(52) rivka, 22/8/2008 people do change I do not agree with House people do Change. This patient was not on drugs she had a medical problem. I love this show i am a nurse, however sometimes medicine and G-D don't mix well because in medicine they have to have a rational explaination for everything and sometimes there just isn't one it's like mother used to say" because I said so" and G-D has a few of those laws those 'just because I said so" laws no real explaination: just do it. This patient almost died because she was refused surgery until Shabbat was over, so they tricked her and made the windows dark to save her life. According to Jewish law she could have broke Shabbat to save her life because in breaking that law she would have been actually fulfilling it.
(51)Anonymous, 20/5/2008 dare i say it--hes got a point House is way off line but i still think that he hs a point. People who do not have some other motive dont make drastic changes in their lives. I believe that i can say that i know what its like to make both slow and fast changes to your life. I can peorsonally say that it has taken me about a year and a half to just begin keeping shabbos, kosher etc.. and to become comfortable with myself and every mitzvah that i have taken upon since i began searching for myself, G-D, and a life of true value. It hasnt been easy and i continue to struggle in my endevores. However a relative of mine has also changed her life, but she had changed so much in so little time. I dont believe that she has gotten any personal or spiritual fulfillment from her new life. i dont see the joy and happiness of a person who has made significant changes.
In short- in order to truley change one must begin from the inside out. You cant go from the "fast lane" to a life of chasidus without stoping at all the "detours".
(50) John, 14/4/2008 People Do Change What a sad perspective Dr House has expressed. A world were people do not change is about as sad as one where we are all the same. Both ideas are an absurdity; I am amazed this was ever written to have Dr House spout. People can change their external behaviors and do so regularly. For deeper internal changes, I can attest that thanks to the power of Gd and time spent in prayer, study, and action one can change internally. I personally went from being a fairly violent child and adolescent who would hit you to bring "peace", to a man of peace who can cry a the thought of being driven to think of violence. Change is part of Gd's order; we all can and do change, thank Gd!
(49) Steve Skeete, 10/4/2008 In a word - the doctors is a nut. Of course people change.
Example. Did this doctor always go around proclaiming incessantly "people don't change"?
And did he always believe that "hospitals were temples and doctors were gods"?
So there you have it.
Change is becoming. He became an atheist.
(48)Anonymous, 9/4/2008 You can change if you WANT to... If a person wants to change they can. "Ain davar ha'omed bifnei ha'ratzon"..."nothing can stand in a person's way if they want it...." As a person in the field of outreach for numerous years, I have witnessed incredible change, and it was from those that were driven to change. Whether it was from a desire to pursue a life of fulfillment, or a desire to escape a life of emptiness, I have seen REAL change. It takes courage, commitment, and most of all, a subjugation of ego, and replacing one's ego with Hashems will. It takes a very strong willed person to go down the path of change, but the feelings of success are sweeter than anything in the world. The key ingredient to hold onto real change is to take it one step at a time--then it can become yours--if you WANT it.
(47) Danielle, 2/4/2008 Life Altering Change... People can change and if that change brings them closer to Gd...ALL THE BETTER! I have seen this episode of House a few times...mostly because my parents feel they can relate with their frum daughter if they TIVO a show that involves practicing Jews. My family doesn't practice Judaism...or anything else for that matter. Therefore, count me as one of, well, at least 100. How did I become the only one that practices in a family that doesn't? I changed. Yep...that's right. I changed. I looked at my life (and the lives around me) and said, you know what? This isn't for me. See you in shul. It isn't easy to make a dramatic and intrinsic change, but it is possible. One theme that I found interesting, however, that wasn't touched upon in this episode (which has a lovely bit on the wedding between this newlywed couple) is how challenges that were never expected usually arise whenever you make changes to get closer to Gd. In my case, I am almost finished with my challenges...almost won the battle, but for some, they are just beginning. Hashem wants you to prove that you are geninue for the privilage of having a close and meaningful relationship with Him. I enjoyed seeing that reflection in this episode.
Shalom.
