Eliminating the yetzer hara

Hi,

"'And they called out to Gd in a great voice (Nehemiah 9)' – What did they say?

"Rav or R' Yochanan said, 'Woe, woe! This [yetzer hara - inclination toward evil] is the one who destroyed the Temple, burned His sanctuary and killed all of the righteous people and exiled Israel from their land, and still he dances among us! You only gave him to us so that we could receive reward; we do not want him, or his reward!'…

"They fasted three days and nights and Gd gave him to them. Something resembling a lion of fire emerged from the Holy of Holies, and the prophet told Israel, "This is the yetzer of idolatry," as it says (Zecharyah 5), 'And he said: This is wickedness.'

"When they grabbed it, a hair of its beard fell out and it screamed, and its voice travelled 400 parsah. They said, 'What should we do? Maybe, Gd-forbid, Heaven will have mercy upon him!' The prophet told them, 'Put him in a lead container and cover its mouth with lead, for lead absorbs sound.' Thus it is written, 'And he said: This is wickedness. And he cast it into the ephah and he cast a piece of lead to her mouth.'

"They said, 'Since this is a time of mercy, let us ask for mercy regarding the yetzer for immorality.' They prayed and it was given into their hands. They said, 'See that if we were to kill it, the world would be destroyed!' They imprisoned it for three days and sought a fresh egg in Israel and couldn't find one.

"They said, 'What shall we do? If we were to kill it, we would destroy the world. Let us ask for mercy upon part – but the Heavens do not go partway!' They put alcohol in his eye and let him go, and this was effective to the point that people do not feel desire for their relatives.

"In Israel they explained [the above-cited words 'a great voice'] thus: Rav Gidel said, 'Great – They elevated Him with the great Name.' Rav Matna said, 'The powerful, the great, the mighty, the awesome.'"

(Talmud, Yoma 69b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai