Q&A: Jewish Law and Choice
Jewish Law and Choice
Question
Hello, honorable Rabbi!
How are you?
In one of the answers to a question that was asked regarding choice in observing Jewish law, you answered: “We are always obligated to obey the voice of the Torah, but that decision has to come from us. If a person were hypnotized and observed all the commandments, that would not be obeying the voice of the Torah. If he does so not out of a decision to obey but in order to preserve the spirit of the nation (Ahad Ha’am), that has no halakhic value. Obedience to the Torah exists only when it is done by my own decision and מתוך recognition of the obligation to obey.”
My understanding from the above is that when a Jew decides that he is not obeying Jewish law, but wants to observe part of it out of an interest in preserving the character of Jewish folklore, there is no problem with this approach, and there is full legitimacy to this choice. Another thing I understood is that although there is full legitimacy to choosing a path that advocates observing Jewish law in order to preserve the unity of the people, etc., every Jew still needs to recognize his obligation to observe Jewish law, and it follows in the end that there really is no genuinely legitimate Torah path for observing Jewish law other than accepting the yoke of Jewish law in full.
I would be happy if you could confirm / correct / sharpen my understanding of the answer you gave.
Answer
I didn’t understand what you mean. What I wrote is that of course everyone can and should decide and act according to his own understanding. But I did not write that there is no problem with that. If he decides to observe only some of the commandments, or to observe them for reasons unrelated to the Holy One, Blessed be He, then it has no significance as a commandment.
Or, to sum it up in journalistic terms: a halakhic state is a scarecrow that frightens secular people and encourages religious people, but in practice there is nothing to it.