JTS TORAH COMMENTARY: One of the claims that seems to have been made at different moments in my Jewish education is that Judaism concerns itself with what a person does in the world, and not with what a person thinks. The Torah demands we pursue a life rightly lived over beliefs rightly held. This argument underscores that the project of Torah is concerned with our behavior and not our internal life. Sinful might be a word that describes an act in Judaism, but it is not a word Jews would use to describe thoughts or feelings. A Jew is asked to take a leap of action rather than a leap of thought. The way to God comes by way of the mitzvah—a deed. Abraham Joshua Heschel described Jewish law (halakhah) as a system of the “ecstasy of deeds” through which we may experience the presence of God.
I have celebrated this idea about my Judaism for a number of reasons. First, this understanding puts a premium on behavior, and, intuitively, this seems right to me. What should matter most in our relationships with the world and others is what we do. Second, the emphasis on mitzvah—on the deed—pushes us out of our heads and into the world. Third, selfishly, I also enjoy the minimal boundaries this approach places on my emotional and cognitive life. I am not asked to regulate my mental activity. My mind is free to wander where it likes, perhaps not guiltlessly, but certainly with great impunity.
Yet I increasingly find this distinction between deeds and thoughts religiously and psychologically unsatisfying. While I continue to understand a certain privileging of deed over thought, and the ways in which deeds might actually bring us to a place of faith, removing our internal world from the religious conversation seems to belie a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between our mind and our behavior. Not only do thoughts create the context for behavior, but the more that scientists learn about the brain, the more they believe that our mental activity actually creates new neural structures. Consequently, “even fleeting thoughts and feelings can leave lasting marks on your brain, much like a spring shower can leave little trails on a hillside” (Hanson and Mendius, Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom [Oakland, California: New Harbinger Publications, 2009], 5). What happens in the mind changes the brain, both in temporary and in lasting ways. A practice of attention to and regulation of our thoughts is an integral part of the experience of other wisdom traditions and modern understandings of psychological growth. How can we, as Jews, simply ignore the mind in the religious experience?… (more)
EDITOR: This is skating on thin ice. We believe fantasies can be abused but should not be repressed. When we repress thought, we squelch creativity and prevent insights. The challenge is finding the proper balance.
I’m afraid if we start emphazing the internal,it will be at the expense of the mitzvah,