“People do a lot of evil thinking they’re doing the right thing; and it’s a huge problem when dealing with subjective morality”

When talking about the halakhic process – for people who want to talk about individuation or about finding your own way – there is room, but it’s not a matter of איש הישר בעיניו יעשה. That doesn’t end well for the Jewish people. People did what is right in their own eyes – that’s how the book of Judges ends, after the whole narrative of the פלגש בגבעה – the concubine who was raped to death and her dismembered corpse is mailed across the country en route to a civil war. That’s not a matter of just people doing what they want, it’s איש הישר בעיניו יעשה – you have people who thought they were doing what was the right thing. People do a lot of evil thinking they’re doing the right thing. And it’s a huge problem when dealing with subjective morality.

Rabbi Josh Yuter, “Halakhic Process 26 – R. David Hartman and Religious Individualism”, Yutopia Podcast #121 (3 November 2013).

Leave a Reply