietness and of confusion, of hypocrisy and of truth, [of poverty and of wealth].” (T. Benjamin 6:5)16 T. Asher likens this to those who serve two masters: “But from wickedness flee away, destroy the (evil) inclination by your good works; for they that are double-faced serve not God, but their own lusts, so that they may please Beliar and men like unto themselves.” (T. Asher 3:1)17 T. Asher reveals that this duality may be avoided by rooting out the yetzer hara from the heart with the yetzer hatov: “For, having its thoughts set upon righteousness, and casting away wickedness, it straightway overthroweth the evil, and uprooteth the sin.” (T. Asher 1:7-8)18 This polarization of yetzer hara by yetzer hatov is considered to be a developmental phase in the development of the concept, which appears only occasionally in rabbinic sources.

A parallel form of ethical dualism is evident in 4 Ezra, in which the Torah is represented as in opposition to yetzer hara. 4 Ezra is a pseudepigraphon ascribed to Salathiel, builder of the Second

4 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Temple, identified within the text with Ezra. Written c. 100 CE, 4 Ezra post-dates the Second Temple period and explores the yetzer hara in the context of the destruction of the temple and the suffering of the Jewish people under Roman rule.19 The text claims that the oppression of the Jewish people is the consequence of apostasy and transgression caused by the dominance of the yetzer hara in the human heart. The law (Torah) has been defeated by yetzer hara and ousted from the human heart.: “Thus the disease became permanent; the Law (Torah) was in the hearts of the people along with the evil root; but what was good departed, and the evil remained.” (4 Ezra 3:22)20 The opposition between yetzer hara and the Torah is developed in rabbinic texts, in which Torah study emerges as the chief weapon in the battle with the yetzer hara.

2. The Yetzer Hara in Rabbinic Texts Whilst the related to yetzer hara may be familiar to readers, this article seeks to explore the gendered assumptions that lie beneath, particularly in terms of intersex relations and the regulation of social behaviour.

The Yetzer hara becomes a focal concept in rabbinic discourse concerning human sin where it is increasingly, but not exclusively, associated with sexual desire. Thirty of eighty occurrences of the word yetzer in the Babylonian Talmud have a sexual context.21 Ishay Rosen-Zvi argues that this apparent sexualization is dependent upon a specific layer which reflects the prevailing culture of Sasanian Persia in which the text was redacted.22

Ambivalence surrounds the concept of yetzer hara in rabbinic discourse, as exemplified by a parable in B. Yoma, in which the Sages are offered the opportunity to be rid permanently of yetzer hara. After discussion, the Sages agree to merely blind the evil inclination in one eye and release it:

They [the Rabbis] said: Since this is a time of divine grace, let us pray for mercy from the evil inclination. They prayed for mercy, and it [the evil inclination] was handed over to them. It said to them: Realize that if you kill me, the world will be destroyed. They imprisoned it for three days, then looked in the whole for a fresh egg and could not find one. Thereupon they said: What shall we do now? Shall we kill him? The world would then go down. Shall we beg for half-mercy? They do not grant ‘halves’ in heaven. They put out his eyes and let him go. It helped inasmuch as he no more entices men to commit incest.23

This appears to be an expression of the view that sexual desire is necessary for the continuation of the human species, but immoderate sexual desire requires regulation and control. However, the association of yetzer hara with sexual desire reveals stereotyped gender attributes which have significant implications for social behaviour. This is driven primarily by the characterization of women as lacking control over yetzer hara, specifically in the arena of sexual behaviour. 5 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Sotah describes a female predilection for sexual satisfaction: “A woman wants a qab with sexual satisfaction more than nine qabs with abstinence.”24 This foreshadows accounts of female lack of control over yetzer in the Babylonian Talmud. B. Ketuboth states that a woman may be seized (lit. clothed) by yetzer, depriving her of control even in the case of rape. Rava argues that a rape may become consensual when yetzer assumes control of the victim:

As Rava said: With regard to any case that starts as rape and ends willingly, even if she ultimately says: Leave him, and she further states that if he had not forcibly initiated intercourse with her, she would have hired him for intercourse, she is nevertheless permitted to her husband. What is the reason for this? The evil inclination took hold of her (lit. clothed) during the act, and therefore she is still considered to have engaged in intercourse against her will.25 The evil inclination is claimed to take hold of the female (lit. clothe) even as a minor, at the point when she is ashamed to be naked in front of her father: Rafram bar Pappa says that Rav Ḥisda says: They taught that a man may sleep in close proximity to his minor daughter only if she is not ashamed to stand naked before him, but if she is ashamed to stand naked before him, it is prohibited for him to sleep close to her, regardless of her age. What is the reason? It is that the inclination has a hold upon her, as otherwise she would not be ashamed. (B. Kiddushin 81b)

This sugya presents the yetzer as having control over a female from a young age, particularly in the area of sexuality. This belief in the uncontrollability of female sexual desire is reflected in a commentary on the effects of alcohol on women. According to B. Ketuboth, a woman will publicly proposition a man or even an ass after a few glasses of wine:

One cup of wine is becoming to a woman, two cups are degrading and if she has three, she solicits publicly; but if she has four, she solicits even an ass in the street and cares not.26 The significance of this sugya here is not related to the acceptability of female alcohol consumption, but to the underlying belief in a female tendency to sexual impropriety, here revealed by drinking.

