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.

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DEUT290 (Continued from [[EXOD300]] Exodus 18:20 words SPERO 168-9). Another passage associated with a broad moral imperative reaching into lifnim mi-shurat ha-din is the command, [this verse]. Yet another source is the verse, "In order that you may walk in the path of the goodly" (Proverbs 2:20). Regardless of how we interpret these passages, their character remains that of imperatives rooted in the Torah.

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DEUT310 We earlier alluded to the following passage as containing one of the general moral principles of the Torah: [this and next verse]. As noted by Nachmanides, the command to do "what is right and good" must be seen in contrast to the preceding verse, which urges us to "keep the commandments." That is to say, where your situation is governed by specific commandments and statutes, by all means observe the commandments! But even where no particular precept or specific rule is relevant to your situation, you must nevertheless deliberate and determine on your own that which is "right and good in the sight of the Lord" and do it.

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DEUT360 See [[DEUT381]] Deuteronomy 8:11 forget SPERO 138

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DEUT381 The rabbinic scheme of classification identifies a group of commandments called lav she'ein ba ma'aseh, negative prohibitions not involving action. Included in this category are commandments involving thoughts--remembering or forgetting, speech, hearing, sight, or simply acts of omission. These commandments are considered more stringent than those involving action (See Rabbi Jonah Gerondi, Sha'arei Teshuvah, p. 28). Some of them refer to basic attitudes affecting our relationship to God: "Guard yourself lest you forget ..." "Do not say in your heart..." "Do not fear them ..." (Deuteronomy 8:11, 9:4, 7:18, 20:1). In the moral sphere we have the following: "You shall surely give him, and let not your heart feel badly when you give it to him" (Deuteronomy 15:10). Even when the proper deed is being performed and you are making a contribution to the poor, do it with a cheerful mien and a generous spirit. This demonstrates the point made earlier that the personal attitudes of the agent are of moral significance. Consider also: "If there be among you a needy man… thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand …" "Thou shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people." (Deuteronomy 15:7, Leviticus 19:18). The rabbis interpreted this to mean that a person is in violation of this prohibition if, for example, he responds positively to a request for a loan but says, "I am lending you my snow shovel because I am not like you, who, if you recall, refused to lend me yours when I asked for it last winter" (Yoma 23a). What is immoral is not merely making the statement but carrying the grudge. (Continued at [[DEUT36]] Deuteronomy 23:10 anything SPERO 138).

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DEUT388 The rabbis recognized quite clearly that certain character traits were basic and crucial in their influence upon the overall personality and behavior patterns of people. One such set of opposing traits is humility (anavah) and pride (ga'avah). The Torah had already warned against pride and arrogance: [this verse] and "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord" (Proverbs 16:5). The Rabbis made the judgment, on the basis of both Scripture in their own experience, that the most important single virtue was humility, and conversely that the severest vice was pride, haughtiness, or arrogance (Avodah Zarah 20b; Orchot Tzaddikim, p. 13). Not only was humility or meekness seen as a key quality in achieving a proper relationship to God, a necessary condition for prophecy and for acquiring Torah knowledge, but it was considered a prerequisite for attaining a moral relationship with one's fellow creatures (Nedarim 38a, Berakhot 43b, Avot 6:6).

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DEUT401 See [[DEUT382]] Deuteronomy 8:11 forget SPERO 138

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DEUT588 The Talmud also distinguishes between a tzadik who is "good" and one who is not good, defining the former as one who is good to heaven and good to humanity, and the latter as one who is "good to heaven and bad to humanity" (Kiddushin 49-50). Similarly, the Sifre speaks of being "good in the eyes of heaven" and "straightforward in the eyes of man" (On this verse). All of these passages imply that the rabbis recognized a special class of mitzvot that applied bain adam le-chavero, to relations between man and his fellow man, resulting in conditions that we recognize as morally right and good (a biblical source for the distinction between duties toward God and duties toward man may be the passage in [this verse] taken in conjunction with Proverbs 3:4. See, the Sifre on [this verse] and the discussion in Sefer Hamitzvohs Hashem by J. Seif Introduction to Part 2.)

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DEUT634 We do have instances in the Book of Deuteronomy where punishments were given for a certain group of transgressions and the explanation offered seems to suggest not so much retributive or expiatory considerations as primarily utilitarian or deterrent ones. Thus, we find [this and following verses, Deuteronomy 17:13, 21:21]. Nachmanides makes it clear that these locutions indicate that the harshness of the penalty in these cases is not generated by the mere grievousness of the sin, but by the need to have the punishment act as a deterrent against future occurrences (Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 21:21). This introduces into the Torah's concept of justice an element of consequentialism. That is to say, one justifies punishment not only by the fact that the agent deserves it, but by the beneficial consequences the punishment will have on others. This would seem to imply that the welfare of society as a whole is to be viewed as a positive moral value for which the interests of the individual may sometimes be sacrificed.

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DEUT635 One of the important implications of perceiving the Torah as a moral-cultic code "fixed in a national framework" is the fact that the Torah addresses primarily the group, the people as a whole. … As a code imposed upon an entire society, the moral and cultic rules take on a legal character, and in order that compliance be achieved, an enforcement policy supported by sanctions is included. Hence, if the Torah embodies the law of the covenanted society, then the judicial system which it establishes can be expected to authorize penalties for the obvious purpose of deterrence: "In order that they may hear and be afraid and not sin" [this verse]. The rewards and punishments contained in the Torah are therefore pedagogical means of inducing compliance, a method familiar to every society, and should not be confused with the ultimate value of the rules themselves. This view of the Torah as addressed primarily to the nation as a whole may provide the key to the problem of why material rewards are stressed to the near-exclusion of spiritual rewards, such as immortality of the soul and the sheer ecstasy of fellowship with God. Spiritual rewards of this nature are directed primarily to the individual. They attach themselves essentially to the self and to the ego. It makes little sense to speak of a nation collectively enjoying the hereafter or of an entire community, as such, meriting immortality in some spiritual sense.

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