LEV577 … the moral responsibility expressed in the maxim [extends] to any individual, even a stranger, who has it in his power to correct an offender. If he fails to do so, he shares the offender's guilt. This warning was spelled out by Nachmanides (13th cent.) in his comment on [this verse]: "If you fail to rebuke him, you are at fault, and his sin is also your sin." Some of the talmudic comments on admonition reflect a profound understanding of human nature. The failure of parents to correct their offspring is taken by the children as a sign of parental indifference. Reproach, on the other hand, is regarded as proof of concern and love.

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LEV647 "Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works." -- Ecclesiastes 3:22. … Religions which stress the hereafter, in the belief that true life begins beyond the grave, instinctively downgrade all the earthly joys of man's existence. They may grudgingly concede the need for satisfying some bodily cravings in the interest of survival and the perpetuation of the species. Such concessions notwithstanding, the postulate that pleasure is intrinsically evil has been repeatedly reaffirmed. Indeed, they prefer celibacy because it eliminates the pleasure of sexual intercourse. Some aesthetics are said to have swallowed their food whole to avoid enjoying the pleasure of eating. Judaism is a this–worldly faith, primarily concerned with the quality of life on earth. It does not recommend the suppression of natural human urges and regards the enjoyment of permissible pleasures as salutatory and wholesome. It decries asceticism but at the same time condemns inordinate pursuit of self-gratification. Most Judaic rituals and precepts have a socioreligious base. The incentive of heavenly reward in the hereafter was muted in the Bible. It was stressed in postbiblical literature as a disciplinary tool for keeping man's conduct within the bounds of morality. Extraordinary acts of piety are not required to assure man of a niche in heaven. Self-affliction is deemed an offense against religion, ethics, and society. Judaism considers life on earth the most prized God-given gift. The biblical command to preserve one's life takes precedence over nearly all other religious precepts. The same holds true for the preservation of other people's lives. Rabbi Akiva boldly pointed to the command "And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" [this verse] as a major biblical principle (Jer. Nedarim 9:4). Had he stressed the hereafter he undoubtedly would have chosen the parallel commandment, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God" (Deuteronomy 6:5), as the major biblical principle.

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LEV650 [This verse]. Man's moral obligations to his fellowman derive from religious perceptions of human rights and from practical considerations of the needs of society. The Judaic doctrine of the equality of all men, inherent in the biblical account of Creation, grants every individual equal rights and privileges. Man's freedom of action is consequently circumscribed by the rights of other people. One may do or say whatever he desires so long as he does not infringe upon the prerogatives and sensitivities of his neighbors. These bounds are expressed in Hillel's (1st cent.) paraphrase of the Golden Rule: "What is hateful unto thee, do not do unto others" (Shabbat 31). (Continued at [[GEN46]] Genesis 1:26 image BLOCH 254-5)

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LEV678 See [[EXOD140]] Exodus 11:2 friend BLOCH 140

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LEV690 The Golden Rule is based on the Pentateuchal pronouncement: "Love thy fellowman as thyself" [this verse]. Rabbi Akiva (2nd cent.) cautioned against regarding this verse has a mere rhetorical flourish. According to him, it reflects "a fundamental principle of the Torah" (Jer. Nedarim 9:4). All biblical social laws, affirmative and negative, stem from a basic obligation to love one's fellowman.

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LEV700 The Two Facets of Ethics. All virtues have their counterparts. The opposite of love, humility, and generosity are hate, arrogance and miserliness. These represent the two extremes of human behavior. It is the function of moral instruction to promote the former and suppress the latter. The Psalmist summed it up in a single sentence: "Abstain from evil and do good." (Psalms 34:15). The biblical laws are divided into positive and negative injunctions. There are 248 positive injunctions and 365 negative injunctions. This division, though not in the same proportions, also appears in the Decalogue. The primary purpose of the negative injunctions is to protect society from the harmful acts of misguided individuals. Such behavior usually results from a normal response to bodily instincts. Cheating satisfies one's acquisitiveness. Overbearing conduct builds up one's ego. It is sad to reflect that many people are human but not necessarily humane. The aim of the positive injunctions is to ennoble man's character and to reflect its godliness. Over and above the protection of society, they seek to enhance the quality of life and distinctiveness of man. "Thou shall not kill" guarantees human security. "Honor thy father and thy mother" is the basis of human progress. The Psalmist wisely gives precedence to "abstain from evil." This is the initial step on the road toward excellence. Parental instructions to a young child are studded with more don'ts than do's. It is the latter, however, that have the potential for making man "a little lower than God." One cannot "do good" unless he first learns to "abstain from evil." Yet the individual who refrains from evil without supplementing it with affirmative social action is not truly an ethical person. He may be a harmless member of society, but he contributes little to the ethical level of the community. Biblical moral instructions address themselves to both extremes of human behavior. Thus man is admonished to "Love thy neighbor as thyself" [this verse]. This commandment is preceded by the injunction "Thou shall not hate thy brother in thy heart" (Leviticus 19:17). There is a need for addressing both of these human emotions. Love cannot be legislated nor conjured up with a magic wand. There are people who are incapable of love. The most they can do is to stop their predilection for hate. The same is true of many other moral precepts.

