GEN484 Antoninus asked Rabbi [i.e., Judah HaNasi, 2nd century C.E. redactor of the Mishnah - AJL], “When does the yetser ha’ra gain control of a person—at the time of its creation or at the time it exits [the womb]?” He replied, “At the time of its creation [in the womb].” Antoninus said, “If that is so, it would disdain its mother’s womb and come out [right away]. Rather, [the answer is] from the time it exits [the womb].” Rabbi replied, “I learned this from Antoninus and there is a verse which supports him as it says, ‘sin lies at the opening’” [this verse].  [Talmud, Sanhedrin 91a.]  COMMENT: The question, here, is whether sin, in rabbinic thought, is an existential condition or only a potentiality of real human existence. Rabbi [Judah, the Prince] first argues that it is existential while Antoninus, the pagan emperor, argues that it is only a potentiality of real human existence.  In the end, Rabbi Judah accepts the view of the pagan emperor that the yetser ha-ra is not “genetic” or existential but only that it is a real part of human existence. He concludes, therefore, that yetser ha-ra asserts its influence only at birth. This may be a midrash intended to counter the doctrine of original sin as it was emerging in Christian midrash and theology. BANAL 189-90