My Heart Tells Me
This essay examines Rashi's hermeneutical declaration ve-libi omer li ("my heart tells me") in his commentary on the priestly ephod (Exodus 28:4) and the Lubavitcher Rebbe's theological elaboration of this moment, arguing that together they articulate an epistemology of embodied intuition directly applicable to clinical medicine.
Through close textual analysis of Rashi's commentary, the Rebbe's discourses in Likkutei Sichot (Volumes 26, 31) and related Hasidic sources, alongside contemporary scholarship on the ephod's material construction and cultic function, this study develops a phenomenological framework for understanding clinical intuition as sanctified knowledge. The analysis integrates classical Jewish exegetical sources with modern medical literature on diagnostic reasoning, clinical judgment, and the role of intuition in expert practice.