Torah teaches us about the dual nature of human. In Genesis 2:7, we read that G-d formed (vayyitzer) man. The spelling of this word is unusual: it uses two consecutive Yods instead of the one you would expect. The rabbis inferred that these Yods stand for the word "yetzer," which means inclination, and the existence of two Yods here indicates that humanity was formed with two inclinations: the good inclination (Yetzer Hatov) and the evil inclination (Yetzer Hara).
Yetzer Hatov is the moral conscience, the inner voice that reminds us of G-d's law when we consider doing something that is forbidden. Yetzer Hara, on the other hand, it's not evil by itself. It is a primitive appetite that drives our selfish nature, the desire to satisfy personal needs (food, shelter, sex, etc.) without regard for the moral consequences of fulfilling those desires.
They are sometimes personified as "angel", one is a good angel and the other a bad angel. In Psalms 90:11 where it is written "For He will instruct His angels in your behalf, to guard you in all your ways", the word angel is plural indicating that at least there are two angels. Some rabbis also identified the Yetzer Hara and Satan are one and the same. However, this must be understood as meaning that the angels are merely personification of our own internal forces. Thus, the idea that "the devil made me do it" is not in line with Judaism.
The Yetzer Hara is not a bad thing. It was created by G-d, and all things created by G-d are good. The Talmud notes that without the Yetzer Hara, man would not build a house, marry a wife, beget children or conduct business affairs. But the Yetzer Hara can lead to wrongdoing when it is not controlled by the Yetzer Hatov. There is nothing inherently wrong with hunger, but it can lead you to steal food. There is nothing inherently wrong with sexual desire, but it can lead you to commit rape, adultery, incest or other sexual perversion.
We need our Yetzer Hara, our evil inclination. The goal is to control these internal forces and use them to serve G-d. As Rashi taught on the Sh'ma, "Serve G-d with both of your inclinations."
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal) in his work "The Way of G-d" describes the role of the Yetzer Hara is man's quest for perfection.
"Man is the creature created for the purpose of being drawn close to G-d. He is placed between perfection and deficiency, with the power to earn perfection. Man must earn this perfection, however, through his own free will... Man's inclinations are therefore balanced between good (Yetzer HaTov) and evil (Yetzer HaRa), and he is not compelled toward either of them. He has the power of choice and is able to choose either side knowingly and willingly..."
That is the heart of the Jewish understanding of free will. Without Yetzer Hara, the free will cannot really work.
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