Let me present an issue wrapped in a couple of thought experiments.
Temptation is something we all face. Our yetzer hara—the inclination towards selfish or harmful choices—tries to push us too far in various ways. It urges us to overindulge in food, to be drawn by inappropriate desires, or to speak words that should never leave our lips. The Torah offers guidance on channeling the yetzer hara, those impulses tied to our physical nature, in a healthy, productive direction. The yetzer hara is tied to temptation, but is also used for good - blessing the Lord [HaShem] for food, reproducing and raising godly children, and using our words to encourage others and bring life, or alternatively to use our words as a surgical strike against sin in a fellow brother to help save him from said sin.
But let’s pause for a moment and really consider what temptation is. To truly understand it, we need to break it down. Some might say temptation is just the presence of evil desires. But it’s more nuanced than that. Temptation involves a desire that leads us toward something harmful, in some way or another. It’s not just about the desire itself—it’s about the potential for acting on it (an opportunity). To be tempted, there must be both the desire and the real or perceived opportunity to fulfill it, whether through meditative thought, word, or action.
Formula for Tempation:
(Evil Desire) + (Opportunity) = TemptationLet me give you two examples to clarify what I mean.
Desire without Opportunity
I’m not tempted to fly through my city at the speed of sound, shattering windows in my wake like Superman. No one is tempted to do that because no one can do it. Even if someone had the desire to cause that kind of destruction, without the capability or opportunity, there’s no real temptation. Since I can’t fly like Superman, there’s no real danger of me desiring such an act, much less being led astray by it. The only real concern in this scenario is that I don't fall into delusion, thinking I can fly, or waste time wishing I could do something impossible. In that case, I might neglect my obligations, missing the chance to fulfill mitzvot, not through wrongdoing, but through inaction.
Opportunity without Desire
Let's assume I have a bucket of fecal matter in front of me. I am clearly not tempted to eat it. I'm repulsed by it! I have every opportunity to eat it, I may even have a fork, spoon, and straw. But because I have no desire, it is not a temptation for me.
The point is, temptation is more than just desire and more than just opportunity. It’s desire accompanied by opportunity. I might want to indulge in something inappropriate, but without the realistic means to act on it, it’s not truly temptation. And this is where the challenge lies for most of us. Our yetzer hara pulls us toward things we can achieve, things that lie within our reach but outside of what is good for us. That's why it’s so crucial that we learn to recognize not just what we desire, but whether the opportunity to satisfy that desire is drawing us toward something harmful or beneficial.
Additionally, the Torah does not tell us to obliterate the yetzer hara, but to channel it. Because the truth is, the same drive that tempts us can also push us toward greatness, if we learn to harness it correctly and master it. It’s all about recognizing which opportunities lead us toward holiness and which draw us away.
"If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7 NASB)
Can God be Tempted by Evil?
To answer this, let’s revisit the two components of temptation: the desire to do wrong and the opportunity to act on it. God, being all-powerful, certainly doesn't lack opportunity—He has every possible opportunity to act, create, or destroy. But the key is that God does not have the desire to do evil. His nature is perfectly good, and therefore, temptation—at least in the sense we experience it—doesn’t apply to Him.
Ya’akov (James), the brother of the Master, speaks to this in his discussion on temptation:
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. (James 1:13 NASB)
The idea is clear: God cannot be tempted by evil because He has no inclination toward it. Unlike humans, whose yetzer hara pulls them toward desires that can lead to harm, God has no internal battle between good and evil. He is beyond that struggle. Part of what makes God immune to temptation is that He fully understands the consequences of every choice. He sees the entire picture—both the immediate and eternal effects of any action. What we sometimes perceive as tempting, often because it appears beneficial in the short term, is exposed in the divine view as foolishness, ultimately leading to destruction.
A person does not commit a sin unless a spirit of foolishness enters him. (Sotah 3a & Nedarim 22b)
Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, in his work Michtav Me’Eliyahu, elaborates on this idea. He explains that when someone sins, it is because their mind has been taken over by a limited, short-term perspective. If they were fully aware of the long-term consequences and the damage they were causing to themselves and their relationship with God, they would refrain.
This is where the wisdom of the commandments comes in. The mitzvot guide us toward long-term, eternal thinking. They are not merely arbitrary rules; they shape our character and remind us that what might seem appealing in the moment can lead us away from our true purpose. In a sense, God’s commandments protect us from our own limited perspective. While we may be tempted by things that seem desirable in the short term, God—who sees the full picture—gives us a path that leads to true goodness and lasting joy.
By following this path, we align ourselves with God’s wisdom and rise above the small, fleeting desires that tempt us. In doing so, we don’t just avoid evil—we learn to recognize it as the foolish choice it truly is.
So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord [HaShem]. (Leviticus 18:5 NASB)
“Living” extends beyond our time on Earth. It refers not only to this world but also to the World to Come. The life we lead here is a preparation for who we will ultimately become for eternity. This isn't a minor point—it's the core of our existence. How we live, the choices we make, the mitzvot we follow, all serve to shape us for the eternal life ahead.
Was Yeshua (Jesus) be Tempted?
Now, let's consider the question of temptation in relation to God and Yeshua (Jesus). The verse in Hebrews makes a clear statement:
For we do not have a high priest [Yeshua] who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 NASB)
This raises an essential theological point: either Yeshua was tempted, or he was not. There is no middle ground. If Yeshua was truly tempted "in all things," then he experienced the same struggle composed of desire with opportunity that we do. He felt the pull of the yetzer hara, but without yielding to it. That much is clear from the Gospels.
However, if we understand that temptation means both desire and opportunity, and that God cannot be tempted because He has no desire for evil, then we are left with a key difference between Yeshua and HaShem. The essence of God, as described in Jewish thought, is that He is not susceptible to the lure of sin. God’s nature is pure, transcendent, and beyond the frailty of human desires.
Yeshua, on the other hand, is described as experiencing human temptation, which would mean he shares in the vulnerabilities of human nature. This makes it difficult to reconcile with the idea that Yeshua is fully identical with HaShem, especially in the straightforward framework of trinitarianism, which posits that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal.
If Yeshua was tempted, as the gospels and Paul suggest, then there is a fundamental distinction between him and HaShem. The doctrine of the Trinity attempts to explain this by saying that Jesus took on human nature and, in doing so, could experience temptation. However, this view requires one to concede and say that Yeshua had toggled off his godhood for the purpose of being tempted and thus was not fully God for a duration of time. This also poses another issue; the trinity doctrine is accompanied by the doctrine that Yeshua was born of a virgin so that he would not have the 'evil inclination' (curse of Adam) in him. This also voids the definition of 'temptation' and leads many to say "He wasn't really tempted, Satan only 'tried' to tempt him and failed", but then that would require a dismissal of Hebrews 4:15 & Matthew 4:1-11 as well as the components required for temptation.
HaShem cannot be subject to temptation in any form because He lacks the inclination toward evil. Thus, if Yeshua was tempted, as stated in Hebrews & Matthew, it challenges the notion of his identity as being one and the same with HaShem in a clear and direct way. This leads to the conclusion that Yeshua, while a significant figure, cannot be HaShem Himself as the trinitarian doctrine proposes. The distinction between being tempted and being beyond temptation is crucial and conclusive.