Q&A: Dealing with an Excessive Good Inclination
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Dealing with an Excessive Good Inclination
Question
Hello,
I have an excessive good inclination: I love people for no particular reason, and it pains me that this behavior is almost entirely without my personal choice. What can I do about this so that my acts of love will count as fulfilling a commandment?
Answer
Rest easy—your actions are considered mitzvah acts in every respect. There is no reason at all to suppress a good inclination in order to merit a more choice form of commandment-fulfillment. If you want, you can focus on doing things beyond what your inclination naturally pushes you to do. On this topic, see Maimonides, Eight Chapters, chapter six.