EXOD254 As we continue our study of Talmudic ethics, it becomes clear that the Rabbis regarded the performance of the Mitzvot not as ends in themselves but as stepping–stones to Godliness. It was because "the Holy One was pleased to make Israel worthy that He gave them a copious Torah and many commandments; as it is said (Is. xlii.21): "It pleased the Lord, for His righteousness' sake, to magnify the Torah and to make it honorable" [Makkot 23b]. This purpose of our Halachah, and its network of regulations, emerges even more strikingly from a passage in the Tanhuma: "Does it then make any material difference to God whether one ritually slaughters a beast before eating it, or if he eats it without Shehitah? Or do you really think it is of such critical concerned to Him if one eats unclean things? No. The regulations governing our food laws were given, so that men through their observance, became purer and holier beings." It is natural that not only the laws themselves but all the wealth of details that grew around them were vested with divine authority. For these helped to teach the Jew to control his desire in appetite, apart from furthering in him regard for hygiene and a striving after holiness. "It cannot be emphasized too often dealing with the laws of the Torah, the Rabbis delved deep in order to discover their underlying ethical purpose. Even ritual laws, perhaps the least expected moral sources, were made to yield of moral laws!" [J.Z. Lauterbach, "The Ethics of Halachah", Central Conference of American Rabbis, Vol. XXIII, 1913]. The two loaves on the table on the Eve of Sabbath must be covered when the Kiddush is recited. Firstly, because the double portion of Manna which came down on the sixth day (of which the two Hallot are reminiscently symbolical) was covered with a fine layer of dew [this verse]. Secondly, perhaps to teach the virtue of consideration; for although the loaves were placed on the table as soon at the table – cloth was spread, they now find themselves "by-passed" by the wine which appeared on the table afterwards. Accordingly, we cover them that they should not, as it were, witness our slight of them. If inanimate things are so considerately treated, how much more so should man?

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EXOD297 High on the list of Social Ethics is the care of the sick. God Himself is described as visiting those who are infirm and racked by illness. [See Midrash Rabba to Gen. xviii]. When Rabbi Joseph once preached on [this verse], he explains the latter half of the verse to mean that they must be taught the importance of kindly deeds (hadderech) and the urgency of visiting the sick (yeluchu bah). The story is told of Rabbi Akiba who, visiting a disciple when he was gravely ill, personally attended to his wants. On his recovery, he came to the Rabbi, transfigured by gratitude, assuring him that his visit it was that put new life and hope into him. Where upon Rabbi Akiba taught that "he who does not visit the sick is guilty of shedding blood; the reward of such a visit is that one is saved from Gehinnom, from the Evil Inclination and from all kinds of suffering" [Cf. Ned. 40a]. Great, especially, must be the respect to be shown to the dead. Even a High Priest who is a Nazirite may attend to the burial of one who has no immediate relatives or friends to do so [Such a corpse is called 'met mitzvah.'] The study of the Torah may be interrupted if thereby a person to be brought with greater respect to his final resting-place. [Meg. 3b]. Such consideration for the living and the dead reflects the ideal human relationship advocated in the Torah.

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EXOD330 What makes a Jew? -- is a question that is often asked. The answer--two things: membership of the Jewish brotherhood, and the loyal fulfillment of those obligations which that membership imposes. Most of these ethical duties are enumerated in the 19th chapter of Leviticus, which commands the entire nation to be holy, just as the Decalogue addressed itself to each individual. Here is a brief summary of what this chapter and other pronouncements of the similar nature require of us. To abstain from all things which defile, physically or spiritually; to avoid forbidden food; to shun the heathenish modes of disfigurement over the dead; to bar intermarriage with those of other faiths. The Torah expects us to be learned and proud members of "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" [this verse] in which holiness is not a mystical or an abstract idea but a directive and dynamic principle in daily life.

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EXOD340 Priesthood of Israel's One God was thrown open to all that walk in His ways and who have made holiness their aim in life. This priesthood, attainable by all who so willed it, is to be illustrated and realized by Israel as "the Kingdom of priests and the holy nation" [this verse]. As "a holy nation", Israel's public and private life was one continuous consecration. Justice, truthfulness, solicitude for the weak, obedience and reverence for those in authority, regard for the rights of others, a forgiving and a candid spirit, aflame with love for men and consideration for beast, charity and humility--these are to be some of the characteristics flowering forth from the Jewish life dedicated to God.

