LEV278 Nahmanides in his commentary on [this verse]: "The Torah exhorts us against sexual immorality and against eating forbidden foods, but permits sexual intercourse between husband and wife and eating meat and drinking wine. Hence, the licentious individual may thus permit himself all kinds of indulgences with his wife … and be among the imbibers of wine and the gluttons for meat, and speak profanities, since these are not specifically forbidden in the Torah. He could then conceivably be a disreputable individual without violating any laws of the Torah. Therefore, the Torah, after detailing the things completely forbidden us, commands us in these general terms to be restrained even in matters permitted to us." The ethical concept cannot define with exactitude just how far we may go in indulging in the legally permitted. It can only alert us to the truth that even the legally permissible becomes ethically repulsive at a certain point. The responsibility for fixing that point rests essentially with each individual, whose moral stature is largely molded by the boundaries he fixes for himself in his pursuit of the legally permissible.

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LEV286 The God of Judaism is neither aloof nor self-centered. He is very much involved in the world which He created. Heschel, Prophets, Ch. 11-18. The nature of their involvement, in so far as it bares upon the behavior of man, is subsumed under the concept of holiness. Because God is holy (Isaiah 6:3), and because man was created in His image, "the utmost virtue of man is to become like onto Him, may He be exalted, as far as he is able; which means that we should make our actions like unto His, as the Sages make clear when interpreting the verse "Ye shall be holy."

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LEV321 … all religions, and many secular philosophies (to the hard-line Marxist, charity is a sop extended by the rich to the poor in order to avoid the revolution. Hence it is an evil) are generous in their praise of the virtue of charity. To the best of my knowledge, Judaism broke new ground when it integrated the act of sharing one's possessions with the needy into its ritual and civil law. The giving of charity is not considered to be merely the exercise of another virtue, like courage, prudence, or self-control. It is an integral part of the Law, like the commandant to offer sacrifices, or not to steal or swear falsely. The commandment enjoining the sharing of one's possessions with "the poor and a stranger" is sandwiched between a ritual law regarding animal sacrifice and a civil law forbidding deceitful dealing with one another. ... [Citing Leviticus 19:9–10] ... A large tractate of the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud (Pe'ah) are devoted to this elaboration of these verses. They form the basis for the law of tzedakah, of sharing one's material possessions with the less fortunate. This occupies a prominent place in every major code of Jewish Law (see Maimonides, Hilkhot Matnot Aniyim and Hilkhot Zedakah, in [sic? should be "and"?] Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah, pars. 247-59).

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LEV393 See [[EXOD668]] Exodus 22:21 ill-treat GREENBERG 72-3

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LEV728 Coming as a climax to a series of injunctions, [this verse] urges upon man a concern for the welfare of his fellow man that approaches the depth and consistency of concern that a normal, spiritually healthy human being has for his own welfare.

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DEUT64 Being the partner of God in daily recreating the universe by acting justly and correcting the violation of justice by others has its dangers as well as its opportunities. The self-confident are in danger of becoming self-righteously arrogant and exercising power for their own aggrandizement. "Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few" (Isaiah 10:7). The humble, on the other hand, are constantly beset by doubts regarding their ability to judge what justice may require of them. As safeguard against both pitfalls, humility and arrogance, Judaism teaches that God has given us the Torah "whose statutes and commandments" are righteous [this verse].

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DEUT65 See [[DEUT66]] Deuteronomy 4:8 yourselves GREENBERG 268

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DEUT66 We previously noted the two instances in which Judaism places limits on the moral intention: 1. One is not obligated to lay down his life for one or more other individuals. 2. One should not be generous to the point of indulgence. These limitations to arrive from the fundamental premise that one's life is not his own to do with as he sees fit. Each man' life is a gift entrusted to him by God, and he is responsible for his well-being. (The opening phrases of [this verse and of v. 15] are interpreted by the Rabbis as commandments prohibiting one from inflicting any harm upon himself. The word nefesh is understood by the Rabbis to refer not merely to the soul, but to the body. Maimonides thus interprets them in Hilkhot Rozeach chap. 11:4; that these verses were thus popularly understood, see Berakhot 32b.) Just as one has no right to assume that his life is more precious than the life of his fellow man, so he has no right to assume that his life is less precious.

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DEUT158 See [[EXOD398]] Exodus 20:10 cattle GREENBERG 77

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DEUT194 In the Hebrew Bible there is no polarity between love and fear in the service of God. Equal emphasis is placed on both. The author of the 119th Psalm surely loved God and His Torah. Yet he says, "My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee; and I am afraid of Thy judgments" (v. 120). Preceding the injunction "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (this verse), is the statement [Deuteronomy 6:1-2). And following it is the admonition, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God ..." (Deut. 6:13). Hence, while the Biblical-Rabbinic tradition knows the difference between love of God and fear of God, and the rabbinic tradition inclined towards setting love above fear, serving God out of fear is not disparaged. (Thus Maimonides explains Abraham's reaction to God's command to sacrifice Isaac as being due to "his fear of Him, who should be exalted, and because of his love to carry out His command…" (Guide, pt. 3:24, pp. 500-501). It all depends on what one fears and what one loves. Yohanan ben Zakai's fear of meeting his Creator was not due to fear of being physically hurt. It was rooted in a sense of his own inadequacy to fulfill what he believed God had the right to expect of him. He was a lover who feared to disappoint his beloved, a fear that sprang from and was permeated by love.

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