EXOD1024 In Hilkhot De'ot 1-3, Maimonides expounds the Aristotelian virtues (e.g., temperance, generosity, bravery), legislating them under the rubric of the commandment, "Thou shalt walk in His ways" (Deut 28:9). The general ethical commandment of Hilkhot De'ot is thus a commandment of imitatio Dei. Now, since only one who knows God's ways can walk in them, it is clear that the general ethical commandment of Hilkhot De'ot is predicated not on the ethics of rules, but on that based on Reason. In Hilkhot Yesode ha-Torah we are commanded to study the sciences in order to fulfill the commandments relating to the knowledge of God; and in Hilkhot De'ot we are commanded to act morally as a result of that knowledge. The Law, as codified by Maimonides, is not content with an ethics based on habit, but commands an ethics based on Reason. The commandment to walk in God's ways is also a charge to do acts of hesed, since God's ways are those of hesed [this verse]. (By Warren Zev Harvey, “Ethical Theories among Medieval Jewish Philosophers”)