GEN421 After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam was told that he would eat bread only by the sweat of his brow [this verse], and the Talmud (Pesachim 118A) notes that he felt relieved upon hearing this because he understood that making bread involved toil that would separate him from the other animals.  While work conveys dignity, idleness is often portrayed as dangerous. The Mishna (Ketubot 5.5) states that people who can afford not to work should work anyway because idleness can lead to lewdness or depression.  The rabbis say that no matter how wealthy one is, one has an obligation to personally play some role in the preparations for Shabbat. Without making the effort to prepare for Shabbat, we would not be able to fully appreciate the rest and joy that it brings.  A midrash (Tanhuma Vayetze 13) says that “when a person toils with both hands, God grants blessing.” While we might not all agree with the theology of this passage, the point it makes about work is clear—our lives are shaped and given meaning, in part, by the work that we do.  Of course not all work conveys dignity. Oppressive work conditions, poor treatment of workers and devaluing the results of labor remove the meaning and satisfaction from work.  Labor that is dehumanizing or degrading robs the worker of kavod (dignity or honor). Leading a life of kavod is one of the important reasons to work. Thus, a good society is one that ensures meaningful work to those who are willing and able to do it.  Work should not be understood in purely selfish terms as producing value only for the workers.  One rabbinic tale (Vayikra Rabba 25.5) describes an old man planting a tree.  The emperor Hadrian happens by and asks why the old man is planting the tree since it will take many years to bear fruit and the old man will not benefit.  The old man replies that just as his ancestors planted for him so is he planting for those who will come after him.  Work can be a generative and redemptive act.  Employers must meet several conditions for work to produce kavod for their employers.  The employer must treat the worker as a person who has kavod.  The worker must see the work as accomplishing something worthwhile.  And the conditions under which the worker labors must be compatible with worker dignity in terms of hours, expectations, safety, physical surroundings, compensation and so on.  AGTJL 329-31

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GEN507 See [[GEN681]] Genesis 9:4 life-blood AGTJL 522

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GEN681 The concept that blood holds the life force is a key teaching of Torah. When Cain kills his brother Abel, it is Abel’s blood that cries out to God for justice Genesis 4:10. Similarly, Leviticus 17 teaches that spilling the blood of an animal is also considered murder unless the blood is ritually drained at an altar site.  Deuteronomy 12 adds that if one does not have access to an altar, the animal’s blood must be poured into the ground. AGTJL 522

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GEN1096 Health (b’riyut) is one of our most valued gifts, and preserving life (pikuah nefesh) is one of the highest duties in Jewish tradition.   Virtually any activity or mitzvah should be set aside in order to save a life.   Closely related to this obligation is the duty to heal, the duty to restore oneself and others to health.  Another duty, that of self-care, stems from the idea that the world is God’s, as is everything in it (ladonay ha’arezt um’lo’o).   [Some who are uncomfortable seeing the world as belonging to God may prefer the Hasidic reading of “m’lo kol ha’aretz k’vodo.” “The fullness of the world is God’s glory.” (Likkutim Yekarim)   That is, God’s kavod is nothing other than the world in its completeness. Hence, healing and health are clearly what God is.]   According to classical rabbinic thought, our existence as creatures carries an obligation to do the will of the Creator.  Acknowledging the interdependence of our lives generates an obligation to care for ourselves as part of our obligation to others.   Jewish tradition regards hearing (refua) as a duty one has both to oneself and to others.  By contrast North American culture talks about the right to healthcare without recognizing a duty of individuals to provide healing, which complicates the ongoing American debate about who is responsible for how much healthcare provision.   Seeing healing as a duty would shift the American debate.  Jewish tradition sees the duty to heal as incumbent upon every individual, as well as on society as a whole. … The Bible presents a very strong tradition of God as a healer [this verse]. Since we are created b’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image, it is incumbent upon us to sever as healers both individually and through established institutions. AGTJL 475

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GEN1207 How can you identify successful prayer? It might bring a renewed commitment to values or righteous action. It may bring fresh insight and perspective, or provide a fresh experience of your connection to the larger wholeness of the world, to the Jewish people and/or to the community. It may create an inner calm and/or connect you to God’s presence. Prayer that goes beyond keva (the required structure and words) to kavana (intentionality, directedness, mental focus) will have spiritual significance. … The earliest examples of prayer in Jewish tradition are original, private cries from the heat.   Rebekah cries out to God during a difficult pregnancy with twins who seem to wrestle within her. AGTJL 47

