For the source text click/tap here: Sanhedrin 91
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Antonius asks when the neshama is put into a person - from conception, as Rama believes, or from the moment when HaShem decides on the nature of the person that will result from a drop of semen, as Rashi believes. Rabbi says that the neshama is set when the fetus is formed. Antonius argues that unsalted meat cannot sit for three days and thus the neshama would rot if it did not enter semen immediately. And what about the yetzer ha'ra? Does it rule a person from the time a fetus is born or at birth? Rebbi says that this happens when the fetus is formed. Antonius argues that it would kick in the womb and force a miscarriage, thus it rules from birth. Rabbi finds a proof text that agrees with Antonius.
We explore the attitudes to the evil inclination.