DEUT449 [Continued [[EXOD950]] from Exodus 25:40 pattern LEHRMAN 226-7] At a time when the contemporaries of Israel tolerated slavery, barbarism and blood-vengeance, the Jew was distinguished for his sympathy and benevolence. It was his Lawgiver who described God as righteous, merciful and holy, "who executeth the judgment of the fatherless and the widow, and who loveth the stranger by giving him food and raiment" [this verse]. The Rabbinic teachers developed this conception of the Deity and spiritualized the Jewish message, making piety and charity the concentrated aims of life, stressing the importance of motive in human conduct.