In one of his most far-reaching parables, the Baal Shem Tov tells about a king who wanted to learn whether his subjects were loyal.
He clothed one of his servants in royal garments and told him, “Go out and incite a rebellion.”
The servant proclaimed a rebellion against the king, and the king waited to see how the people would react.
Those who were wicked joined the rebellion, while those who were good fought against it.
But there was one righteous and wise man who did not involve himself in the conflict at all.
Instead, he approached the servant and told him, “I know as well as you do that you are only a servant of the king and that you have no standing of your own.”
Immediately, the entire rebellion came to an end.
After such an insight, there is no Satan, no Angel of Death, and no evil inclination.
—Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz