Reply To: YWN Coffee Room Nightly D’Var Torah

Parsha Nitzavim

The Posuk says:

I call heaven and earth today to bear witness against you: I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring.

The posuk brought an unusual thought to mind. There is a theory in behavioral science known as cognitive dissonance. Simply stated, this is a discord between what a person believes and how a person behaves. The theory posits that a person can not on a sustained level hold two incompatible beliefs as there will be no peace of mind and this lack of inner harmony will either cause a change in the belief system and/or the behavior so that thought and deeds match.

The connection between this posuk and cognitive dissonance may seem a bit of a stretch; however, perhaps after walking through a scenario or 2 the distance between the two will shrink

The lesson that I take from this is:

As we approach Rosh HaShanah and we read the Posuk above, we need to recognize that we may need to do two separate kinds of teshuva: 1) teshuva on the actual behavior (regret, confess and avoid) and 2) teshuva on the mindset in which a person rationalizes and justifies contradictory beliefs in order to engage in behaviors that are not in accordance with Torah values.

We need to examine ourselves to see if our thoughts and behaviors are not only compatible but are also not corrupt. We need to ensure that our thoughts (as well as our behaviors) are in accordance with the path that will lead to blessing and to life.

K’Siva v’Chasima Tova