At any point in the day we are subject to some kind of mood. Just like colors, some may be intense and some may be almost bland.  Surprise, pleasure, stress, joy, security, anxiety, anger, dislike, depression, dismay, anticipation, disappointment – the list could well go on and on.  

Often these feelings lay just under the surface; we aren’t really aware of them. Even so, our feelings at any given time color our thinking, especially our judgment – often profoundly.  How we judge someone’s negative behavior depends so much on how we feel about them.  

During the “Cold War” there was a joke told about a race between an American and a Soviet car.  The American car won the race.  It was reported in Pravda, “Soviet car comes in second place; American car comes in second to last.”

Three interesting observations about strong emotions.

One: feelings of hurt seem as if they’re going to last forever – and often they only last till the situation changes. (Unless, of course, we derive a certain pleasure from nurturing them!)

Two: Feelings are results! OK! I know we talk about “spontaneous” feelings.  Frankly, I don’t believe in them.  There are enough possible causes in the world to guarantee that whatever we feel at any given moment is the result of something that we’ve experienced – imaginary or otherwise!

Three: As human beings – and I happen to think that this is one of those things that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal world – we have the ability to harness those feelings.  Often it isn’t simply an issue of “mind over matter”; there may be physiological causes affecting us that no direct approach will overcome.  Some of it has to do with the particular culture in which we live which has such a profound effect on the way we think.  So much of it has to do with our “families of origin”: the homes in which we were raised and the examples of living that we were exposed to on a constant basis.  Let’s not forget about the education we received as children and the friends we made and the experiences we had; all certainly made a profound impact on how we process our feelings.

At the end of the day, however, we have to bear the responsibility for our own judgments and actions.  The Torah, in the Book of Leviticus, and in the issues that it raises such as Biblical “leprosy” wants us to recognize that some of the most profound elements of our experience have less to do with the “bricks and mortar”; in other words the physical universe – and more with the way in which we treat ourselves, each other and in thinking about our place in the world.

Biblical “leprosy” has to do with the discoloration of our bodies, our clothing and our homes – and how to reintegrate with our community once we’ve been able to accomplish a way to value and respect all that surrounds us. To this day, we are challenged to look into ourselves and our lives and see how our feelings may be making us morally blind to the reality that lies beyond our own needs and wants.

Mordecai Miller is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical Association and serves Brith Sholom Kneseth Israel Synagogue.