DEUT224 See [[DEUT194]] Deuteronomy 6:2 revere GREENBERG 82

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT288 [[DEUT194]] See Deuteronomy 6:2 revere GREENBERG 82

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT297 … the rabbinic rationale for the validation of a get given under duress is the assumption that in reality every Jew wants not only "to obey the words of the wise," but above all "to do that which is good and upright in the sight of the Lord" [this verse]. Though conditions beyond our control make it impossible for us in the United States to force a man to give a get, these conditions do not absolve him from his obligation "to do that which is good and upright in the eyes of the Lord." Furthermore, not only do the Rabbis sanction the use of compulsion in order that a man do the right thing, but they even explain the harsh biblical law regarding the "rebellious son" as a law in the interest of the son, for if he were permitted to live he would end up as a murderer. Sanhedrin 71b. (See also ibid., 73a; Tosafot on lehazilo b'nafsho, which Tosafot says may be interpreted to mean that you are permitted to kill a man who is pursuing another man, not because you are thereby saving his victim, but because you are preventing the pursuer from committing a mortal sin.) In both instances the law acts in order to prevent one from doing evil, more particularly from doing harm to another human being. In both instances the action of the law is considered a zkhut, "to the advantage" of the person who is ostensibly being punished by the law.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT396 See [[LEV264]] Leviticus 18:28 spew GREENBERG 60

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT501 Secular rationalizations of the ethical and moral infringe upon the religious … in the tacit or explicit assumption that the universe, or the human component of it, is so constituted that the ethical and moral coincide with the self–interest of the agent. ... This assumption is not subject to empirical validation. It calls for as vigorous and active faith as the biblical assurance that [this and following two verses].

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT551 One of the doctrines of the Biblical–Rabbinic tradition is the proposition that though God revealed in the Torah the path of life we should follow, it is we who make the decision to follow or not to follow that path. God does not make that decision for us. It is our divinely imposed, inescapable responsibility. See also Deuteronomy 30:19, Avot 31:9, 20.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT638 The administration of justice thus conceived is to serve two readily comprehended purposes. (a) It is to serve as a deterrent, "so that all may hear and fear and not continue to do such an evil thing" [this verse], and thus assure to the law-abiding members of the society, the enjoyment of their rights. (b) It sees to it "that the sinner shall not profit by his sin." It justifies the imposition of an injury upon the transgressor which as accurately as possible equals the injury he may have caused it to others. Hence, justice is conceived as being relevant only to the affairs of man, and from the long range point of view it is considered to be the indispensable servant of man's mundane self-interest.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT644 See [[DEUT1050]] Deuteronomy 21:18 defiant GREENBERG 186

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT645 The most radical of all rabbinic statements regarding Biblical laws is the apparently overwhelmingly held opinion that at least three laws of the Bible were never meant to be implemented: (1) the law of the "disloyal and defiant son" (Deuteronomy 21:18–21); (2) the law regarding the excommunicated city (this verse; Deuteronomy 13:13-19); (3) the law regarding a house affected by a plague (Leviticus 14:33-53). Sanhedrin 71a

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT713 Utopians see the day when the mitzvah of tzedakah will be obsolete since no one will be in need of financial aid from his fellow man. The Pentateuch is ambivalent on the subject (this verse, Deuteronomy 15:11). The prophet is more sanguine (Micah 4:4). However, there will never be a time when men will not be in need of gemilut hasadim, acts of loving-kindness. This fact alone bestows upon the religious element in human life a longevity equal to that of mankind, for acts of loving–kindness can be rationalized only religiously, and men will always need a rationalization for what they do.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT