Q&A: Working on Character Traits as Torah Study
Working on Character Traits as Torah Study
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
Do you think that studying character refinement (for example: studying love of others and how one reaches that, or what the middle path is in a given trait and how one reaches it) is considered Torah study?
Answer
According to my definition, this is Torah in the person and not in the object—that is, subjective Torah and not objective Torah—because the way to study this is universal. There is no uniquely Torah-based information that teaches us how to do it. The “Torah” books written on this topic are similar to other books and do not contain information different from what you would find in any other book. These are the authors’ insights and reasoning, just like in any psychology or coaching book.
Search the site for “Torah in the person and in the object,” and you’ll find several discussions of this (including articles).