DEUT245 While it appears that Judaism frowns upon self-sacrifice for the sake of the other, it does elevate two values above the worth of the individual human being. Self-preservation is not the supreme law in Judaism. "There are reasons for life more vital than living" (Leon Roth, Judaism: A Portrait (New York: Viking, 1961) p. 68). These values are God and the collectivity of Israel, called Kelal Yisrael. God, of course, ranks higher than human life. Theoretically, the love and devotion that man owes his creator should include a readiness to serve Him with one's very life. "'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…' Even if He takes your soul" [this verse; see Rashi]. This was implied in the command to Abraham to sacrifice "his only son whom he loves" to God and is the underlying thought behind the symbolism of the Temple service involving animal sacrifice.