The rabbinic perception of female lack of sexual self-restraint is presaged by Second Temple texts such as Ben Sira and 12TP, which bear warnings against the wayward woman. This is exemplified by the Testament of Joseph (henceforward T. Joseph) in which Joseph is represented as a paradigm of sexual self-control under constant siege from the desperate wife of Potiphar.27 T. Joseph elaborates considerably on the biblical account of Joseph’s temptation. However, this elaboration reveals the suffering and pain caused to Potiphar’s wife by her passion for Joseph:

How often, though she were sick, did she come down to me at un-looked-for times, and listened to my voice as I prayed! And when I heard her groanings I held my peace.28 In contrast, Joseph’s consistent resistance exemplifies the masculinized trait of self-restraint as a response to the threat posed by unruly female sexual desire. 12TP has often been dismissed as a

6 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara misogynistic text. However, Ishay Rosen-Zvi notes that this inhibits research into how misogyny functions within the text:

It is not enough for scholarship to denounce the Testaments as misogynous, or even to identify it as belonging to [a] wider historical context. The unique character of Testaments demands that greater attention be paid to exactly how misogyny functions in the specific composition and what precise purpose it serves.29 Applying Rosen-Zvi’s approach reveals a sub-narrative of the strength and power of female sexual desire in 12TP, which is carried forward into rabbinic discourse.

In contrast to female lack of self-control, rabbinic texts construct masculinity as self-restraint. This construction of masculinity may be traced back to the assimilation of Hellenist philosophy into Second Temple literature.30 In particular, the Hellenist masculinization of the traits of endurance, self-control and the overcoming of the passions were influential upon reformations in Jewish masculinities.31 This is exemplified by the martyrological text of 4 Maccabees (henceforward 4 Mac.), in which self-control (sōphrosýnē) and endurance (hupomoné) are lauded as masculine responses to persecution and martyrdom. 4 Mac. is dated to the mid-first century CE and was composed by a devout with evident knowledge of Hellenistic philosophical concepts.32 4 Mac. develops the narratives of 1 and 2 Maccabees but is, to quote George Nickelsburg, “transposed into the key of Greek philosophy.”33 Throughout the text, the masculine-gendering of endurance is reinforced by the pairing of endurance (hupomoné) with manly courage (andreía)34 and conquest (níka).35

The construction of masculinity as the conquest of the passions is apparent in Mishnah Avot, which defines masculine strength as the ability to overcome desire:

Ben Zoma says...Who is strong? He who overcomes his desire, as it is said, He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city [Proverbs 16:32].36 Mira Balberg identifies self-knowledge and self-restraint as “constitutive qualities of the Mishnah’s idealized subject.”37 This construction of masculinity is borne forward into the rabbinic representation of the male struggle with the evil inclination. This is apparent in B. Abodah, in which R. Amram identifies the overruling of yetzer hara as a masculine role:

Happy is the man that feareth the Lord: Does it mean happy is the ‘man’ and not the woman? —Said R. Amram in the name of Rab: [It means] Happy is he who repents whilst he is still a ‘man’. R. Joshua b. Levy explained: Happy is he who over-rules his inclination like a ‘man.’38 This male battle contrasts with the representation of the female as victim who is seized or clothed by the yetzer hara. In this respect, the struggle with the yetzer hara is gendered masculine. The 7 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara masculine struggle with the evil inclination is reinforced by the portrayal of the rabbis as suffering at the hands of a raging yetzer. The omnipresence of sexual desire for the rabbis is illustrated by the tale of Abbaye in B. Sukkah. R. Abbaye follows a man and a woman walking together, convinced that they will inevitably succumb to sexual desire and prepared to intervene when necessary. R. Abbaye is dejected when the couple separate without transgression:

‘If it were I,’ said Abaye, ‘I could not have restrained myself,’ and so went and leaned in deep anguish against the doorpost, when a certain old man came up to him and taught him: The greater the man, the greater his Evil Inclination.39 Rabbi Abbaye learns that his greater battle with sexual desire reflects his greatness as a man.

The expectation of male self-restraint extends to and includes the sexual act. The presence or absence of male self-restraint during the sexual act is reflected in the nature of the child conceived in a ‘measure-for measure’ system of reward and punishment. Lack of sexual self-restraint is visible to the community:

People are born lame because they [ sc. Their parents] overturned their table; dumb, because they kiss ‘that place’; deaf, because they converse during cohabitation; blind because they kiss ‘that place.’40

The fastidious Rabbi Eliezer exemplifies sexual self-restraint par excellence and is rewarded with beautiful children:

Imma Shalom was asked: Why are thy children so exceedingly beautiful children? She replied: [Because] he [my husband] ‘converses’ with me neither at the beginning nor at the end of the night, but [only] at midnight; and when he ‘converses’, he uncovers a handbreadth and covers a hand breath, and is as though he were compelled by a demon.41

