DEUT45 It would be wrong to regard the many customs and observances that have been derived from Biblical Commandments as illegal additions coming under the ban of not adding to or subtracting from that which is written in the Torah [this verse]. This interdiction, as is plane from its context, applied only to individuals, not to the Sanhedrin or judges who were authorized to expand existing laws and to frame new ones, after they had carefully examined the changing conditions of the times. The stipulation was that they must conform to logical rules in harmony with the spirit of the Torah. R. Johanan b. Zakkai made new decrees after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Basing himself on Deuteronomy xvii. 8-11, he invested the Sanhedrin he established with supreme authority to present to the perplexed and despairing people a Jerusalem reinterpreted and adapted to the catastrophic change that had taken place in their national life. Furthermore, the Talmudic sages themselves declare that so decisive should the decrees of a Beth Din be that even when they inform us "that our right hand is our left, and our left our right", we must listen to them. (Continued at [[DEUT703]] Deuteronomy 15:2 remission LEHRMAN 181-3)

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DEUT68 In maximizing spiritual welfare, Jewish ethical teachings do not seek to minimize bodily health. On the contrary, to neglect an enfeebled body is sinful. Take the rest ordained on the Shabbat. It has been commanded not to serve as an imposition and an additional restriction to the liberty of man, but as an opportunity for physical rest and the re-creation of the soul after six days of work. The object of Judaism is to guide us in the enjoyment of the gifts with which God has endowed us. To reject such legitimate gifts is to be guilty of an ingratitude for which man will have to give account on Judgment Day (Yer. Kidd. iv. 66d). The Jew must not hate his body; he is in duty bound to preserve his health, not to jeopardize his life (Ber. 32b explaining [this verse]). Foods that are injurious to health are to be avoided even more than those ritually forbidden (Hull. 10a with its teaching that [danger is more severe[ly prohibited] than prohibition]; B. Kama 91b; Shabb. 82a). This may well be another reason for our Dietary Laws. The body must be kept pure and fresh, as the temple of the soul (See the story told in Leviticus R. xxxiv. 3 of Hillel who regarded the purification of his body as a sacred act). Our garments must be spotlessly clean (Shabb. 113b; Ned. 81a). He who castigates and tortures his flesh with fasting is a sinner (Taan. 22b; Ned. 19a). Judaism places itself in complete variance with Hindu asceticism which encourages the flagellation and emancipation of the body as the seed of sin. Hillel is the voice of Jewish ethics. When he explained the meticulous care he paid to his physical welfare, he quoted this simile: "See what care is bestowed upon the statues of the Emperor to keep them clean and bright. Ought we not, likewise, to keep His image, our body, containing the divine soul He breathed into us at birth, also pure, free from every blemish? Does not Scripture tell us that 'The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel, troubleth his own flesh'" (Prov. xi. 17)(Leviticus R. xxxiv.3)

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DEUT121 See [[GEN430]] Genesis 3:21 clothed LEHRMAN 6

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DEUT148 Our religious mode of life was the first to give humanity a God who, within Himself, incorporated all that was ideal and who demanded the same combination of virtues in those who followed Him. Those who spoke in the name of the Jewish God made it clear from the outset that to serve Him was not to indulge in theoretical discussions of ethical tracts but to translate His moral demands into a life of good deeds. Jewish authorities never compiled an "Index Expurgatorius", before the people. The only recorded instance in the Talmud of an attempt being made to exclude the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and Esther was triumphantly frustrated by an authority no less eminent than R. Akiva (See Meg. 7a). Man was to be judged by his actions, the only true criterion of Godliness. (See Leviticus xviii. 5; [this verse], Jer. vii. 3-7; Amos v. 14-15; Ps. xxxiv 12-15; xxxvii. 27; cf. Kiddushin 40b).

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DEUT157 See [[LEV1109]] Leviticus 26:3 If LEHRMAN 173

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DEUT182 In this blending of creed and deed is the genius of Judaism seen at its best. To take one example. What other Statute-Book, ancient or modern, has tabled such a law as "Thou shall not covet", (Exodus xx:14, [this verse]), implying that one can wrong a neighbour in the heart no less than by bodily injury? [Continued at [[LEV391]] Leviticus 19:14 I LEHRMAN 317]

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DEUT211 Every ethical utterance of the Talmud is alive with human kindness and is motivated by the ideals of holiness and love -- the most powerful incentives to good living. The command: "And thou shalt love the Lord your God" [this verse] is explained by the Rabbis thus: "Act in such a manner that God will be beloved by His creatures." (Yoma 86a; Sifre Deuteronomy xxxii). The ideal Jewish life must be a successive Kiddush Ha'shem, a constant endeavor to avoid perpetrating any action calculated to profane the holiness with which Judaism has been invested. A Rabbi (Sanhedrin 107a) did not hesitate to brand Hillul Ha'shem, the desecration of the name of God, as "the gravest sin", a sin can only be expiated by death (Yoma 86a).

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DEUT328 A "holy people" must remove all obstacles to the purity of family life and regard them as abominations [this verse]. Marriage is something more than a civil contract; it is an institution based on morality and implying the most sacred duties. It was wrong for one to betroth a wife before he had seen her (Kidd. 41a), or to marry a partner much younger or much older than himself (Yeb. 101b) In either case, the main object of marriage, procreation, would be jeopardized on account of age and impotency. The wife must be fully conscious of the implications of her marriage vow which, as the name Kiddushin implied, meant that she had been consecrated for her husband alone. It was R. Abba Areka of Sura (Rav) who emphatically protested against the practice of infant marriages, declaring it to be morally wrong for a father to contract a marriage on behalf of his daughter before she had attained the age of consent (Kidd. 41a).

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DEUT342 See [[LEV1107]] Leviticus 26:3 If LEHRMAN 160

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DEUT386 See [[GEN1048]] Genesis 18:27 dust LEHRMAN 255-6

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