th<\/sup><\/span> century Rabbi David Luria, reminds us that Hillel the Elder made a very similar statement when he declared: \u201cTo the place I love, that is where my feet lead me\u201d (Talmud Tractate Sukkah 53a), upon which the Talmudic sage Rabbi Yochanan commented, \u201cA person\u2019s feet are his guarantors!\u201d<\/p>\nA contemporary of Rabbi Luria, Chanoch Zundel, elaborates eloquently upon the passage in the Midrash<\/i> in his fascinating work, Eitz Yoseph<\/i>. He points out that the private thoughts and personal considerations of even a man like David would not have led him to spiritually exemplary deeds, to Torah study and prayer. Thus David confesses that when he planned his day, he had other intentions regarding his ultimate destinations, \u201cother events and other places\u201d. However, his feet, which Rabbi Chanoch Zundel suggests refer to his physiological habits, his locomotive reflexes, carried him to where he really belonged, to the spiritual destination he unconsciously preferred.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Chanoch Zundel helps convince us that his interpretation of this Midrashic<\/i> passage is correct by pointing out that the Hebrew word for \u201chabit\u201d is hergel<\/i>\u00b8 which has as its root the Hebrew word for foot, regel.<\/i><\/p>\n
There is an important universal lesson here about the power of habit. If one consistently behaves in a certain way he establishes a pattern of behavior which becomes \u201chard-wired\u201d into his nervous system. That \u201chard-wired\u201d pattern becomes activated even when the person does not intend to activate it. This is why establishing a morally desirable pattern of behavior is so essential. In moments of temptation, or in moments of stress, when our conscious minds might not activate those desirable patterns, our nervous system kicks on, and those important patterns becomes activated without our conscious intention.<\/p>\n
The great medieval author of the Sefer HaChinuch<\/i> said it so succinctly and so well when he wrote: \u201cAcharei ha\u2019peulot nimshachim ha’levavot<\/i>\u2014after our actions do our hearts follow.\u201d Habits of action lay down the groundwork for our behavior and influence our emotions. He further suggests that habits even overpower our emotions when we would otherwise unwisely yield to those emotions.<\/p>\n
One of my favorite American philosophers, who lived and wrote long after the various rabbinic sources which I have quoted heretofore, came to a very similar conclusion about the power of habit and its positive utility for making proper moral decisions. I refer to William James, whose text The Principles of Psychology <\/i>remains so very relevant and timely despite being written in 1890.<\/p>\n
The fourth chapter of James\u2019 book is entitled \u201cHabit\u201d, and is often published as a separate essay in various anthologies of his works. He begins the chapter with this observation: \u201cWhen we look at living creatures from an outward point of view, one of the first things that strike us is that they are bundles of habits.\u201d<\/p>\n
James goes on to give a very impressive array of examples to demonstrate just how forceful habits can be. One such example is that \u201cmen grown old in prison have asked to be readmitted after being once set free.\u201d They are so habituated to prison life that freedom is overwhelming for them.<\/p>\n
But the greatest contribution of James\u2019 remarkable essay is his insistence that we use the power of habit in our own education, and particularly in our moral education. He recommends that we \u201cmake our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has some specific suggestions, some of which sound like quotations from a primer on mussar, <\/i>on religious and ethical behavior: \u201cSeize the very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make\u2026\u201d; \u201cNo matter how full a reservoir of maxims<\/i> one may possess, and no matter how good one\u2019s sentiments <\/i>may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, <\/i>one\u2019s character may remain entirely unaffected for the better\u2026\u201d; \u201cthere is no more contemptible type of human character than that of the nerveless sentimentalist and dreamer\u2026who never does a manly concrete deed\u201d.<\/p>\n
James even goes so far as to recommend that one \u201cdo every day or two something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it\u201d just to strengthen yourself \u201cto stand like a tower when everything rocks around him\u201d.<\/p>\n
The wisdom of William James is consistent with the perspective of our Torah. If one’s feet are accustomed to walking in God\u2019s statutes he will do so even when distracted by other challenges. This was the secret of my grandfather\u2019s key. For him it was a concrete symbol of where his feet wanted to go, of his most deeply desired destination\u2014the shul <\/i>and the beit midrash<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Our sages said it so well: Lo hamidrash hu ha’ikkar ela ha’maaseh<\/i>. It is not theory which is paramount. It is action!<\/p>\n
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