Women play a pivotal role in the male battle to restrain the yetzer hara. As observed by Michael Satlow, women are portrayed as presenting a “particular threat to male sexual self-control, hence to their manhood.”42 In particular, the powers of the female form to inflame male sexual desire present a challenge to male self-restraint. B. describes how the sound or sight of a woman may entice the male. Nakedness may be suggested by a little finger or a sweet voice:

To tell you that if one gazes at the little finger of a woman, it is as if he gazed at her secret place!…R. Hisda said: A woman’s leg is a sexual incitement, as it says. Uncover the leg, pass through the rivers, and it says afterwards, Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I Samuel said: A woman’s voice is a sexual incitement, as it says, For sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely. R. Shesheth said: A woman’s hair is a sexual incitement, as it says, Thy hair is as a flock of goats.43 The challenge to male sexual self-restraint posed by women is connected to a development in Second Temple literature identified by Rosen-Zvi. In literature of this era, Rosen-Zvi identifies a new gender economy and discourse of desire.44 In gender studies, the term gender economy designates the social

8 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara division of labour between male and female. In the context of this paper, the term refers to the respective division of roles and responsibilities in the arena of sexual behaviour. Rosen-Zvi identifies an emerging gender economy in which the female is attributed with responsibility for the male struggle with sexual desire.45 This is exemplified by T. Reuben, in which Reuben confesses to adultery with his father’s concubine, Bilhah (Genesis 35:22). In T. Reuben, Bilhah is represented as the instigator of Reuben’s sexual desire through references to her drunkenness and nakedness. In 12TP, drunkenness functions as a precursor to the sin of fornication:

For had I not seen Bilhah bathing in a covered place, I had not fallen into this great iniquity. For my mind taking in the thought of the woman’s nakedness, suffered me not to sleep until I had wrought the abominable thing… Bilhah became drunk and was asleep uncovered in her chamber. Having therefore gone in and beheld nakedness, I wrought the impiety without her perceiving it, and leaving her sleeping I departed.46 A further example of the male fear of female sexuality is apparent in the Qumran sapiential text 4Q184, which magnifies the threat of female sexuality to demonic proportions.47 The text describes a demonic female figure who seeks to bring righteous men to Sheol. Thematic and linguistic parallels with the adulteress of Proverbs 7 are noted by scholars including Scott Jones, who describes her as the ‘darker progeny’ of the adulteress of Proverbs.48 A demonic figure is further suggested by pervasive imagery of darkness. The seductress’ clothing is described as “shades of twilight.”49 Her abodes are “couches of darkness” and her dominions “in the midst of the night.”50 Ida Fröhlich identifies language of delivery and withdrawal and suggests a characterization of a human witch.51 However, Rick Moore identifies a magnification of intent from an individual to a cosmic level.52 Michael Lesley draws together the disparities between 4Q184 and Proverbs 7 by reference to Isaiah 59, in which sin is portrayed as a force that overwhelms humanity, including the righteous. Lesley concludes that the seductress of 4Q184 is an amalgam of the adulteress and “strange woman” of Proverbs and the representation of sin in Isaiah 59.53 Furthermore, he identifies terminology shared between Isaiah 59 and 4Q184, which suggests an identification of the figure as the demoness Lilith. This is also argued by Joseph Baumgarten.54 A further important feature of the seductress of 4Q184 is the demonization of her sexuality. This is apparent from the text’s scrutiny of her body, clothing and ornamentation. Moore observes that a descending motion weaves through the text, commencing with the seductress’ eyes and lips down to her legs, which “go down to work wickedness and to walk in wrong-doings.”55 This textual motion mirrors the descent of her victims to hell.56 The sexual focus of this characterization should be considered in the context of the predominantly male community in which it was engendered. Magen

9 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Broshi, describing the Qumran sect as ‘defined by its gynophobia,’ finds her presence to be anomalous.57 However, her distinctiveness as a female in male discourse empowers her as a symbol of threat and otherness.

Whilst biblical figures such as Delilah and Jezebel are negative female stereotypes, neither of these figures are subsequently related to the yetzer hara in rabbinic literature. With regards to Samson’s downfall, B. Sotah offers three views on Samson’s responsibility. The first view holds Samson fully accountable. In a measure-for-measure punishment, Samson is blinded because he followed his eyes in his desire for Delilah: Samson rebelled [against God] through his eyes, as it is said: And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me, because she is pleasing in my eyes;19 therefore the Philistines put out his eyes, as it is said: And the Philistines laid hold on him and put out his eyes.58

However, B. Sotah uses wordplay with the Hebrew verb dildelah (to diminish, weaken) to suggest that Delilah weakened Samson: And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. It has been taught: Rabbi says: If her name had not been called Delilah, she was fit that it should be so called. She weakened his strength, she weakened his heart, she weakened his actions. ‘She weakened his strength’, as it is written: And his strength went from him. ‘She weakened his heart’, as it is written: And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart. ‘She weakened his actions’ since the Shechinah departed from him, as it is written: But he wist not that the Lord had departed from him.59

