Q&A: Commitment to Jewish Law
Commitment to Jewish Law
Question
Hello Rabbi,
You wrote this in one of your articles:
“Even before beginning the discussion, I feel obligated to preface by saying that contrary to the conception of Jewish law that is implicitly reflected in your question, the decision in every area of life, including the halakhic one, is yours and no one else’s. Even where Jewish law states its position unequivocally, you are the one who must decide whether or not to respond to that obligation. This is not a privilege or some special right, but an obligation that the Torah imposes on us when it says, ‘and you shall choose life.'”
I didn’t understand exactly when we are supposed to comply with the Torah’s demands and when not. What does “and you shall choose life” mean?
Answer
We must always obey the Torah, but that decision has to come from us. If a person were hypnotized and kept all the commandments, that would not be obeying the Torah. If he does it 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 based on my own decision and מתוך recognition of the obligation to obey.