As the financial situation weakens, the question that everybody has been asking as of late: "were we too caught up in our physical possessions?" It is almost self evident that humans are suckers for the external. If something looks beautiful it must be beautiful. There is almost no regard for the actual internal quality of the item we are pursuing. This truism, though, was recently found to run much deeper than we would have imagined. In a study conducted by Antonio Rangel, an associate professor of economics at Caltech, it was found that changes in the stated price of a sampled wine influenced not only how good volunteers thought it tasted, but it also influenced the activity of a brain region that is involved in our experience of pleasure. In other words, external stimuli can actually manipulate our emotional experience.

If this is the power that external stimuli have on our emotion then perhaps this weak spot can be used to our advantage. The Sefer HaChinuch made famous the line "ha-adam nifa’al k’fi peulosav" – meaning: our internal system follows our actions. One of the contexts of this statement has to do with the many commandments centered around Passover. Why do we need so many laws that relate to Passover? If we go through the motions, condition our behaviors in a positive area or in an area of spirituality, with enough attentiveness our emotion will soon follow.