(46) Miranda, 31/3/2008 People do and can change Its truly true that whatever thoughts you put out there do bring those things back into your orbit. Eventually. Change is very possible. This video also shows is the power clash between the bio-medical egoism that sees itself as having a right to 'god-ing' in its decision making. All healing comes from God and medical professionals, in general, need to learn to be better facilitators in the "Divine flow" of healing, not egoistic directors of their own 'scripts' of how change happens or how all healing comes about. Life is not a simple prescription.
(45) Elisabeth, 31/3/2008 YES, people CAN change People just don't change. But they CAN IF THEY WANT TO. And they CAN if they have the mental disposition and emotional ability to do so, only then they can change (for the better or for the wors). Usually changing for the better requires full consciousness and a decision to do so. Changing for the worst just comes naturally without doing anything or thinking about it. Being aware and conscious of these facts is essential. And it is a firm decision that one has to take and act upon; otherwise, just wanting is not enought.
(44) Chanie, 24/3/2008
Anyone can change. I would question what motivated the person to change in order to see how solid and substantial the change was. For example, changes based on emotion don't take you very far.
(43) lowa, 23/3/2008 ah, but is it change for the better....? When I became "religious" people couldn't believe my "change", but what they didn't see was that upon birth I was meant to be religious, although my secular environment "changed" me into something I wasn't supposed to be. Thus, ultimately my change in lifestyle was just me going back to whom I was truly meant to be.
(42) ralph-g, 20/3/2008 All things are possible with G-d! G-d is good,G-d is mercyfull!To G-d be the Glory!
(41) Marc, 20/3/2008 Do people change? To coin a favored cliche by many psychologists,"A leopard does not change its spots." Without the proper professional help, I doubt that anyone can change. Can an alcoholic give up drinking w/o some help? Can a physical abuser stop abusing "cold terkey"? From personal experience I can tell you that people do not change.
(40) Joseph, 20/3/2008 people do change Praise be to G-d that people do change.Yes the light within us begins to glow bright when we see that G-d wrote Torah to give us true freedom and guidence. The media and most secular entertainment plants negative seeds and is anti-G-d. Yes we do change. Torah changes us.
(39) ralph, 19/3/2008 folks changing 1. I am a retired correctional sergeant. and there are many folks that change completely while incarcated in prison, mostly for the worse. 2. I have personally witnessed folks who were scumbags before God yanked thier chain, and became usefull citizens afterwards. BUT...a good change is one in ten million, the rest are for the worst. God bless...
(38)Anonymous, 19/3/2008 I have seen people change because of faith when some people get so tired of trial and finally come to grips with God, they change. God can change anyone and any situation.....
(37) Yehoshua, 18/3/2008 The best of Doctors go to Hell - Talmud Why is that? A perfect example of the good dr in the video. Not only was he playing god, he felt no other doctor should play G-d except him. When a dr. (or anyone else for that matter) is full of himself, thinks he/she knows it all, they don't give other people the opportunity to find a cure for what wails people, be it physical, mental, or religious. The dr in this video knows alot, but he is only half right when he says "people don't change". Yes, their personality does not change, BUT a person always has the free choice to move in the right direction. I did not see this episode, but people choose shades of religiosity of where they are in life. Clsoing oneself off from one's past is never condoned in judaism, we are told to use what G-d has given us in a positive manner. A violent prone person should be a shochet not a teacher, a insightful person should be a psychologist not a stock trader. And pompous personality types may become doctors 9some of them anyway), maybe they should become train conductors instead?
(36)Anonymous, 17/3/2008 ironic Its ironic that the doctor himself was quite stubborn himself....
(35) Lady, 15/3/2008 Change and no change The fundamentals of a person's personality don't necessarily change--yet where they choose to be and their materiality do change.
Take the Arab terrorists for example. Has there been any change in their behaviour? And yet persons such as Walid Shoebat say they have changed.
So--while all things change, some things--AND people too--remain the same.
The almighty has not changed, even though the way I perceive the almighty--changes all the time.
