[Avodah] Our Attitude towards Segulos

[rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com]

Secular spiritualists and others maintain we are what we think we are.  Or we become that which we contemplate upon.  Or as we visualize urselves, so we are or we. Become.

Eg think thin and.  U b ecome thin.

We Jews think we are what we DO.  See sefer hachinuch.

It is possible to do otherwise.  We can b reak this paradigm.  The sheiloh is are we allowedto?

IOW let's say. We could abolish theimpact of schar v o'onesh thais ibthe torah eg the 2nd p. Of shema and sub mit to another paradigm that allows us to earn w/o being deserving.  Is using this trick mutar?

Tangentially I have long pondered: R Jews vitctims because we see ourselves that way?  And if we stopped doing that would we be better off and less victimized?  And if so isfocusing upon martyrdom actualizing a negative vision? Does THAT violate uvacharta  bechayyim?

Furthermore is affirming "ki chotei ani" perpetuating chait?  Would we bebetter stating we used tobe a chotei but no longer?  Wouldn't a positiv e affirmation help us past our limitatuions?

KT
RRW
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