BELIEF AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCEPROVIDING A MORAL AND ETHICAL FRAMEWORK

FOR ADHERENTS

MAN SHOULD PERFORM HIS DUTIES TO HIS

FELLOW MAN EVEN AS TO GOD

MISHNAH SHEKALIM

The first commandment given to man was the law about approaching the Tree which bestows good and bad.

“You have been told, human, what is good and what the Lord requires of you” Micah 6:8.

Close inspection of the Talmud shows that Jewish thought is characterised by various sorts of ‘wrestling’ with God’s teachings, not mere obedience to them.

Specific issues, at particular times, under changing circumstances require that human elements such as intuition, reason, and emotion enter into the equation in terms of deciding upon the proper ethical decision.

Jewish ethical decisions will draw upon the subjective, human dimension in an effort to link God’s will with our own assessment of the needs of any given situation in any given generation.

ETHICAL MONOTHEISM

Judaism often described as Ethical Monotheism. – A set of moral teachings which find their source in one all-powerful God.

Torah emphasizes Kedusha – God has an expectation that the Jewish people – and through them the world – live by principles of justice and equity.

Concern for morality is expressed in Biblical stories, in prophetic speeches, in the poetry of Psalms, Proverbs and Job, in Midrash and prayers.

Genesis 18:6-9 And the Lord had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am

doing? For Abraham will surely be a large and mighty nation and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Since I have known him, in order that he will charge his children and his household after him with keeping the way of God to do what is equitable and just, in order that God bring upon Abraham what God has spoken about him.”

Tzedaka – Tzedek.

God is not questioning consulting with Abraham, he is asking a rhetorical question –God is saying – this is as much Abraham's business as it is mine.

Piety in Biblical terms is not expressed only through obedience and submission. Abraham's protest is based on a profound concern for equity and justice.

God’s acceptance of the protest reinforces the central significance of ethics, as well as the notion of the partnership between the Jewish people and God in establishing righteousness.

To achieve equity and justice, we may be required to struggle with God, the source of ethical behavior.

Elie Wiesel “To be a Jew means to serve God by espousing man’s

cause; to plead for man while recognising his need for God. And to opt for the Creator and His creation, refusing to pit one against the other. Of course man must interrogate God, as did Abraham; articulate his anger, as did Moses; and shout his sorrow, as did Job. But only the Jew opts for Abraham – who questions –and for God – who is questioned … only the Jew knows that he may oppose God as long as he does so in defense of His creations.”

WHAT IS A GOOD JEW?

Observance of Jewish ritual practice?

Respect for Jewish law?

Reference to a largely unarticulated code of behaviours supported by traditional Jewish practice, texts and regula?

What of Jews who actively or passively eschew Jewish law but still claim with pride that they are Jewish?

What are ‘Jewish Sensibilities’?

JEWISH SENSIBILITIES

Jewish ways of understanding what it means to be a human being.

Conscious use of sacred texts?

Halacha

Distinctive set of principles that guide.

There is a separation between what is legal and what is moral in Judaism because Jewish law must accommodate a broad spectrum of society.

What is permitted by law sets the floor for moral action, but it still may not be condoned as the highest moral imperative

ETHICAL PRECEPTS Drawn from Jewish sacred texts.

Jewish ritual practices and communal customs.

Narrative of Jewish history and Jewish experiences.

HAVDALAH Reference to the central creative act of Genesis.

Distinction between holy time and regular time.

Ordering of priorities.

Distinctions – relationships

Time

Place

GIVING HONOUR Kavod.

Honour your mother and father.

Honouring ourselves and others.

TESHUVAH Deuteronomy 31:1 – Those who have been spiritually

cursed and physically exiled still have the capacity to return to God, and be forgiven.

TZELEM ELOKIM Adam and Eve made in God’s image.

Infinite value.

Equality.

Uniqueness.

‘Shlucho shel adam k’moto’

PIKUACH NEFESH Lechaim.

MENSCHLIKHEIT Compassion, fairness and sensitivity.

SHALOM BAYIT Creating harmony.

TIKKUN OLAM Compassionate engagement.

Abraham Infeld – covenantal relationship.

YESH TIKVAH Maintaining hope.

ZECHUT AVOT

Memory of our ancestors.

Regardless of orientation, these sensibilities help us to make ethical and moral decisions in keeping with the Jewish ‘compass’ in various areas