Shalom,
Lady
(34) Mrs D, 15/3/2008 really bothered by this This is so blatantly filled with antisemitic drivel that I cannot believe it was cleared for production. Then again, why should I be surprised. If any people don't change, it's the people constrained from within their genes by 'Halacha hi sheaisav sonei es Yaakov!" So let me qualify remarks by saying this is anti-orthodox, read that anti "Yaakov." And people just like this so-called Dr. are really out there, doling out their egotistic and arrogant advice to patients. They are just as often Jewish doctors, sad to say. Like my (former)obstetrician and another time a different specialist, who both advised me concerning religious/medical questions with a declaration of "You let your rabbi be a rabbi and me be the doctor here." REAL people can and do change. This doctor represents a character that is supposed to be hard to love and get along with , but to be begrudgingly respected for his instinct and expertise. I wish his unsuspecting admiring audience would be onto his bad character as I am. This just perpetuates "orthophobia."
(33) Rusty Bowman, 15/3/2008 he's right! House is correct - people don't change; God changes people (from the inside out). However, people cannot change themselves by themselves!
(32) Ariela, 14/3/2008 people DO change By the grace of G-d and His Spirit, people can and do change, as evidenced by their actions. They repent, "change direction" and go the other way! Keep praying for your loved ones.
(31) IRWIN HYMAN BRODSKY, 14/3/2008 People do change Dr. House is wrong! I was raised in a non-religious house, my mother was agnostic,I don't know about my father. My introduction to the Tanuch was at 17 years old. I have gone through several stages of religion since then, and am now a Conservative Jew, following Kashrut, and those gommandments that I can. I am also a novice in Kabbalah, and believe that it can be equated with Quantum Physics. I reached the above theory while reading "Let There Be Light".
(30)Anonymous, 13/3/2008 People change when and IF enough Tifilos are said. I've been davining for over 8 years that my Dovid ben Sarah should do t'shuva. It has not happened yet. Will he come back to Torah? Maybe, more people will pray for him?
(29) mike, 13/3/2008 No, we do not change. We do have things that happen to modify what we think and how we act but the core of who we are does not change. I do not see the movement to chassidic beliefs as a change but a discovery of who they are. One spends ones life trying to do this.
(28) Paul, 13/3/2008 Human beings are, in their nature, able to grow and change! We are changing all the time - physically we see it, as the baby grows into a child, adolescent, youth and adult. Intellectually, they are growing and changing. So also, emotionally and spiritually. Unfortunately, the inner changes are not so evident and easy. But created, as we are, in the image of God, we can realise this nature, if we allow this spirit to take charge of us. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.
(27) Aaron Kraicshtein, 13/3/2008 I could not speak for 3 days! Sure one can and could change! I did! Brought up Roman Catholic, but something was always wrong, I converted to Anglican, then Baptist then Charismatic, the questions in my mind became too numerouse, I went mad! Always seeking the truth, listening to every preacher, evangelist, teacher, prophet in the world. It drove me insane, until one day a little voice in my head started to point out the lies I watched and listened to. It suggested that Judaism may be the only true religion. I was knocked off my feet, I checked it out an all the answers came flooding into my inner-man. It all mad sense! I was disgusted with all the lies and the ability I had to see through the Christian Church and the Televangelists was frightening. I could not talk, I was angry and digusted all at the same time. Change? Yes change is possible and can be quite drastic, if this happened to you would you not agree? Shalom, Aaron (Allan Crichton)
(26) Michal, 13/3/2008 people d o change If he would be my Doctor, I would want another one. I can not stand people who think, they are in the place of God. We in Germany had one of them. His picture hung in every classroom, while I was a child. It is a terrible thought, that people could not change. But they can! I am living proof of it. I am Jewish now.
(25) Rosen, 13/3/2008 humans are who they are Humans are who they are, and rarely change since we're often comfortable with our convictions and lifestyle. Of course, improvement has less fundamental alterations than that of change.
