How can the Chinuch say that a person is shaped by his actions — האדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו — if every action already comes from something inside the person?

In this seminar, we unpack the Chinuch’s famous principle and argue that it should not be read as simple behaviorism. The point is not that external behavior mechanically creates holiness. Rather, every action embodies an inner source, and repeated action strengthens the source from which it is performed.

This distinction changes how we understand שלא לשמה, קבלת עול, and the formation of the heart. If a person does not want to do a mitzvah but does it because Torah obligates him, the action strengthens קבלת עול. But if a person wants to do the mitzvah for kavod, control, self-image, or status, the same action may strengthen the ego instead.

We also clarify several key distinctions: middah as emotional event vs. middah as disposition, behavior vs. action, intention as mental caption vs. intention as governing reason, and why לשמה means more than simply saying “for Hashem” in one’s mind.

Along the way, we contrast the Chinuch with behaviorism, CBT, and psychoanalysis, and prepare the next step: Ramban’s idea of נבל ברשות התורה — how even a legally permitted act may still not be inwardly Torah-mediated.

Main themes: Sefer HaChinuch, האדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו, שלא לשמה, לשמה, קבלת עול, פרי הארץ, Tosafos, behaviorism, B. F. Skinner, CBT, psychoanalysis, middos, intention, action, avodas Hashem, and Torah psychology.