[Avodah] Chok

[Micha Berger]

I was taken by R J Sacks zt"l's idea for what a choq is. See his essay
"Descartes' Error"
<https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/chukat/descartes-error>,

Much, and probably most, of the human decision-making process is not based
in the rational part of our brain. First, we get too many stimuli to be
fully aware of all the "inputs", never mind our thoughts about much of
it. And thus emotion is very involved. So RJS argues that this is why
some of halakhah is not aimed at rational comprehension.

    "There have been many interpretations of the chukim throughout the
    ages. But in the light of recent neuroscience, we can suggest that
    they are laws designed to bypass the prefrontal cortex, the rational
    brain, and create instinctive patterns of behaviour to counteract
    some of the darker emotional drives at work in the human mind."

And since their role is to ingrain habit and instinct, the word "choq"
fits the /ch-q-q/ etymology.


The problem is that it wouldn't work with the Rambam's explanation of
Elazar b Azaryah (Toras Kohanim) that the reason why one should say, "I
would love to eat pork, but what can I do since my Father in heaven
decreed against it," is specifically because it is a choq. That for
mitzvos we comprehend, trying to align oneself with the values inherent
in the mitzvah is better. Which would rule out an explanation of choq
that is about internalizing.

But then, the Rambam's whole idea of how Da'as and Dei'os interact isn't
what we believe today. Too much emphasis on thought causing emotion, and
not enough about the role of emotion shaping thought. He denies the
conclusion RJS makes (and buttresses from neuroscientific findings, but
I think all the modalities of psychology assume as much) about the role
of parts of our mind and soul other than rational thought.

In contrast, the Moreh Nevuchim's idea of the ideal person is someone
who understands Hashem so well that their Dei'os reflect His. (After all,
the only positive statements we can make about Hashem are really about
the examples of behavior He shows us.)

So, if we are willing to say that the Rambam's approach to psychology
and akrasia are provably wrong by experimentation, we don't need our
idea of choq to fit that approach.

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Never must we think that the Jewish element
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   in us could exist without the human element
Author: Widen Your Tent      or vice versa.
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF                   - Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch