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Moral Independence - Aish.com

Tzvi ⋮ 7-8 minutes ⋮ 5/8/2009
Being a Jew demands developing the intellectual and

moral courage to live by what is true, even if the whole
world stands opposed.
A CHILLING EXPERIMENT
Do you think basically good, mentally healthy people

could murder innocent human beings?
Sportswashing: From Hitler to the Saudis
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6/10/23, 7:11 AM Moral Independence - Aish.com
The film "Obedience" documents a chilling experiment

done at Yale University some years ago by Dr. Stanley
Milgram. It paints a sobering picture about human
nature.
Volunteers are told they're participating in an

experiment on how punishment affects one's ability to
learn. They are introduced to a man who will attempt to
memorize a list of words. In an adjacent room where he
can be heard but not seen, this man is strapped to a
chair, his arm hooked up to electrical wires. Every time
he makes a mistake in memorization, the volunteer is
asked to push a button that will give increasingly strong
electric shocks. Just before they begin, the man warns
the volunteer of his heart condition.
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(Unbeknownst to the volunteers, this man is in fact

Milgram's collaborator in the experiment. No actual
shock will be given.)
The experiment begins. A few mistakes in memorization

-- and the volunteer administers some shocks. The
volunteer nervously laughs as he hears grunts of pain.
The experiment's administrator, a man in a white lab-
coat, encourages him to continue with intensifying
shocks.
If everyone is affected by social conditioning,

how can anyone be morally responsible for his
or her actions?
As the dosage increases, screams come from the

adjacent room, accompanied by desperate pleas to
stop the experiment. He cries this is hazardous to his
heart.
Yet this volunteer -- and the majority of other volunteers

-- continue to give electric shocks to the point where
they believe they've severely harmed the man. In many
cases the volunteers continue to give deadly shocks

even after the screams fall silent. When the laboratory
administrator instructs the volunteers to continue giving
shocks, they submit to the authority figure rather than
defy him.
The experiment demonstrates that you don't have to be

sadistic or deranged to put people into gas chambers.
You can be completely normal and just not be
independent enough to question the morality of what
you are doing.
CONDITIONING AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Without the strength to question authority and to resist

the prevalent norms, perpetrating evil is just a function
of time and place. How would you feel about the Nazi
party i f you were born into a typical German family in
the early twenties?
No one is born and raised in a vacuum.
Why should a 17-year-old German youth be held

morally responsible for choosing to join the Hitler Youth
party? After all, he has been socially conditioned right
from the start to dislike Jews. He has never been
exposed to any other belief system. All his friends are
joining the Hitler Youth!
Yet the world does hold Nazis morally accountable. But

why? If everyone is affected by social conditioning, how
can anyone be morally responsible for his or her
actions?
ABRAHAM: THE PARADIGM OF INDEPENDENCE
Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, confronted

these issues head-on.
In a world filled with idolatry, a young Abraham

reasoned there must be a single Creator of the
universe, rejecting his pagan upbringing. He discovered
monotheism for himself and embarked on his mission to
educate mankind, risking his life in the process.
After many years of faithful commitment, God finally

speaks to Abraham for the very first time:
And God said to Abram, Lech-Lecha ... Go for

yourself -- away from your land, from your
birthplace, and from the home of your father, to
the land which I will show you. I will make you
into a great nation, and I will bless you and make
you famous... (Genesis, 12:1,2)
God's initial command to Abraham is riddled with

difficulties. Obviously one cannot leave his land without
leaving his father's house and birthplace. Let the text
simply say, "Leave your land and go to the land which I
will show you."
Furthermore, one first leaves his father house, then his

birthplace and then his country. Why list these in
reverse order?
Break out of the confines of your society and re-

examine the foundations of your convictions.
The Torah's primary message here is not Abraham's

physical departure from his country. Otherwise it would
have sufficed to say, "Leave your country." Abraham's
challenge was to make a spiritual departure, to leave
behind the influences, practices, and emotional support
of his family and society in order to become truly
independent.
These three boundaries (country, birthplace, and

father's house) represent
three different spheres of influence upon each

individual, in ascending order of intensity.
Abraham is first commanded to leave his country -- to

break away from the idolatrous influence of his land.
Then his birthplace -- to abandon the customs and
mores that are instinctive. Finally, he is challenged to
shake loose from the most intense bond of all -- his
father's house -- his primal source of identity and self-
esteem.
Surmounting this challenge is Abraham's first step in

the development of spiritual independence. This is the
meaning of the Hebrew term lech lecha -- to go to
yourself. God is telling Abraham to strip away the
outside influences in order to emerge as a true
individual.
RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING
Rabbi Yehuda says: The entire world stood on

one side, and Abraham stood on the other side.
(Midrash Rabba, Genesis 42:8)
This fierce independence labels Abraham the first

Hebrew, a term derived from the word "side." Abraham
stood alone on the other side.
The key to independence? Break out of the confines of

your society and re-examine the foundations of your
convictions. This is the primary challenge for anyone on
the road to becoming a true thinking individual.
Because without verifying the validity of ingrained
values, one can never know if his positions are correct.
The German youth and the terrorist are both

responsible for their actions, despite their social
conditioning. Instead of recognizing the necessity to
question their society, they chose to remain passive.
God's first command to Abraham, and to every human

being, is to become independent. We need to develop
the intellectual and moral courage to live by what is
true, even if the whole world stands opposed. Without
it, we are nothing more than a submissive product of
society.
With it comes the liberation of self.

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6/10/23, 7:11 AM Moral Independence - Aish.

Moral Independence - Aish.com

Being a Jew demands developing the intellectual and

Do you think basically good, mentally healthy people

Sportswashing: From Hitler to the Saudis

The film "Obedience" documents a chilling experiment

Volunteers are told they're participating in an

Our weekly email is chockful of interesting and relevant

(Unbeknownst to the volunteers, this man is in fact

The experiment begins. A few mistakes in memorization

If everyone is affected by social conditioning,

As the dosage increases, screams come from the

Yet this volunteer -- and the majority of other volunteers

cases the volunteers continue to give deadly shocks

The experiment demonstrates that you don't have to be

CONDITIONING AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

Without the strength to question authority and to resist

No one is born and raised in a vacuum.

Why should a 17-year-old German youth be held

Yet the world does hold Nazis morally accountable. But

ABRAHAM: THE PARADIGM OF INDEPENDENCE

Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, confronted

In a world filled with idolatry, a young Abraham

After many years of faithful commitment, God finally

And God said to Abram, Lech-Lecha ... Go for

God's initial command to Abraham is riddled with

Furthermore, one first leaves his father house, then his

Break out of the confines of your society and re-

The Torah's primary message here is not Abraham's

These three boundaries (country, birthplace, and

three different spheres of influence upon each

Abraham is first commanded to leave his country -- to

Surmounting this challenge is Abraham's first step in

RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING

Rabbi Yehuda says: The entire world stood on

This fierce independence labels Abraham the first

The key to independence? Break out of the confines of

The German youth and the terrorist are both

God's first command to Abraham, and to every human

With it comes the liberation of self.

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