Don’t Always Follow Your Heart
One of the mantras of our secular world is the notion that one should follow their heart. We hear it from graduation speakers, from Academy Award-winners, from parents to children. This advice may make sense when it comes to pursing a hobby or a career, but when it comes to making moral decisions, the heart should not be the arbiter of right and wrong.
The Torah makes this abundantly clear in words we repeat when we recite the Shema. In referencing the tallit, we say “…That shall be your fringe: look upon it and recall all the commandments of Adonai and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge.” (Numbers 15:39)
Following our hearts can often lead us down the wrong moral path. The key to a decent life is to overcome our desires and do the right thing.
— Rabbi David Woznica