(24) Will, 13/3/2008 Quack, Quack One again a Dr. that thinks he has life all figured out. Let me tell you a secret, Dr.'s don't know everything, they only think they do. The creator on the other hand, does.
(23) Howard G, 12/3/2008 House a brilliant diagnostician Gregory House (the character) is a curmudgeon but if I am sick I would want a doctor like him. His take on religion as with most things is unorthodox (pun intended) but right n the money. Pray if you wish but trust in science.
(22) iris Geller, 12/3/2008 House is only house, not humanity House is a jaded guy who has been ruined by his own personal experiences. He has little or no faith in the human spirit. But he underestimates people who do have the ability to change and embrace either old or new philosophies and act on them. It is always interesting to see him regroup.
(21) Batya, 12/3/2008 I love it! Two of my favorite things in one place: Aish and House! I love the show and the character "House" and never miss it. I was very happy to see an episode that had such observant Jewish characters. Dr. House always finds the correct diagnosis and always judges people harshly. But in this episode where "people don't change" is oft-repeated, I took great joy in the fact that House had to realize that although his medical diagnosis was correct, his diagnosis of her character was wrong. And that changed House just a bit. Of course people can change. I experience it everyday with G*d's light.
(20) Reuben, 12/3/2008 Nonsense! Its just takes a instant to change People dont change, is just a misleading & pschological mind set that we have in our world today. It just takes a single instance, or just one incident or accident (G'd forbid) or a single experience to change. Yes people change!
(19) Anonymous, 11/3/2008 Can people change? Definately! Lets hope for the good! I think people change only if they know if will bring about the positive in their life.. no one changes to be unhappy..
(18) Barbara, 11/3/2008 Watch the Entire Episode If you watch the rest of the episode, House begins to realize that he is wrong about people changing. Of course people do and can change, only sometimes is it an emotional, mental or spiritual change and sometimes it is a physical change. And a good doctor can't rule anything out immediately.
(17) Edgardo, 11/3/2008 Change ( and modification ) is possible and real. Of course change is possible. Thanks to Hashem I'am not today what I was 23 years ago. False beliefs, drugs, porno, lack of desire to live where just a few of my "motivation guides". Now G-d is my designer. I want to do His will and day by day He shapes me through various situations, good and bad. Some are tough and produce a quick change or modification; others are slower. But I asure you all, we can change as long as we want to change and as long as Hashem, having a plan for you, will make you change to do His will and achieve the purpose for which we have been created. Is it not great?
(16) norm, 11/3/2008 perspective is our concern so much that someone could/would/should change; or; is how we ought to view them. people usually change out of necessity or need in order to gain something. we may not know what that something is that caused the change. therefore, how can we judge whether they should or have changed. perhaps we are only projecting our own desire of what their reality should be.
(15) Shirah, 11/3/2008
I believe change is possible, but extremely difficult. It takes a strong belief in G-d at the very least. In addition, a person must have a good self image in order to accomplish a change. People are very locked into their own ideas and beliefs. That's why I believe change may be possible, but very difficult to accomplish.
(14) Steven, 11/3/2008 You're kidding, right? I can't believe that this is a serious question! As a baal teshuvah, I can speak to the incredible changes - both internal and external - that can come about by becoming Torah observant and seeking closeness to Hashem. While I can't say that I'm where I (or Hashem) want me to be, the the limitation is mine, not H-s. After all, H- created the universe ex nihilo! How is changing a human being harder than that?!
(13)Anonymous, 11/3/2008 People Do Change But not so drastically and abruptly overnight. It is a lifelong process. We are all growing and learning through Torah. Any commitment, if it is to endure,is best accomplished in steps. You don't go from reform to Hasidic overnight. Even people who are Orthodox, are constantly learning and growing. So maybe she looks the part on the outside, but inside she does not understand the depth of Torah.
(12) Roxanne, 11/3/2008 House is my alter-ego "House" is practically the only show I make sure to watch. So many things of what House says is *exactly* what I'd say but am too polite to say it, lest I get torn apart by more positive-oriented people. I find myself nodding my head to House's rants in almost every show.