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EXOD348 To the Jew, his Torah has no peer as a source of instruction in the art of right living. For him, it combines the loftiest teaching with abundant illustrations to show how its ideals can be lived. The Bible will always be the divine Book because it is, at the same time, so intensely human. Its uniqueness consists in that while it contains not a little which is within the understanding of an intelligent child, it is also so profound that the studies of two thousand years have not exhausted its significance for scholars and philosophers. "And the voice of the Shophar waxed louder and louder" [this verse]. Unlike the human voice which gets weaker after much use, the "Voice of God" assumes more force with time. The Bible by no means exhausts the sources of Jewish faith. The Jew has preserved, in addition, a treasury of doctrines and sayings transmitted from father to son. This traditional literature, the Oral Law (Torah she'be'al Peh) constitutes the largest part of Judaism. Many Halachic doctrines not mentioned in the Torah have been, explicitly or implicitly, traced to the forty days Moses spent with God prior to communicating them orally to Israel [these traditional observances are described in the Talmud as halachah l'moshe mi'Sinai]. So have many well-known haggadic illustrations been connected with Sinaitic teachings. This Oral Law comprises all the interpretations and conclusions which our scribes have deduced from the written Torah, together with the regulations instituted by them. These are to be found in the Mishnah, Gemara, Tosefta, and Halachic Midrashim, all of which were originally not committed to writing but transmitted and taught orally. In these sources, the claim is often repeated that a complete body of Rabbinical doctrines had been revealed unto Moses on Sinai, together with the hermeneutical rules according to which they might be developed. An example of such exegetical principles is the thirteen rules of R. Ishmael [See Singer's Prayer Book, pp. 13-14. These are included in the Siddur, in order to enable the Jew to study, as well as pray, each day.] These rules are indispensable, in view of the terse utterances of the Torah. May not the very brevity of the Scriptures be a further proof that, side-by-side with the Bible, there existed a vigorous body of tradition? Let one illustration suffice. In Deut. xii.21, the commandment of slaughtering the sacrifice is given with the addition "as I have commanded thee". We will search in vain for a command in the Torah advising us how to slaughter the animal in the prescribed way. It is when we turn to the Talmudic Tractate Hullin that we find the laws of Shechitah enumerated in detail. These are invested with Divine authority because they are believed to form part of the instruction given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. We can understand the opinions expressed in the Talmud that customs and ceremonies observed by the rank and file of the people are to be regarded as sacrosanct as the Torah itself [minhag Yisrael Torah hee].

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EXOD355 Characteristic of the Jewish faith is th[e] sense of reality, the reality which does not attach prime importance to material or tangible things which are ephemeral, but which concentrates rather on the moral life as expressed in noble conduct and the will to create an shape, to labor and perform. Every page of the Torah is shot through with this desire to love and to be loved, to be happy and to rejoice the hearts of others [See Deut. xvi. 11-14; xxvi.11]. This sense of reality is fostered by the consciousness of a personal, omnipresent God who reveals himself at Sinai not as the creator aloof from the universe but as one "Who brought the out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" [this verse].

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EXOD358 Nothing must be done to endanger the holy alliance (Kiddushin) of man and wife. The Rabbis devote five tractates of the Talmud to this theme. Kiddushin and Ketubot deal mainly with marriage settlement; Yebamot with Levirate and prohibited marriages; Sotah with the woman suspected of adultery and Gittin with divorce, not to mention the references to these themes scattered over the other tractates. The Rabbis found it necessary to deal with these themes exhaustively in view of the vagueness of the Biblical laws. These Talmudic laws have been systematically collected into works that are still the authoritative sources of every Rabbi. These are the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides and the Eben Ha'ezer of Joseph Karo [no fewer than 178 sections dealing with marriage and divorce appear in Karo's work]. These authorities warns that intermarriage is likely to mar family purity and sew dissension and produce disreputable children [Deut. vii. 3-4; Ezra ix. 1-2, x. 10-11; Neh. x. 31, xiii. 23-25; Ab. Zara 31b; Eben Haezer xvi. 1; Maimonides Issure Biah xii.I]. Though ne Rabbinic view states that "Gentiles in the Diaspora cannot really be termed idolaters", yet marriage with them is disallowed. [Hull. 13b]. That just as virtue and righteousness flow from the worship of God, so do vice and oppression issue from the ungodly marriage, especially with daughters of the heathen. This will explain the seemingly harsh measures taken, especially by Ezra, against idolatry and immorality, both of which are to be eliminated [this verse, Lev. xix. 4; Deut iv. 15-25]. A "holy people" must remove all obstacles to the purity of family life and regard them as abominations [Deut vii.3]. Marriage is something more than a civil contract; it is an institution based on morality and implying the most sacred duties.

