What kind of person is considered to be wicked by the Torah?

I was a little shocked that the weekly Torah portion read in the synagogue on the Sabbath was named after the wicked king, Balak, who schemed to curse the Jews in the desert. Couldn't a more fitting name be found for this Torah portion? read more

De Facto: Simply put, a wicked person is one who transgresses intentionally. The bigger the sin, the bigger the intention - the better. We judge him by his (mis)deeds. De Jure: some are born wicked ad hoc, like the 7 nations, the Amalekites, Esau etc. They are considered wicked by their essence, not their deeds. read more

The term wicked then in the Torah (the 5 Books of Moses) and the Bible in general, characteristic of the orthoprax and anti-theological nature of the Bible, refers to wickedness in a behavioral sense - from a legal point of view (in violating commandments and law) but most importantly in a moral sense. read more

Parshas Pinchas If A Person Sees Himself As Wicked, He Is Easy Picking For the Yetzer Horah These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 865, Neckties, Shoelaces, and Tichels: A Knotty Problems. read more