In a world where people usually wear their rose-colored glasses and go about their merry way without sensing the most obvious things about what's wrong in our world, House is a breath of fresh air.
So no, a change like Hadassah's shows there is clearly something wrong, or the person is simply experimenting, or trying to get someone's attention, etc.
People only change where is a really good reason to. And people are rarely, if EVER given something worth changing for.
Don't ever change, Dr. Gregory House! I like you for just the cranky, misanthropic, pessimistic, brilliant way you are!!! :)
(11) Yoheved, 11/3/2008 Our Will In order for us to change, we must challenge our will to accept G-d's will. For some... like this woman in the video, it may occur.. because of a dire need to seek truth when her will failed her. Do we not believe in the darkness before light theology??? Is anything impossible for Ha-Shem to do???? However, we must open our will to Torah which is His Will for us all.
(10) Kelly Woo, 11/3/2008 People do change.... Well, let me qualify that by saying that I believe we all have inate deficiencies that we struggle against. It is the hardest thing, but we can all suppress our worst.
(9)Anonymous, 11/3/2008 People don't change. That is correct. People don't change as much as they want to change they don't, they just can't.
(8) Marina, 10/3/2008 People don't change The core remains the same. However, with God's help we can reshape it, adorn it, squash it, teach it, stuff it, color it, make it more palatable, until one day it has been diminished so that it is hardly noticeable.
(7) sharona, 10/3/2008 yes we can I think people can change. It's sometimes very hard, but it's possible with enough effort, determination and prayer. Some people in general use the excuse that they can't do anything, in order to justify staying the same instead of moving forward. But we can change if we choose to
(6) Sailor, 10/3/2008 Epiphanies? or Great Debate. Torah, the Law, as straight forward as it may seem is the one thing that Jews struggle with through out the ages. The Talmud is our example of the scholarly debate that has ensued and continues to ensue. Jews change as a Mindset Culture of religion and philosophy.
For example, the Holocaust has changed us all, and we find that intense experiences of life can bring about epiphanies that make us reconsider our thoughts on the fly.
(5) chaim, 10/3/2008 people can change Yes people can change if they believe, what they believe; if they believe G-d and His Word they will change for good. Anything else they believe they will be like that they believe. And without G-d there is nothing good, though it may look good it is just for a short while. Not all that glitter is gold
(4) Jerry, 10/3/2008 Change is a constant I mostly agree with Anonymous. Change is a constant factor in life. Our bodies change as we grow older, our thoughts change as we learn, even our souls change as we grow nearer to G-d. House is just, in this case, an allegory, for the non-believers and nay sayers in the wifes life. Our faith in Hashem is what carries us through our lives and guides us to a righteous life.
(3) DB, 10/3/2008 change occurs Television occupies perhaps one hour of my week, but I happened to see this episode of "House". It held my interest because one rarely sees conspicuously religious Jews in media. The series revolves around Dr. House's brilliant-but-prickly personality. In this episode, he does, as usual, arrive at a correct diagnosis and save the patient, Hadassah. But the presence of Hadassah and her husband in the hospital also positively affects all the staff, including Dr. House. I was very happy to see this sympathetic portrayal of religious Jews on the same medium whose news stories are too often unsympathetic and damaging.
(2) Jessica, 10/3/2008 what about the miraculous? Hmmmm...what about change through divine intervention? Can no one think of a single example from the Torah? Can no one think of a single example from their own personal experience? Sigh...I'll just leave it at that...
(1)Anonymous, 9/3/2008
On the one hand, House is wrong that people don't change. Of course they do; many people who visit this site do so because they are in the process of changing. I think he is right though in that extreme changes probably don't mean as much. If there is one thing I learned very quickly upon returning from my year in Israel, it is that the kids who were partying one day and wearing a black hat and studying Talmud intensively the next usually went back to partying within a few months of returning to the States. Those who spent the year painstakingly growing, a little bit each day, despite setbacks, those were the one that truly changed, and maintained the transformation.
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