GEN954 See [[LEV336]] Leviticus 19:11 falsely OXFORD 434-5

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GEN1027 See [[GEN657]] Genesis 9:1 said OXFORD 45

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GEN1065 Many have struggled with a way to deal with prohibitions … against lesbian activity and particularly those against gay male sexual engagement. [Some] posit that the prohibition is against rape and humiliation, since the idea of two men coming together for a loving, long-term partnership may have been unheard of in the Ancient Near East, and evidence exists –the Sodom story in Genesis 19:1-14, for example—of homosexual intercourse used as a form of dominance. (By Barry J. Leff, "Jewish Business Ethics") OXFORD 393

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GEN1087 Here Abraham is speaking to someone who is foreign to the religion of ancient Israel, but he assumes that Abimelech would understand exactly what he meant by “fear of God” – a sense of common decency or ethical awareness which would keep Abimelech from murdering him to acquire his wife. This meaning is evident also in the case of the (probably Egyptian) midwives who refrain from killing the Israelite newborn males because “they feared God” Exodus 1:21. Conversely, in the aftermath of the Exodus, when the Amalekites attacked the Israelites who were particularly defenseless and vulnerable, Deuteronomy demands that they be wiped out because they did not “Fear God” Deuteronomy 25:18; contrast with Genesis 42:18. (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible) OXFORD 36

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GEN1189 [T]hat compassion for animals is a quality inherent in the righteous person, is articulated most famously in the book of Proverbs: “The righteous person knows the needs [nefesh, literally [“soul”] of his animal” Proverbs 12:10. The same conception seems to be operative in [this verse], where Abraham’s servant Eliezer determines that Rebecca—a paradigm of the good wife—is a suitable spouse for Isaac when she provided water not only for him, but also, without prompting, for his camels. We also find it in rabbinic texts, such as Midrash Tanhuma (Noah 5), where both Noah and Joseph are deeded righteous man “because they nourished creatures.” Perhaps most strikingly, Exodus Rabbah 2:2 relates that both Moses and David--the paradigmatic male leadership of Israel—were tested by God through how they functioned as shepherds. (By Aaron S. Gross, "Jewish Animal Ethics") OXFORD 423

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GEN1205 See [[GEN833]] Genesis 15:2 childless OXFORD 321-2

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GEN1217 Although there are medieval commentators who interpret this statement as the hyperbole of an impetuous and myopic boor, there is another stream of biblical commentary that argues for the literal sense. Commentators like Abraham bin Ezra suggest that Esau understands that hunting is dangerous business and that he is likely to predecease his father, thereby rendering his birthright worthless. Better, Esau shrewdly reasons, to get something for the birthright now. [Eighteen century Rabbi] Yehezkel Landau uses this commentary on an aggadic passages in Genesis to conclude that hunting is dangerous for the hunter, and placing oneself unnecessarily in a dangerous situation is a clear violation of the halakhah! Thus, sport hunting is prohibited not because of the senseless murder of the hunted animal, but because of the potential danger to the hunter. One wonder how Landau would argue the issue today, given hunters with high-powered telescopic rifles riding in jeeps akin to armored personnel carriers. (By Shai Cherry, "Ethical Theories in the Conservative Movement" OXFORD 232

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GEN1270 Jacob’s recognition of Beth El, the House of God, by anointing a rock with olive oil, and the revelation of the Ten Utterances upon the Mountain of God (and the inclusion of salt in the Temple offerings) recognize that what moderns might see as “dead” minerals are filled with Divine life. The offerings at the Mishkan in the Wilderness Leviticus chs. 1-9 and at the shrines in Shiloh 1 Samuel 1:24-25 and Jerusalem 1 Chronicles 23:28-29; 2 Chronicles 7:4-7; Ezra 6:17, 7:17; Nehemiah 10:33-37; Mishnah Tamid passim; Zevahim ch. 5, passim are mostly grain, fruit, and meat, the foods that spring from the soil of the land of Israel. Even pancakes – “fine flour mixed with oil and spice, then turned to smoke upon the Altar” Leviticus 2:1-3 – are a path to God. This practice taught that the relationship between adam [human] and adamah [earth] was the expression of relationship with God. So it is not surprising that biblically, and then in rabbinic tradition, elaboration of proper and improper foods, what was and was not kosher to eat, took on immense importance in defining a sacred life. (By Arthur Waskow, "Jewish Environmental Ethics: Intertwining Adam with Adamah") OXFORD 412

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GEN1313 See [[GEN833]] Genesis 15:2 childless OXFORD 321-2

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GEN1320 See [[GEN833]] Genesis 15:2 childless OXFORD 321-2

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