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GEN1250 Advertising that manipulates in order to create a market for a product is destructive to the truth, as well as to trust in commercial dealings. … The Jacob and Esau story provides a biblical metaphor for manipulative advertising.   Jacob is the arch deceiver, pretending to be someone and something he is not in order to fulfill his desire for blessing – power, privilege, wealth.  We need to cultivate and strengthen the perception of Isaac inside ourselves when he says, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau.” [this verse] We must separate the clever and appealing message from the frivolous or unwholesome product.  AGTJL 120-1

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GEN1477 Jewish tradition recognizes the right of married couples to engage in any mutually agreeable form of sexual activity so long as it does not result in hashhatat zera, the intentional spilling of semen that wastes an opportunity to create new life.  In contemporary times, liberal authorities have interpreted the concern with hashhatat zera, which has its roots in the story of Onan Genesis 38:7-10, to be limited to preventing pregnancy in violation of an agreement between spouses that they will attempt to become pregnant.   Today any remaining concern about hashhatat zera has taken a back seat to an appreciation of the pleasure associated with male masturbation, as well as to the imperative to use a condom to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).  Jewish tradition never banned female masturbation, since it involves no issue of seminal discharge.  Thus, all forms of autoeroticism are permitted.   Masturbation is a legitimate source of pleasure and of physical release, and it is far better than an inappropriate sexual partnership. … There is truly no such thing as “safe sex.” Sexual intercourse means opening oneself to another in the most intimate way.   It means taking a chance with another person.   It means risking being hurt or being used.   While people can perform any number of sexual acts, there is a difference between engaging in sexual activity in order to achieve physical pleasure, an orgasim, in which only the physical aspect of our being is engaged, and sharing sexual intimacy as a way of bonding with another human being that involves our entire physical and spiritual being.   The institution of marriage provides a socially accepted structure in which the emotional and spiritual risks involved in true lovemaking are mitigated.  … Jewish tradition recognizes that sexual activity has the potential to bind partners together and increase their sense of intimacy.   The medieval text Iggeret Hakodesh, The Holy Letter, often erroneously ascribed to Ramban (a 13th century philosopher and bible commentator), emphasizes that marital sexual activity is sacred when done with awareness that intimacy has a divine aspect to it.   Such holiness is possible only when there is no coercion, when the relationship is legitimate, and when the lovers are attentive to each other’s needs and wishes.  This aspect of sexual activity does not apply to casual sexual relationships that lack an ongoing mutual commitment.  Sexual activity obviously does not need to be limited to times when people want to conceive a child.  Sexual pleasure is desirable.  Partners who know that they are unable to conceive a child can still delight in sexual activity. The primary questions around sexual activity are with whom it should take place and under what circumstances.   AGTJL 200-1

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GEN1484 Although it may not have been the original intent of the biblical writers and editors, the story of Judah and Tamar [this chapter] and its placement in the text can inform Jewish attitudes about sexual activity.   The ideal is a committed relationship; if that ends, the remaining partner is able to pursue other sexual relationships.   For Tamar, after the death of her husband, it is another husband.   For Judah, after the death of his wife, it is a non-committed sexual liaison.   The biblical text makes no judgment about Judah’s relations with a prostitute (Tamar in disguise) or about Tamar’s decision to play the role of a prostitute in order to become pregnant by her father-in-law Judah.   The problem comes in Judah’s not honoring his responsibility to secure another sexual partner/husband for Tamar.   Additionally, the story is a seemingly incongruent interruption of the Joseph saga.  However, it precedes the attempted seduction of Joseph by Potiphar’s wife.   Joseph manages to escape though Potiphar’s wife punishes him with an accusation of rape.   The two stores, read side-by-side, might be examples of appropriate and inappropriate sexual behavior.  The actions of Judah and Tamar, who are both without committed relationships, fall inside the norm of appropriate sexual behavior. The conduct of Potiphar’s wife, a married woman seeking sex from Joseph, a man not her husband, falls far outside it.  AGTJL 173

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