Q&A: Morality and Conscience
Morality and Conscience
Question
Hello Rabbi, what is your opinion about studying morality/ethical works? Mesillat Yesharim and the like, especially for young people?
Do you think it is possible to add conscience, and not only to channel and direct it? Is that good and proper? And is that what the fear of Heaven spoken of by the ethical teachers means?
Answer
First of all, this is not Torah study (certainly not as an object in itself), and usually it is not really study either. One can engage in ethical works if it helps improve one's character traits. It doesn't really speak to me.
Discussion on Answer
The main thing is Jewish law and its analysis. Engaging in the Bible is probably Torah as an object in itself, because it is hard to exclude that, although I do not understand what there is to study there (it may be Torah, but not study). I elaborated on this in my book No Person Has Power over the Spirit.
So what is your definition of Torah?