The Psychology of Supermarkets and the Torah’s Secret to Mindful Influence

Behind every seemingly innocent supermarket lies a marketing strategist who has carefully designed your entire shopping experience.

For example, the fruit and vegetable section is usually placed right at the entrance — to create a feeling of freshness, like walking through an open market. The temperature is kept between 22–25°C, the most comfortable range for lingering longer. The most popular and expensive brands are always placed at eye level, while the basic essentials such as bread and milk, are located at the farthest corner of the store, forcing you to pass as many shelves (and temptations) as possible along the way.

Add some pleasant classical music, chocolate bars near the checkout counter, and a membership card for “exclusive deals” — and the trap is set. Simple? Yes. Brilliant? Absolutely.

Anyone who studies behavioral science knows how easy it is to manipulate people’s desires, awareness, and emotions. And the psychology of advertising is just as fascinating.

Did you know that a 30-second commercial aired during Israel’s Channel 2 news broadcast can cost an advertiser up to $8,000? Food companies, fashion brands, and global corporations spend billions every year on marketing and public relations. Coca-Cola, for instance, spends billions of shekels annually to expose us repeatedly to its iconic red-and-white logo. To give a sense of scale: Coca-Cola once paid one million dollars to sponsor the final seconds of the Super Bowl — a five-second banner ad in the last minute of the game.

Crazy? Not really. The modern advertising world simply discovered what the Torah taught us thousands of years ago: everything a person sees, hears, or says shapes who they become.

Leah’s Tears and the Power of Influence

The Torah describes Leah, one of the matriarchs, as having “soft eyes.” The Sages explain that her eyes were soft from crying so much. She had heard people saying in the streets that Yitzchak had two sons — Eisav and Yaakov — and Lavan had two daughters, Leah and Rachel. The natural assumption was that the elder daughter would marry the elder son — meaning Leah would be destined for Eisav.

Leah wept constantly over this. At first glance, it seems strange — why not just ignore the gossip and say, “I won’t marry Eisav!”?

But Leah understood a deep truth — the same truth advertisers rely on today: When something is repeated often enough, it becomes reality. Once a message enters your awareness multiple times, it embeds itself in your subconscious. You start humming the jingle, quoting the slogan — and when the moment comes, you act on it. That’s simply human nature.

We can fight that power, or — as the Torah teaches, we can use it for good.

Turning the Power of Repetition Into Spiritual Growth

Many mitzvot (commandments) in Judaism are designed to strengthen our awareness of values through repetition and sensory experience.

• Tzitzit (fringes): “You shall see them and remember all My commandments” — the mitzvah literally connects sight to spiritual memory.

• Shema Yisrael: Recited multiple times daily to reinforce our identity, our Exodus story, and our commitment to divine purpose.

• Chanukah candles: Placed facing the public to “publicize the miracle,” using visual influence for holiness.

Everything we see, hear, read, and say shapes our inner world. The Torah’s wisdom teaches us to channel that power consciously — not for manipulation, but for meaning.

Let’s use the influence around us, and within us, for the right purposes.