EXOD460 The sixth word: “Thou shall not murder,” may present a special difficulty. Some may argue that even if every other word from three through ten is a moral rule [i.e., per the author, morals rules permit exceptions, unlike moral principles, which do not -- AJL], surely this sixth word permits no exceptions and is a moral principle. What is the correct translation of לא תרצח, the sixth commandment? “Thou shalt not kill,” is the King James translation. “Thou shalt not murder,” is the Jewish Publication Society rendition. Neither translation is completely accurate. The King James version falters because the English verb, “to kill,” is far broader in meaning than the Hebrew verb, רצח. The prohibition, “Thou shalt not kill,” rules out a wide spectrum of acts including those of legitimate self-defense. The Hebrew original has no such intention. Any attempt, therefore, to base a claim of conscientious objection to military service on the sixth word is not justified by the Hebrew text. The Jewish Publication Society translation, “Thou shalt not murder,” on the other hand, is too narrow. For the Hebrew לא תרצח goes beyond premeditated (first degree), and intentional but not premeditated (second degree) murder to include unintentional killing (manslaughter). Stamm and Andrew, The Ten Commandments in Recent Research. Alec R. Allenson, 1967, pp. 98,99. Thus, the Hebrew phrase לא תרצח prohibits not only the malicious, but even the careless destruction of human life. It applies, among other things, to such modern instruments of manslaughter as mercury poisoning caused by the irresponsible discharge of industrial waste into waters which flow into fishing grounds. In the previous chapter, I mentioned as one of the less comprehensive moral principles, the principle that killing for the sake of killing is always wrong. The sixth word obviously covers much more territory than this moral principle. The moral principle has no exceptions, but I believe the sixth word does--certainly cases of euthanasia, for example. Perhaps murder would be justified in the case of a man in agony who was hopelessly caught in the burning wreckage of a plane and pleads to be shot. In regard to manslaughter we can certainly conceive of a group required to use, for its defense, dangerous weapons such as landmines which could cause fatal accidents. Despite these exceptions, the sixth word remains the deepest of the moral rules, the closest to essential morality. It rightly heads the second tablet. It should be set aside only with supreme reluctance.

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EXOD458 See [[LEV1075]] Leviticus 25:38 live HURWITZ 70, ft. 6

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EXOD459 The Commandment "Thou shall not kill" is more precisely rendered as "Thou shall not murder" [this verse]. (1) Ending a life is murder when, and only when, it stems from base motives, malice, and violence, against the victim's will. (2) Ending a life is irresponsible when the motives, though not base, are superficial and ill-considered (as when a man in his prime takes his own life because of a career fiasco, without considering his wife and children). (3) Yet the ending of a life can also be responsible when happening in its due time. Both the Bible and traditional Catholic concepts hold that "Life is, of possessions, not the highest" (Schiller). The idea that life is beyond our power of disposal is by no means unconditionally valid: risking life for the sake of a higher good, individual and collective defense unto the death of the aggressor, the fatal shot which saves lives when hostages are being taken, and deploying troops at the risk of their lives – – all these are regarded as morally acceptable.

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EXOD461 We must give up our lives rather than commit murder. Murder is one of the three cardinal transgressions for which a person must give up his life rather than commit (Yorah Daiah 157:1). … it is permissible to kill someone who is trying to kill you, but you have no right to take the life of an innocent person even if a third party threatens to kill you unless you do so.

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EXOD456 See [[EXOD483]] Exodus 20:14 covet SPERO 136

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EXOD466 Integrity means doing what one says, being what one speaks. It means being true to others, but also to oneself. Self-deception is a common human inclination; integrity is it antidote. … self-deception is a major roadblock in the creation of one's life as a work of art. Just as one is proscribed from deceiving others in word or deed, one is enjoined not to deceive one's own self. In this regard the Hasidic master, Bunam of Przysucha, was asked: Who is a hasid, who is pious? He answered: One who goes above the requirements of the law. The questioner asked: What is the law? The rabbi replied: It is forbidden to deceive one's neighbor. And what is going above the letter of the law? Not deceiving one's own self. Rabbi Bunam's disciple, Mendel of Kotsk, interpreted the commandment "You shall not steal" (this verse) as including a prohibition against stealing from one's own self. See Heshel, A Passion for Truth (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973). According to Isaac Aboab, the admonition against lying extends to self-deception. He wrote, "There are other matters that fall under the heading of falsehood; for example, when a person praises himself for having virtues he does not possess." Aboab, Isaac, Menorat Ma'or. (Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1961). sec. 2, p. 103.

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EXOD467 See [[LEV355]] Leviticus 19:13 defraud OXFORD 478-9

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EXOD463 Although wherever possible the evil inclination tries to lead men to sin, there are some [offenses] that human nature finds more desirable, and with regard to these his evil inclination grants him greater leeway to rationalize and permit [that which is forbidden]. Therefore, in these areas one needs to strengthen himself to an even greater degree in order to conquer his evil inclination and to be cleansed of sin. Our Sages of blessed memory have said (Chagigah 11b): "Man's nature yearns for and desires theft and promiscuity." We see that although most people are not outright thieves, in the sense of literally grabbing money that belongs to others and keeping it, nonetheless most of them develop a taste for stealing in their business dealings when they permit themselves to profit at the expense of others, saying: "Business is different." Regarding stealing, many prohibitions have been stated in reference to it: "You must not steal" [this verse], "Nor shall you rob" (Vayikra 19:13), "You shall not oppress" (ibid.), "Nor may any man [among you] make a false denial" (Vayikra 19:11), "Or lie against his fellowman" (ibid.), "You must not cheat one another" (Vayikra 25:14), "You must not move back the border of your fellowman['s field]" (Devarim 19:14). All of these are distinct laws that relate to stealing, and their scope covers many of the acts that are commonplace in business dealings and financial activity. And each one of them contains numerous prohibitions. Indeed, not only the familiar and common acts of extortion and theft are prohibited, but also whatever ultimately leads to them and causes them is included in the prohibition. In this regard, our Sages of blessed memory stated (Sanhedrin 8a): "'And he did not defile his neighbor's wife' (Yechezkel 18:6) [refers to someone] who did not encroach on his neighbor's livelihood." [On these grounds] Rabbi Yehudah prohibited a storekeeper from giving out roasted grains and nuts to children to attract them to his store, and though the Sages permitted this it was only because his competitors could do the same (Bava Metzia 60a).

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EXOD462 A published responsum dealing specifically with heart transplants is that of Rabbi Unterman [Unterman, I.Y., "Points of Halakhah in the Question of Heart Transplantation" (From an address to the Congress of Oral Law), Jerusalem, Elul, 5728 (August, 1968)] who begins by stating that consent from the family of the donor must be obtained. Otherwise, the doctors and the recipient would transgress the prohibition of "Thou shall not steal" [this verse and Deut. 5:17]. The Chief Rabbi then reviews the halakhic definition of death. He states that under ordinary circumstances, death occurs when respiration ceases. However, sudden unexplained death in young otherwise healthy individuals should be followed by resuscitative measures. A goses need not be resuscitated when respiration ceases. Rabbi Unterman then briefly mentions the problem of organ banks by stating that freezing organs for later use is allowed provided there is a good chance they will be used to save a life. Then, the situation would be comparable to having the recipient at hand (lefaneinu).

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EXOD464 In secular law, cases of stealing are classified as grand larceny or petty larceny, according to the value of the stolen goods. In the Torah's ethic, the prohibition "You shall not steal" [this verse] also forbids a theft called g'nevath da'ath (literally, "stealing someone's mind"), which means creating a false impression (Tosefta, Baba Kamma VII, 8). If, for example, you ask a shopkeeper for the price of something which you have no wish whatsoever to buy, you are also guilty of stealing, in a sense: For you create in the shopkeeper the false impression that you wish to buy the object in question; as a result, he treats you with a certain difference and esteem, and gives you information, to none of which you are entitled. You have "stolen" something intangible from him. (Continued at [[EXOD692]] Exodus 22:24 interest SINAI1 17)

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