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EXOD373 See [[LEV1107]] Leviticus 26:3 If LEHRMAN 160

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EXOD399 To aid our spiritual advancement, we are asked to be kind to all created things, be they men or animals. From the Fourth Commandment it is clear that one of the objects of the Sabbath was to provide rest for the beast of burden [this verse]. Only he who has mercy on all created things is entitled to the mercy of God. Leaders in ancient Israel were chosen from those who exhibited tenderness towards the flock they tended; the argument being that such consideration was an earnest of the sympathy they would evince toward those whom they would have to leave. The appointment of Moses was due to such tenderness [see the story about Moses and the straying lamb told in Exodus R. ii.2.], as was the call to prophecy of Amos and Micah and to Kingship of Saul and David; all were shepherds. To be unkind to animals is to court suffering. Rabbi Judah Hannasi suffered great agony because he was inconsiderate to a calf that sought his protection as it was being led to the slaughter [B. Metz. 85a]. Not to alleviate their pain, is to break a command of the Torah [Shabb. 128a]. From the Shema [Deut. xi 15. "And I will give grass in they fields for the cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied." Note the order of the words: first grass for the cattle then "thou shalt eat"; Ber. 40a; Gitt. 62a] it is clear that one should not sit down to his own meal before giving food to domestic animals under his protection. This consideration towards animals is important not only because it is another precision tool in the carving of character but also because it expresses gratitude for their service. Had the Torah, which teaches us these virtues, not been given to us, says a teacher [Erub. 100b], we would have learned modesty from the cat; from the ant, industry and honesty; good manners from the cock and chastity from the dove. The slaughter of animals for food is to be as painless as possible.

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EXOD520 The basis of Jewish social life being the family, Judaism has exercised a ceaseless vigil over its purity and stability. The relation between the sexes is based upon the ideal of tohorat ha'mishpachah, that is, upon chastity and purity which border on holiness. The Jew does not regard woman as his inferior but as his co--partner. The sole reason why she is exempt from certain precepts, the fulfillment of which is circumscribed by the occasion, is the fact that male and female have been cast into different physiques, making it biologically necessary for a division of labour between man and woman. It was never intended that the sphere of the home, delegated to the wisdom and tenderness of the wife and mother, should be considered as secondary to the study of the Torah or to the pursuit of a livelihood, occupations set aside for the programme of men. The Bible knows no such distinctions, for "male and female created He them" [Gen. i. 27]. When those who arranged the order (Siddur) of our daily prayers prescribed the blessing [Singer's Prayer Book, p. 6] thanking God "who hast not made me a woman", all they meant was, as can be seen from the context of the blessings, that the Jew is grateful to His Master for so conditioning him that he is not deprived, as a woman is by reason of her domestic responsibilities, from fulfilling such duties as Tsitsit, Tephilllin, Sukkah and similar duties which must be performed within a limited, stipulated time [Kidd.i.7; Men. 43b]. Apart from this category of commandments, known in the Talmud as "mitzvot aseh she'hazeman grama", no differentiation in our ethical codes exists between male and female. On the contrary; because the Fifth Commandment tells the child to honor her father and mother, the Lawgiver felt that he must remove the mistaken idea that the father is mentioned first because he is the more important partner in marriage by putting the mother first when he repeats the command elsewhere in the Torah. [Lev. xix. 3, "Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father". Redress could not be more noble, nor equity of the sexes more colorfully stressed. Moreover, when the Rabbis explain the verse "Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them" [this verse], their comment was: "Scripture places men and women on an equality with regard to all the laws of the Torah" [B.K. 15a]. If woman is not encouraged to higher study, no qualms of conscience need assail her; her merit consists in the help she gives her menfolk to become learned in "The Word of God" [Ber. 17a]. Moreover, God endowed woman with more intuition and tact than man [Nid. 45b]. Biblical support for this statement was found in the word Vayiven ויבן [which is made a denominative from בינה "intelligence"] used when a woman was created from the rib of man. God used special intelligence (binah) before coming to the decision that the best material from which to shape woman was the rib, for that is that part of the body which was always covered [Gen R. xviii.2.].

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