A Torah scholar traveled to the Maggid to become his student, but he was not viewed as a morally upright person. He was also not very intelligent. The Maggid explained, “It can be hard to understand why according to the tradition, the yetzer hara (evil inclination), being a spirit, is referred to as a king, elderly man, and fool. The correct interpretation is that the yetzer hara ‘is King’ over individuals such as elderly men and fools, though a human king would not associate with them and an army would not require them. However, the yetzer hara can use them to achieve his goals by deceiving them.”
An example of this can be seen in the story of the Torah scholar, who, as an elderly man, became very superficial and even informed on the rabbi of Berditchev while in Pinsk.
Y.F.
Boyaner Rebbe
