GEN635 Building on this biblical background [See Genesis 4:7 rule BOROJMV 173-4. – AJL], the rabbis provide a graphic parable of our inner struggle between good and evil: “The Bible tells us, ‘Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king who cannot accept correction’ Ecclesiastes 4:13.  The phrase ‘a poor and wise child’ refers to the yetzer ha-tov, the good urge. Why is it called ‘wise’? Because it directs people onto the right paths. Why is it called ‘poor’? Because not everyone pays attention to it.  Why is it called a ‘child’? Because the good urge doesn’t emerge until a person becomes thirteen.  The phase ‘an old and foolish king’ refers to the yetzer ha-ra, the evil urge.  Why is it called ‘king’?  Because all parts of the body heed it.  Why is it called ‘old’? Because it is part of a person from his youth through his old age, as the Torah says, ‘For the disposition of a person’s heart is evil from his youth’ [this verse], that is, from the time that he was expelled from his mother’s womb.  Why is it called ‘foolish’? Because it directs people into evil ways” Midrash Psalms 9:5. Although our current studies of human development demand that we refine our understanding of such rabbinic generalizations, it is, nonetheless, sometimes unnerving to meet ourselves in their description of human behavior. Kids still “do the darndest things” without worrying about the consequences. And we adults often seem afflicted with a similar moral amnesia.  Why else do we get flustered and agitated right before we do something we know we shouldn’t?  BOROJMV 174-5