Q&A: Good
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Good
Question
Hello Rabbi,
How do you define the concept of “good”?
Is it correct to say that every choice a person makes is good (subjectively)? After all, he prefers it over another choice, which would imply that the choice he made is good (relative to the other one).
Answer
If you define good as “preferred,” then of course yes. But usually that is not how good is defined. Good is what ought to be done, not what is actually done. A person sometimes acts in a way that, even in his own view, is undesirable. He does so because of impulse or self-interest, but is aware that it is not a good act.