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LEV692 The maxim "Love thy neighbor as thyself" [this verse] is a moral goal which can be applied on a universal scale only when international peace prevails. The biblical exemptions from military service (Deuteronomy 28:5-8) are so comprehensive that full compliance with these regulations would render the raising of a large army a practical impossibility. The purpose of these exemptions was to limit the army to a small number of men whose confidence in combat would depend upon the benevolence of God rather than their physical might. Such men would be more likely to avoid cruelties which are offensive to God.  Furthermore, small armies do not readily rush into aggressive wars. (Continued at [[DEUT849]] Deuteronomy 16:20 justice BLOCH 68)

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LEV710 The popular use of the phrase "thy neighbor" in many of the translations of the Golden Rule is misleading. It creates an incorrect impression that only neighbors, with whom one is acquainted, are entitled to man's love. This, of course, is absurd in view of the specific instruction to love the stranger (Leviticus 19:34). The root meaning of the Hebrew re-a is "one who is joined in love or friendship." In the course of time the term re-a has assumed a comprehensive connotation, embracing any member of the human race. In a moral sense all men are friends. The ninth commandment, "Thou shall not bear false witness against the neighbor" (as most translators render the Hebrew re-a-cha), surely did not limit the prohibition to friends and neighbors only. The correct rendition of the term re-a-cha in the Golden Rule, "your fellowman," presents a problem. Love, in the sense of an emotional attachment to an individual or idea, cannot develop without the existence of a specific object to which the love is directed. How can one love an individual whose existence is unknown to him? Yet the broad injunction "Love thy fellowman" appears to enjoin such sweeping love. The second half of the Golden Rule, "as thyself," is equally in need of clarification. Does the average individual love himself? Even if we leave out the remote narcissistic implications, most people would deny the charge that they love themselves. Human beings naturally crave the joys and pleasures of life and abhor pain and suffering, but that does not amount to self-love. What then is the intent of the Golden Rule, which enjoins man to love his fellow man as he loves himself? There is another question relating to the Golden Rule which requires attention. Is an order to love someone, based on religious or social considerations, feasible? Subjective emotions, such as love and hate, are spawned in one's heart and mind and are not amenable to external discipline. The Golden Rule, basic as it is, was not included in the Ten Commandments because technically it is not the proper subject of a command. Yet how effective can it be if it does not appear within the framework of the Decalogue? Nachmanides (13th cent.) argues that it is unrealistic to expect a man to love his fellow man as himself. Furthermore, he questions the ethicality of such an expectation and in view of Judaic morality, which permits man to give precedence to his own life or the lives of other people. The selfsame Rabbi Akiva who declared the Golden Rule a fundamental principle of the Torah also asserted man's right to look to his own life first. Nachmanides took note of the syntax of the Golden Rule, which is inconsistent with the traditional rendition of that verse. "Love" is a transitive verb which takes a direct object. In the Hebrew text of the Golden rule, "thy fellowman" is the indirect object of "love." It differs from the Deuteronomic verse (11:1), in which God is the direct object of man's love. In effect, the Golden Rule does not command one to love his fellowman but merely to have as loving an attitude toward other people as he has toward himself. This means according to Nachmanides, that one should rejoice as much when another person has cause to be happy as he would if he himself had cause to celebrate (on this verse).

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LEV784 Workers were exempt from the biblical injunction which commands people to rise in the presence of a scholar or elder as a sign of respect [this verse]. It was ruled that this deferential gesture was not required of workers because it conflicted with their obligation to perform uninterrupted work. Scholars were aware of this rule and consequently did not feel offended (Kiddushin 33a). The taking of rest breaks beyond the number sanctioned by common practice or mutual agreement was prohibited (Choshen Mishpat 337:20). These and other restrictive rules do not reflect a bias in favor of employers. They merely emphasized the ethical dictates of honesty. One is tempted to add that many modern civil servants are rarely troubled by such moral considerations. The basic aim of Judaic labor laws is to safeguard the security and dignity of workers and to protect the legitimate rights of employers. It is a serious breach of ethics to treat an employee with disrespect. It is equally a breach of ethics to treat an employer with disrespect.

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LEV796 Love of the stranger is the mark of a civilized society [this verse].

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