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Title: Jewish ethics
Author(s): Peter J. Haas
Source: Ethics, Rev. ed.. Ed. John K. Roth. Vol. 2. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1994. p789-791.

MIDDLE AGES

MODERN JUDAISM

FURTHER READING

DEFINITION: Ethical traditions and systems of religious Judaism

TYPE OF ETHICS: Religious ethics

SIGNIFICANCE: Jewish ethics was the first to define morality in the context of a covenant or sacred contract that is equally binding upon both humans and God, and therefore to see God as not only the source of morality but also as a subject of moral obligation. It is founded upon an understanding of moral law as something to be interpreted and debated rather than univocally pronounced and automatically followed.

Jewish ethics is based on the premise that the Jewish people are in a covenant relationship with God. This covenant demands that society be organized and personal lives be conducted in accordance with God’s revelation. As a result, Jewish ethics has generally been understood to be a matter of imitatio Dei and to have as its characteristic form legal discourse. Thus, Jewish ethical literature moves between two poles. On one hand, it stresses adherence to a certain life-regimen as spelled out in Jewish law (halachah), while on the other, it calls for the cultivation through this lifestyle of character traits, attitudes, and intentions that help the individual to be more godlike.

Although the earliest literature of Rabbinic Judaism (from the first century through the seventh century) is devoted almost exclusively to developing Jewish law, the importance of proper attitude and intention is not ignored. The late Mishnaic book Pirqe Avot (“Chapters of the Fathers”), edited in the third century, is a collection of moral aphorisms stressing the importance of honesty and selflessness in dealing with others and the need to act responsibly in the world.

These attitudes are given more formal recognition in the Talmuds (from the fifth century through the seventh century). Made up largely of real and hypothetical case law, the Talmudic literature not only illustrates how the letter of the law is to be understood and applied but also recognizes that there is a moral duty that goes beyond what the law requires. This extra-legal duty is referred to as lifnim mishurat hadin (“beyond the edge of the law”). In some instances (Baba Metzia 30b, for example), the Babylonian Talmud seems to regard such going beyond the Page 790 | call of duty to be not merely supererogation but an expectation that rests on all Jews.

MIDDLE AGES

During the Middle Ages, Jewish ethics took three different forms: the further development of Jewish law, philosophical speculation on the nature of the moral life, and the cultivation of humility and other beneficial character traits. The first was largely a result of the practical application of received Jewish law to new situations. In this connection, rabbis from the eighth century on created a large literature devoted to identifying and understanding the principles and values that were to guide them in their legal deliberations. Despite the diversity of situations, certain common principles seem to emerge from the practical application of Rabbinic law: the overriding imperative to protect human life; the importance of avoiding even the appearance of idolatry;

Jewish men, many wearing prayer shawls, pray in front of the Western, or “Wailing,” Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City during the annual priestly blessing in April, 2004. The wall is the holiest site in Judaism and many Jews believe in making pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times a year. (AP/Wide World Photos)

and the values of sexual modesty, education, and child rearing.

Philosophical speculation on the nature of morality began in earnest among Jewish scholars with the rise of philosophical schools in the Islamic world. For the most part, Jewish philosophers from the ninth century on adopted the major philosophical principles and conclusions of Islamic scholars and applied them more or less directly to Judaism. Early writers such as Saadia Gaon in his Book of Beliefs and Opinions stressed that God’s word as given in the Hebrew Scripture and interpreted by the rabbis is the only reliable source of truth.

Since God’s law is fully known and since people have free will, Saadia argues, each individual bears full responsibility for acting in accord with God’s word. Subsequent Judeo-Arabic philosophers, influenced by Arabic Neoplatonism, claimed that the true reward of the soul lay in contemplating the divine.

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Adherence to Jewish law was the necessary first step in directing the soul toward a fuller apprehension of the divine. This line of thought reached its culmination in the Jewish neo-Aristotelians such as Moses ben Maimon (also known as Maimonides). In his Eight Chapters, Maimonides argues that actualizing the potential of the rational soul depends on proper discipline of the body and that such a discipline is precisely what is spelled out in the halachah.

Finally, pietistic writings attempted to instill in the readers moral sensitivity beyond mere obedience to the halachah and the contemplation of its principles. In some cases, these writings take the form of ethical wills, testimonies bequeathed to children by dying parents or relatives. These wills usually stress the importance of study, humility, and charity. In other cases, whole sects appeared that encouraged members to practice a life that was holier than that lived by the majority of the Jewish population. The Hasidai Ashkenaz of thirteenth century northern Germany is such a group. Its view of the moral life is spelled out in Sefer Hasidim. Similar ideas seemed to have influenced the Hasidic movement that sprang up in Eastern Europe during the mid-eighteenth century. Many early Hasidic stories presume that true virtue stems from the intention of the soul and at times may even run counter to the formal demands of halachah. The ethical writings of Hasidism have influenced such modern Jewish moral philosophers as Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Elie Wiesel.

MODERN JUDAISM

In modern times, Jewish ethical speculation has again drawn heavily on the philosophical currents of the day. Modern Jewish movements (Orthodoxy, Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism), which have their roots in nineteenth century Germany, have been heavily influenced by the writings of Immanuel Kant. Modern Jewish thought has argued that simply following the letter of Jewish law out of habit is not sufficient. Instead, one must choose to abide by the halachah purely for its own sake or because it is one’s duty to conform to God’s will. More recently, Reform and Conservative rabbis in particular have struggled to identify the rational and universal ideals behind the halachah as a basis for approaching ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies.

Peter J. Haas