LEV480 In survey after survey, individuals are asked if he or she is "a good person," and more than ninety-five percent of the respondents respond that they think of themselves as basically good. Even though they may regularly lie and not help others in need, they still believe they are good. How is that possible? This phenomenon occurs because most people tend to believe that as long as they do not do anything truly evil and do not commit a major crime, they are good. Does that concur with the Jewish definition of goodness? King David outlines the formula for Jewish goodness, saying that it is a two-step process. First a person has to reject and desist for doing all evil actions, but that is not enough. After rejecting evil, the person must actively do moral acts and help others. Only then is that individual considered to be a good person (Psalms 34:13,15). This is also reflected in the Mishna, which says that if the person does nothing to help or hurt others ("What is mine is mine, what is yours is yours"), at most he is considered a mediocre person, but certainly not a good person (Mishna Avot 5:10). Another opinion equates this person with the evil values of Sodom. Thus, doing no evil is certainly not enough to be considered good in Judaism. In actuality, doing nothing is more than just being "neutral" in Jewish thought. In the twentieth century, Edmund Burke stated that, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that a few good men do nothing." But long before Burke, the Torah and Jewish law considered it a sin to do nothing when anyone in need can be helped (this verse; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 426:1). In fact, Judaism is the only legal system in the world in which a person can be punished and it is considered a crime if he or she does nothing when in a situation to stop evil actions. Thus, from the Jewish perspective, not being a bad person does not render an individual a good human being.