Argh... darn it, man....trying to study for an exam here...
I wouldn’t bother except for my brother Michael “Dances with Ginsberg” Weiner’s holy Jewish soul, regardless of the pasta-bloated vessel....
In the Classical Jewish philosophy, there is G-d’s particular influence and His general influence on the world. Some in this thread seem to have described something akin to this.
Now for the Chassidicly-inclined, the philosophy is even harder to grasp: G-d directs every single spec of matter and spirit in His creation and has a direct knowledge and influence upon it. In the words of the Ba’al Shem Tov, Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer (18th century mystic,) “...a leaf does not fall without its every twist and turn in the wind directly controlled by G-d.” He controls our thoughts and actions?!? No, rather He knows them, and is unaffected by what we will choose (unlike we would be if given the same knowledge. “My thoughts are not like your thoughts...”)
Evil in the world, in the Chassidic understanding, is an incredibly high “good” that is impossible to manifest as such. And all will be revealed in its truth when Moshiach comes.
I had to laugh at “Dances With Ginsberg”.
I know Christianity and Judaism diverge on the identity of “Satan” (the false accuser/adversary), so I won’t go there.