There is but one suggestion in B. Sotah that Delilah compels Samson through his desire for her. This is achieved through a sexual interpretation of the term “urged” in Judges 16:16: And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him.34 What means ‘and urged him’? R. Isaac of the School of R. Ammi said: At the time of consummation, she detached herself from him.60

This fear of the power of female sexuality is developed in rabbinic discussions of the yetzer hara. It is argued here that the emerging gender economy identified by Rosen-Zvi may be a formative element in the rabbinic construction of women as a threat to male sexual self-control and the perception that women lack sexual self-restraint. The perception of the strength of female sexual desire has consequences for the social regulation of female behaviour. For example, explains that a woman should not be permitted to attend the market unattended, lest she fall into sexual transgression: A man restrains his wife so that she does not go to the market, for every woman who goes out to the market is destined to fall. (Genesis Rabbah 8:12)61

Furthermore, the threat posed to men by female lack of sexual restraint prompts the ruling in B. Kiddushin that men should avoid women in groups. Whilst a woman may be alone with two men, a man should not be alone with two or more women, although it is permitted for a woman to be in the 10 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara presence of two men. The gemara is as follows: “What is the reason? - Tanna debe Eliyahu [states]: Because women are temperamentally light-headed.”62 The reasoning behind this ruling appears to be that if a man is unable to restrain himself in the presence of a woman, another man will come to his aid. A group of women, however, represents the multiplication of unruly sexual desire. Exceptions to this rule apply in cases when two women can be expected to dislike each other, such as two sisters- in-law, two wives of the same husband and a step-mother and daughter. These women can be expected to report on the other’s sexual misdemeanour, discouraging transgression: Rava says: A man may be secluded with two sisters-in-law and with two rival wives, i.e., two women who share a husband; with a woman and her mother-in-law; and with a woman and her husband’s daughter. Since these women typically dislike each other, each fears that the other will publicize her sins, and they will be careful not to transgress. (B. Kiddushin 81b)

These rulings are consistent with the portrait of female sexual desire as uncontrollable in T. Joseph. In rabbinic writings, Torah study is protective against the forces of the yetzer hara. This is exemplified by B. Kiddushin, which uses the metaphor of Torah study as the antidote for the wound inflicted by yetzer hara:

So too the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, I created an evil inclination, which is the wound, and I created Torah as its antidote. If you are engaged in Torah study you will not be given over into the hands of the evil inclination, as it is stated: ‘If you do well, shall it not be lifted up?’ (Genesis 4:7). One who engages in Torah study lifts himself above the evil inclination. (B. Kiddushin 30b)63

The debate continues with the call to drag the yetzer hara to the study hall, where the powers of yetzer will be overcome by Torah. This gemara uses masculine imagery of force and destruction to express the strength of Torah study:

A Sage from the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: My son, if this wretched one, the evil inclination, encounters you, pull it into the study hall, i.e., go and study Torah. If it is a stone it will melt, and if it is iron it will break, as it is stated with regard to the Torah: ‘Is not My word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces?’ (Jeremiah 23:29). Just as a stone shatters a hammer, so too one can overcome his evil inclination, which is as strong as iron, through Torah study.64 Ross Kraemer identifies a ‘refashioning’ of the concept of self-control in rabbinic literature in which the masculine skills required for Torah study assume the position of athletic training in Greek philosophy.65 However, rabbinic texts reveal specific and unique interpretations of masculine self- restraint in relation to Torah study. Daniel Boyarin describes Torah study as “the quintessential performance of rabbinic Jewish maleness.”66 Masculine self-restraint and Torah study are both enmeshed with the battle to subdue the yetzer hara; self-restraint is equally necessary to Torah study and the battle with the yetzer hara. However, in late antiquity women were precluded from the male

11 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara culture of the Torah academies. B. Kiddushin is explicit about this: “Because it is written: And ye shall teach them your sons - but not your daughters.”67 B. Sotah recounts the statement of R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus that women’s wisdom should extend only to the domestic sphere: “There is no wisdom in women except with the distaff.”68 A reason for female exclusion from Torah study is given in Mishnah Sotah (henceforward M. Sotah) in relation to the ritual testing of the suspected adulteress described in Numbers 5-31. M. Sotah argues that teaching women Torah only encourages sexual transgression: “R. Eliezer says Whoever teaches Torah to his daughter is as if he teaches her tiflut (lewdness).”69 The argument appears to be that Torah study allows women to accrue credits against sexual transgression and hence adds fuel to the fire. The same sugya includes the opposing argument of Ben Azzai that teaching daughters Torah may be protective from the bitter waters of the suspected adulteress: “One must teach his daughter Torah so that if she must drink, she will know that the merit postpones her punishment.”70 In the context of the male culture of Torah study in late antiquity, women were deprived of the tool which would empower them to subdue the yetzer hara, redoubling their powerlessness against yetzer hara. This creates a polarization of gender, in which the masculinized trait of self-restraint combines with the weapon of Torah to enable the male to overcome the yetzer hara. In contrast, women, lacking self-restraint, are also deprived of the protective powers of Torah study. This perpetuates a cycle of disempowerment for women, in relation to yetzer hara and in relation to men.

