שיטת החזון איש וסוקרטס שיש רק מידה טובה אחת | שמונה פרקים פרק ד׳ שיעור י״ט

From שיעורי עיון למחשבה - אידיש by בית המדרש עיון למחשבה - הרב יצחק לאווי

March 13, 2026

About this episode

This shiur explores the unity of virtues as questioned by the Chazon Ish, contrasting it with Socratic philosophy.

This shiur examines a fundamental question raised by the Chazon Ish about the nature of middos (character traits): why do we treat virtues like courage, humility, or temperance as separate good qualities when being truly good requires all of them together? The discussion challenges the common assumption that you can work on individual middos separately, arguing instead that genuine virtue is unified – either you’re guided by intellect and reason (and thus have all good middos), or you’re driven by natural inclinations (and your seemingly “good” traits are just natural dispositions, not real virtues). Drawing on Socratic and Aristotelian philosophy, the shiur distinguishes between natural traits that happen to look good and authentic moral excellence that comes from living according to reason, ultimately questioning whether the standard mussar approach of working on one middah per month makes philosophical sense. This Shiur Also On Watch on YouTube Watch on Website Read Transcript Hebrew Transcript

People in this episode

Host: הרב יצחק לאווי

Topics covered

character traits
virtues
philosophy
Socratic thought
moral excellence
Judaism

Keywords

middos
virtue
courage
humility
temperance
moral philosophy
Socrates
Aristotle

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: שמונה פרקים, מוסר

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