[Avodah] Halachic process

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Tue Dec 27 12:03:23 PST 2022


On Tue, Dec 13, 2022 at 11:34:45PM -0500, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> Jonathan Haidt uses the analogy of the elephant and its rider as a metaphor
> for the relationship between our reason and our emotion (passions)...

R Yitzchaq Sher, in his pesichah to the Slabdka Alumni edition of Sefer
Cheshbon haNefesh (and included in most subsequent editions, pg 32,
par #4 in Feldheim's bilingual edition), likens mastering the yeitzer
hara to training an elephant.

The yeitzer hara, after all, is nothing but the animal aspect of our
own selves. And like any other animal, it needs to be trained, not
taught. And RYS also talks about a person's inability to force an
elephant to do something it doesn't want to.

There is a copy on Google Books at:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D7%97%D7%A9%D7%91%D7%95%D7%9F_%D7%94%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%A9/dx0OsRAffDQC?&gbpv=1&pg=PA32&printsec=frontcover

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 If you won't be better tomorrow
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   than you were today,
Author: Widen Your Tent      then what need do you have for tomorrow?
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF            - Rebbe Nachman of Breslov


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