3. Conclusions

Originating in three verses of Genesis, the yetzer is offered as explanation for the divine destruction of the earth by flood. The concept undergoes significant transformation in Second Temple literature, in line with doctrinal developments during this period. The Yetzer hara may be overcome by an opposing power, such as the yetzer hatov or Torah, which also reside in the human heart. The coexistence of two yetzarim causes a dangerous ethical duality, which may be evaded by the routing of the evil inclination from the human heart. In fragments surviving from Qumran, the demonization of the yetzer hara is embedded in the sect’s ethical and anthropological dualism. The feminine gendering of sexual temptation in Second Temple literature is exemplified by the Qumran text 4Q184, in which sin is personified by a demonic ‘seductress’ who seeks to corrupt and lead astray.

In rabbinic texts the yetzer hara is central to discussions of human sin and is increasingly sexualized. The ambivalence intrinsic to the rabbis’ construction of the yetzer hara is embodied by women.

12 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Whilst female sexual desire is necessary for procreation, women exemplify the chaos caused by uncontrollable sexual desire. Likewise, the yetzer hara is necessary to human reproduction but requires regulation. Rabbinic discussions of yetzer hara are gendered in terms of the relation of men and women to yetzer hara. The battle to overcome yetzer hara is gendered masculine, requiring the masculinized trait of self-restraint and the protection afforded by the male-only domain of Torah study. In contrast, women are deemed to lack the self-control required to overcome the yetzer hara, which may seize or ‘clothe’ them. As the physical embodiment of sexual temptation, women pose a challenge to the male struggle to subdue the yetzer hara. In these respects, there is a strong identification of yetzer hara with femininity. The barring of women from Torah study creates a cycle of female impotence in relation to the yetzer hara. The gendering of male and female relations to yetzer hara thus has implications for gender hierarchy. In particular, the perception of female lack of sexual self-restraint rationalizes the social regulation of female by the male. The opposing gendered relations to the yetzer hara have significance for research concerning the roots of gender inequality in rabbinic thought and the regulation of female behaviour.

Bibliography Primary Sources Babylonian Talmud — tractate Abodah Zarah, translated in Epstein, E. (1988), Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, vol. 22, (Seder Nezirin, Abodah Zarah), London: Soncino Press. —tractate Berakhot, translated in Epstein, I. (1948) (ed.), Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, vol. 1/1, (Seder Zer’aim I, Berakoth), London: The Soncino Press. —tractate Ketuboth, in Epstein, I. (1960) (ed.), Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, vol. 3/2, (Seder Nashim, Ketuboth), London: Soncino Press. —tractate Kiddushin, in Epstein, I. (1966) (ed.), Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, vol. 3/7 (Seder Nashim, Kiddushin), London: Soncino Press. —tractate Nedarim, in Epstein, I. (1936) (ed.), Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, vol. 3/3 (Seder Nashim, Nedarim), London: Soncino Press. —tractate Sotah, in Epstein, I (1960), (ed.) Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, vol. 13 (Seder Nashim, Sotah), London: Soncino Press. —tractate Sukkah, in Epstein I. (1984) (ed.), Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud: (Seder Mo'ed, Sukkah), vol. 2/5, London: Soncino Press.

13 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

—tractate Yoma, In Epstein, I. (1938) (ed.), Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, (Seder Mo’ed, Yoma), vol. 2/4, London: Soncino Press. Rabba. In Theodor, J. and C. Albeck (eds.) (1965), Bereshit Rabba: Critical Edition with Notes and Commentary, (Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Germany)), Jerusalem : Wahrmann Books. Barkhi Nafshi (4Q434–438), translated in Tigchelaar, E.J.C. (2008), “The evil inclination in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with a re-edition of 4Q468i (4QSectarian text?).” In Houtman, A., de Jong, A. and van de Weg, M. (2008) (eds.), Empsychoi Logoi - Religious Innovations in Antiquity: Studies in Honour of Pieter Willem van der Horst Leiden; Boston: Brill, 351. Coogan, M. et al. (2007) (eds), The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. Diogenes Laertius. (2007). Lives of Stoic Philosophers, trans. Yonge, C. D. and K. Seddon (ed.), A Summary of Stoic Philosophy: Zeno of Citium in Diogenes Laertius (Book Seven), US: Lulu Press. Mishnah tractate Avot, translated in Neusner, J. (1991), The Mishnah: A New Translation, New Haven; London. —tractate Kiddushin, translated in Neusner, J. (1991), The Mishnah: A New Translation, New Haven; London. —tractate Sotah, translated in Neusner, J. (1991), The Mishnah: A New Translation, New Haven; London. Plea for Deliverance 11Q5 XI. Cited by Tigchelaar, E. J. C. (2008). “The evil inclination in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with a re-edition of 4Q468i (4QSectarian text?).” In Houtman, A., de Jong, A. and van de Weg, M. (2008) (eds.), Empsychoi Logoi - Religious Innovations in Antiquity: Studies in Honour of Pieter Willem van der Horst Leiden; Boston: Brill, 347-357. Testament of Asher, translated in R.C. Charles (1908) (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), Suffolk; San Francisco, 87-90. Testament of Benjamin, translated in R.C. Charles (1908), The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), Suffolk; San Francisco, 102-108. Testament of Joseph, translated in R.C. Charles (1908) The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), Suffolk; San Francisco, 91-102. Testament of Reuben, translated in R.C. Charles (1908), The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), Suffolk; San Francisco, 25-30.

