MIND OVER MATTER

Can the brain change its ways?

In Parshas Nitzavim, Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael that no matter how far they stray, they can always return. We can always change, and we see this physically in the way our brains work. For a long time, people thought the brain was fixed, like a machine. But now we know that it’s more like a living network. Every time you learn something new or break a habit, your brain forms or strengthens connections between nerve cells. When we do teshuvah, changing our actions, thoughts, or speech, we’re also rewiring the brain. Mitzvah goreres mitzvah—good habits create stronger “paths,” making it easier to repeat those actions. Bad habits can fade if we stop doing them. Hashem designed our brains for teshuvah.