Monday, September 7, 2015

In an age of internet-assembled philosophies...

"Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, 'I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.'” (Devarim 29:18)

The verse speaks of individuals who, despite hearing the warnings of the Torah to those living an immoral life, are convinced that they are the exception to the rule; the smokers who feel they can beat the statistics.

The human personality’s natural ego considers itself immune to popular critique; we find unique ways of justifying our hypocrisy and validating our inconsistencies.

In an age of internet-assembled philosophies, we tend to think of ourselves as sophisticated and well-read, whereas in reality we have only replaced genuine self-assessment with over-inflated self-congratulations.


In the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah, a time when we try to contextualise our lives, perhaps it is opportune to develop humility. Not the humility of the self-effacing type, but rather the humility that seeks to understand before developing an opinion.

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