14 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, translated in R.C. Charles (1908), The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), Suffolk; San Francisco.

2 Esdras in Coogan, M. et al. (2007) (eds), The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 320-361.

4 Ezra, translated in Coogan, M. et al. (2007) (eds), The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 325-356.

4 Maccabees, translated in Coogan, M. et al. (2007) (eds.), The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 362- 383. 4Q184, translated in Allegro, J.M. (1964), “The Wiles of the Wicked Woman: A Sapiential Work from Qumran's Fourth Cave,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 96, (1964), 53–55. Also translated in Vermès (2011), The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (7th Edition), London: Penguin Books Ltd., 417- 418. Secondary Sources Allegro, J.M. “The Wiles of the Wicked Woman: A Sapiential Work from Qumran's Fourth Cave,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 96, (1964), 53–55. Also: “The Seductress,” in Vermès, G. (2011), The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (7th Edition), London: Penguin Books Ltd., 417- 418. Balberg, M. (2014), Purity, Body, and Self in Early Rabbinic Literature, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Baumgarten, J.M. “On the Nature of the Seductress in 4Q184,” Revue de Qumran, 15, (1991-1992), 133–143.

Becker, A. (2016), “The Evil Inclination of the : The Syriac Yatsra in Narsai’s Metrical Homilies for Lent,” Jewish Quarterly Review 106(2), 179-207.

Bird, P.A. (1989). “The Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presupposition in Three Old Testament Texts.” Semeia 46, 19-39.

Boyarin, D. (1993) Carnal Israel: Reading Sex in Talmudic Culture, Berkeley; Los Angeles; London. Brooke, G.J., D.K. Falk, E.J.C. Tigchelaar and M.M. Zahn (eds.). (2012). The Scrolls and Biblical Traditions: Proceedings of the Seventh Meeting of the IOQS in Helsinki, (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Book 103), Leiden: Brill. 15 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Broshi, M. (1983). “Beware the Wiles of the Wicked woman: Dead Sea Scroll Fragment Reflects Essene Fear and Contempt for women,” Biblical Archaeological Review 9/4, 44-46. Davies, W.D. and L. Finkelstein (eds.). (1998). The Cambridge History of Judaism vol. 1. Introduction; The Persian Period, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. deSilva, D.A. (1998). 4 Maccabees (Guides to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha), London: Bloomsbury.Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Stoic Philosophers, trans. Yonge, C. D. and K. Seddon (2007) (ed.), A Summary of Stoic Philosophy: Zeno of Citium in Diogenes Laertius (Book Seven), (US: Lulu Press). Eylon R., D. “Dualism." In Reader's Guide to Judaism. Edited by Michael Terry. 150-151. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000. [Editor’s note] Flusser, D. and Yadin, A. (2007). Judaism of the Second Temple Period: Qumran and Apocalypticism, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Fröhlich, I. (2009). “Women as Strangers in Ancient Israel: The Harlot of 4Q184.” In Xeravits, G.G. and Dusek, J. (eds.), The Stranger in Ancient and Mediaeval Tradition, Papers Read at the First Meeting of the JBSCE, Piliscsaba 2009 (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies 4), Berlin: De Gruyter, 139-159. — (2010), “Theology and Demonology in Qumran Texts,” Henoch, 32(1), 101-129. Helyer, L.R. (2002). Exploring of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New Testament Studies, (Christian Classics Bible Studies), (Illinois: InterVarsity Press), Houtman, A., A. de Jong and M. van de Weg (eds.). (2008). Empsychoi Logoi - Religious Innovations in Antiquity: Studies in Honour of Pieter Willem van der Horst, Leiden; Boston: Brill. Jones, S.C. (2003). “Wisdom’s Pedagogy: A comparison of Proverbs VII and 4Q184,” Vetus Testamentum, 53, 65-81. Kraemer, R. (2013). “Gender.” In B.S. Spaeth, (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Cambridge Companions to Religion), New York: Cambridge University Press, 281-308. Lesley, J. (2012). “Exegetical Wiles: 4Q184 as Scriptural Interpretation.” In G.J. Brooke, D.K. Falk, E.J.C. Tigchelaar and M.M. Zahn (eds.), The Scrolls and Biblical Traditions: Proceedings of the Seventh Meeting of the IOQS in Helsinki, Leiden, 107-142. May, H.G. (1963). “Cosmological Reference in the Qumran Doctrine of the Two Spirits and in Old Testament Imagery,” Journal of Biblical Literature, 82/1, 1-14.

