QUESTION:
[The Rav has explained that] there are three parts in our soul: a part that is totally good and pure, a part that is a mixture of good and evil, and a part that is completely evil. What is the part in ourselves that is completely evil? Is this the yetzer hora (the evil inclination)?
ANSWER:
Study the sefer Tanya, chapters 2-7, who explains at length about the soul and its general design. To give a brief description, the actual essence of the soul is one piece, but it divides into two parts – our intellect and our character traits. Upon that, there are three “garments” of the soul: thought, speech, and action. The “G-dly soul” (nefesh Elokis) of a Jew is entirely good, whereas the “animal soul” (nefesh habehaimis) is called kelipas noga, which refers to permissible actions [which are neither evil nor holy]. The soul of a gentile consists of the three impure kelipos (li. “shells”). When a Jew sins, chas v’shalom, he is connecting his soul to the three impure kelipos. However, it is merely a connection to the evil. Besides for this, there are also “evil” character traits which can be manifest in a Jew’s soul, but those character traits are only “evil” because there is a lack of balance in the Jew’s soul. When one’s soul is imbalanced, the result will be any of the “evil” character traits. However, it is nothing but an imbalance in the soul’s abilities, because there is never any intrinsic evil in a Jew’s soul.
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