16 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Moore, R.D. (1979-81). “Personification of the Seduction of Evil: The Wiles of the Wicked Woman,” Revue de Qumran, 10, 505-519. Moore, S.D. and J. Capel Anderson. (1998). “Taking It Like a Man: Masculinity in 4 Maccabees.” Journal of Biblical Literature 117(2), 249-273. Neusner, J. (1991). The Mishnah: A New Translation, New Haven; London. Nickelsburg, G.W.E. (1981). Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah: An Historical and Literary Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. Rosen-Zvi, I. (2006). “Bilhah the Temptress: The Testament of Reuben and “The Birth of Sexuality.” Jewish Quarterly Review, 96/1, (Winter 2006), 64-95. — (2009). “Sexualizing the Evil Inclination: Rabbinic Yetzer and Modern Scholarship.” Journal of Jewish Studies, 60, (2), 264-281. — (2011). Demonic Desires: ‘Yetzer Hara’ and the Problem of Evil in Late Antiquity (Divinations Rereading Late Ancient Religion), Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. Satlow, M.L. (1996). “Try to Be a Man: The Rabbinic Construction of Masculinity.” The Harvard Theological Review, 89/1, (Jan.) 19-40. — (2003) “And on the Earth You Shall Sleep, Talmud Torah and Rabbinic Asceticism.” The Journal of Religion, 83(2), 204-225. Shaked, S. (1972). “Qumran and Iran: further considerations.” Israel Oriental Studies, 2, 433-446. — (1984). “Iranian influence on Judaism: first century B.C.E. to second century C.E.” In Davies, W.D. and L. Finkelstein (eds.) The Cambridge History of Judaism vol. 1. Introduction; The Persian Period. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 308-325. Spaeth, B.S. (ed.) (2013). The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions. (Cambridge Companions to Religion). New York: Cambridge University Press. Strong, James. (1890). The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham. Vermès, G. (2011). The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (7th Edition), London: Penguin Books. Xeravits, G.G. and Dusek, J. (eds.) (2009). The Stranger in Ancient and Mediaeval Tradition, Papers Read at the First Meeting of the JBSCE, Piliscsaba 2009 (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies 4). Berlin: De Gruyter.

17 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

Notes:

1 Strong, J. (2007) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers), H3336, 541; H7489, 1575. 2 See, Eylon Ripsman, Dina, “Dualism," in Reader's Guide to Judaism. Edited by Michael Terry. (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000), 150-151. [Editor’s note] 3 See Shaked, S. (1972), ‘Qumran and Iran: further considerations’, Israel Oriental Studies, 2, 433-446. Also Shaked, S. (1984), ‘Iranian influence on Judaism: first century B.C.E. to second century C.E.’ in Davies, W.D. and L. Finkelstein (eds.) The Cambridge History of Judaism vol. 1. Introduction; The Persian Period. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 308-325. 4 Ben Sira 15:14, translated in Becker, A. (2016), ‘The “Evil Inclination” of the Jews: The Syriac Yatsra in Narsai’s Metrical Homilies for Lent,’ Jewish Quarterly Review 106(2), 179-207, (181). 5 Ben Sira 12:11, translated in Becker (2016), 181. 6 Plea for Deliverance 11Q5 XI, translated in Tigchelaar, E.J.C. (2008), ‘The evil inclination in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with a re-edition of 4Q468i (4QSectarian text?),’ in Houtman, A., A. de Jong and M. van de Weg (eds.), Empsychoi Logoi - Religious Innovations in Antiquity: Studies in Honour of Pieter Willem van der Horst. (Leiden; Boston: Brill), 347-357, (350). 7 Barkhi Nafshi (4Q434–438), translated in Tigchelaar (2008), 351. 8 Ibid, 351. 9 Fröhlich, I. (2010), “Theology and Demonology in Qumran Texts,” Henoch, 32(1), 101-129. 10 Charles, R.C. (1908) (trans.), The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) (Suffolk; San Francisco). 11 Nickelsburg, G.W.E. (1981) Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah: An Historical and Literary Introduction, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press), 233-234. 12 T. Levi 19:1-2, translated in Charles (1908), 35-48, (47). 13 T. Reuben 2:1-3:8, translated in Charles (1908), 25-35, (26). 14 T. Reuben 2:1-3:8, translated in Charles (1908), 26-27. 15 T. Asher 1:3-9 translated in Charles (1908), 87-90, (87). 16 T. Benjamin 6:5, translated in Charles (1908), 102-108 (104). 17 T. Asher 3:1, translated in Charles (1908), 87-91 (88). 18 T. Asher 1:7-8, translated in Charles (1908), 87. 19 4 Ezra (ch. 3-14 of 2 Esdras), translated in Coogan, M. et al. (2007), 325-356. 20 4 Ezra 3:22, 326. 21 Rosen-Zvi, I. (2011), Demonic Desires: ‘Yetzer Hara’ and the Problem of Evil in Late Antiquity (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion), Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press), 105. 22 See: Rosen-Zvi, I. (2009), “Sexualizing the Evil Inclination: Rabbinic Yetzer and Modern Scholarship,” Journal of Jewish Studies, 60(2), 264-281. 23 B. Yoma 69b. 24 M. Sotah 3.4. 25 B. Ketuboth 51b. 26 B. Ketuboth 65a. 27 T. Joseph, translated in Charles (1908), 91-101. 28 T. Joseph 9:4, translated in Charlesworth (1908), 96. 29 Rosen-Zvi, I. (2006), “Bilhah the Temptress: The Testament of Reuben and “The Birth of Sexuality,” Jewish Quarterly Review, 96/1, 64-95, (67). 30 For discussion of Greek philosophical virtues, see: Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Stoic Philosophers, trans. Yonge, C. D. and K. Seddon (2007) (ed.), A Summary of Stoic Philosophy: Zeno of Citium in Diogenes Laertius (Book Seven), (US: Lulu Press).

18 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

31 Satlow, M.L. (1996), ‘“Try to Be a Man:” The Rabbinic Construction of Masculinity,” The Harvard Theological Review, 89/1, 19-40. See also Moore, S.D. and J. Capel Anderson (1998), “Taking It like a Man: Masculinity in 4 Maccabees,” Journal of Biblical Literature 117(2), 249-273. 32 Helyer, L.R. (2002), Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New Testament Studies, (Christian Classics Bible Studies), (Illinois: InterVarsity Press), 404 and deSilva, D.A. (1998) 4 Maccabees (Guides to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha), (London: Bloomsbury), 11. 33 Nickelsburg (1981), 223. 34 4 Mac., translated in Coogan et al. (2007), 362-383; see 1:11 (363) and 15:30 (380). 35 4 Mac. 9:30, 374. 36 M. Avot. 1. 37 Balberg, M. (2014), Purity, Body, and Self in Early Rabbinic Literature, (Berkeley: University of California Press), 170. 38 B. Abodah Zarah 19a. 39 B. Sukkah 52a. 40 B. Nedarim 20a-b. To “turn over the tables” may refer either to sexual dominance of the female in the sexual act or possibly anal sex. See: Boyarin, D. (1993), Carnal Israel: Reading Sex in Talmudic Culture. (Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press), 110. 41 B. Nedarim 20a-b. 42 Satlow (1996), 37. 43 B. Berakhot 24a. 44 Rosen-Zvi, I. (2006). 45 Ibid. 74; 94. 46 T.Reuben 3.10-15, 27. 47 For translations of 4Q184, see: Allegro, J.M. (1964), “The Wiles of the Wicked Woman: A Sapiential Work from Qumran's Fourth Cave,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 96, 53–55. Also translated in Vermès (2011), The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (7th Edition) (London: Penguin Books Ltd.), 417- 418. 48 Jones, S.C. (2003), ‘Wisdom’s Pedagogy: A comparison of Proverbs VII and 4Q184,’ Vetus Testamentum, 53, 65-81. 49 4Q184 16, translated in Vermès (2011), 417. 50 4Q184 20-21, translated in Vermès (2011), 417. 51 Fröhlich, I. (2009), “Women as Strangers in Ancient Israel: The Harlot of 4Q184,” in Xeravits, G.G. and J. Dusek, (eds.), The Stranger in Ancient and Mediaeval Tradition, Papers Read at the First Meeting of the JBSCE, Piliscsaba 2009 (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies 4) (Berlin: De Gruyter), 139-159. 52 Moore, R.D. (1979-1981), “Personification of the Seduction of Evil: The Wiles of the Wicked Woman.” Revue de Qumran, 10, 505-519. 53 Lesley, J. (2012), “Exegetical Wiles: 4Q184 as Scriptural Interpretation,” in Brooke, G.J., D.K. Falk, E.J.C. Tigchelaar and M.M. Zahn (eds.), The Scrolls and Biblical Traditions: Proceedings of the Seventh Meeting of the IOQS in Helsinki (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Book 103) (Leiden: Brill), 107-142. 54 Baumgarten, J.M. (1991-1992), “On the Nature of the Seductress in 4Q184”’ Revue de Qumran, 15, 133–143. 55 4Q184 10-11, translated in Vermès (2011), 417. 56 Moore (1979-81). 57 Broshi, M. (1983), “Beware the Wiles of the Wicked woman: Dead Sea Scroll Fragment Reflects Essene Fear and Contempt for women,” Biblical Archaeological Review, 9/4, 44-46. 58 B. Sotah 9b. 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid. 61 Genesis Rabbah 8:12, translated in Theodor, J. and C. Albeck (1965) (eds.), Midrash Bereshit Rabba: Critical Edition with Notes and Commentary, (Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Germany)), (Jerusalem : Wahrmann Books), 66. 62 B. Kiddushin 80b. 63 B. Kiddushin 30b. 64 B. Kiddushin 30b. 19 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Rabbis, Gender, and the Yetzer Hara

65 Kraemer, R. (2013), “Gender,” in Spaeth, B.S. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Cambridge Companions to Religion), (New York: Cambridge University Press), 281-308, 289. 66 Boyarin (1993), 143. 67 B. Kiddushin 29b. 68 B. Yoma 66b. 69 M. Sotah 3.4. 70 M. Sotah 3:4.

20 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 15 Number 2 (2018) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2019 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.