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GENESIS — 9:6 image

GEN709 Love of God is rooted in the belief that God loves us. As the Mishnah teaches, “Beloved is humankind, for they are created in the divine image. It is indicative of an even greater love [by God] that it was made known to them that they are in God’s image, as it is said [this verse, Ethics of the Fathers 3:14.  Our creation in God's image, the ultimate source of human self-esteem is an act of love by God which evokes our love in return.  TELVOL 1:492

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GENESIS — 9:6 image

GEN704 (Continued from [[LEV114]] Leviticus 11:43 abominate TZADIK 35). One’s body should be clean and not sweaty.  One should take care to wash his face, hands, and feet, and also his entire body at regular intervals, as we find in the case of Hillel the Elder Leviticus Rabbah 34:3: “When he took leave of his disciples and walked along with them, they asked him: ‘Where are you going?’ He answered: ‘To do a mitzvah.’  They asked: ‘Which mitzvah are you going to do?’ He answered: ‘To bathe in the bathhouse.’  They asked: “Is that a mitzvah?’ He answered: “Yes! Now if with respect to the statues of kings that are set up in theaters and circuses their caretaker polishes and washes them, for which he is not only fed but also brought up among the royal dignitaries, I, who have been created in the image of God and the likeness of God, as it is written [this verse], how much more so should this apply!”  TZADIK 37

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GENESIS — 9:6 image

GEN710 One should love his friends and all other Jews with perfect love, as it is written Leviticus 19:18: “And you should love your fellowman as yourself.”  And this is a great principle in the Torah: “What you hate, do not do to your friend” Shabbat 31a.  And even greater than this [is this verse].  Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:4.  TZADIK 109

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GENESIS — 9:6 in

GEN716 It is interesting that the ideal world of righteousness and justice that Jewish texts envision even provides for the possibility that although everyone will follow God’s ways, each person will continue to worship his or her own god Micah 4:1-5. Along these lines, the Rabbis proclaim that God created a covenant with all human beings, the covenant of the children of Noah, and non-Jews fulfill God’s will if they obey the seven requirements of that covenant. T. Avodah Zarah 8:4; B. Sanhedrin 56a. See Novak, The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism.  Jewish sources require that Jews should follow God’s more demanding covenant with the People of Israel, but they contemplate a degree of tolerance and even pluralism that were truly unique in their day and are still rare in ours. Even if we construe the “general welfare” clause of the Preamble expansively, American law does not aspire to changing the whole world to be free of violence or want and certainly not to create one universal covenant with God; the goal is rather “the general welfare” solely “for ourselves and our posterity.” After World War II, Americans provided much of the funding to rebuild Europe, and Americans have donated some small percentage of the yearly national budget to help other countries with their medical and other needs; but most would maintain that this generosity is motivated much more by the United States’s own interests than by altruism or some vision of messianic future. Thus even the most idealistic construction of America law focuses on the United States alone, in contrast to the universalistic goals embedded in Jewish literature, in which the People Israel are the primary partner in the covenant with God, but they are to serve as a “light to the nations” Isaiah 49:6, 51:4 of how everyone should live. This has two important ramifications. First, Jewish law presumes that Jews can never be held to a lesser standard than that to which non-Jews are held. Therefore, sometimes when internal reasoning seems to suggest that Jews are subject to a more permissive stance than non-Jews, that result alone requires a rethinking of the reasoning that brought us to that conclusion; it requires going back to the drawing board, for that results contradicts the Talmudic principle that “there is nothing permitted to an Israelite that is forbidden to an non-Jew.” B. Sanhedrin 59a So, for example, in the Talmud Rabbi Ishmael understands [this verse] to say that for non-Jews feticide is the equivalent of murder;  B. Sanhedrin 57b. The same teaching is taught in the name of Rabbi Hanina in Genesis Rabbah 34:14 Jews, however, are actually required to abort a fetus to save the life of its mother because the fetus has a lesser legal status than its mother, as Exodus 21:22-25 declares.  M. Oholot 7:6 That immediately raises the question, though, of how can it be that Jews are permitted to do what non-Jews are not? Jewish authorities resolve this by various methods. Most find reasons to permit non-Jews to abort for therapeutic reasons as well, despite their theoretical capital culpability for doing so. Some use that culpability for non-Jews to demonstrate how serious the decision to abort is for Jews as well, even when it is necessary and legally required to save the life of the mother and all the more so for other reasons.  Tosafot to B. Sanhedrin 59a … see, in general, Feldman, Birth Control in Jewish Law, p. 262. Second, the messianic goals of Judaism in general and Jewish law in particular can and do act as a source for critiquing any particular expression of it. When Jewish law is less just or compassionate than it can be, it fails in its function of being “a light to the nations.” That requires Jewish authorities to reevaluate the law as it has come down to us and, if necessary, change it. …because Jewish law aspires to create an ideal world, it can and should be assessed in any generation and on any issue as to the extent to which it is accomplishing that purpose. DORFFLGP 9-11

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GENESIS — 9:6 in

GEN715 Feticide … is expressly forbidden under the statues of the Noachide Code. The Noachide prohibition is derived by R. Ishmael Sanhedrin 57b from the wording of [this verse].  Rendering this verse as “Whoso sheddeth the blood of man, within man shall his blood be shed,” rather than “Whoso sheddeth the blood of man, by man [i.e., through a human court] shall his blood be shed, R. Ishmael queries, “Who is a man within a man? … A fetus within the womb of them other.” Tosafot deduces that this practice is prohibited to Jews as well by virtue of the Talmudic principle, “Is there anything which is forbidden to a Noachide yet permitted to a Jew?” Application of this principle clearly establishes a Biblical prohibition. (Continued at [[LEV950]] Leviticus 24:21 human ROSNER-BLEICH 137) ROSNER 135-6

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GENESIS — 9:6 shed

GEN720 Suicide under any other circumstances [i.e., other than martyrdom to avoid apostasy, incest and murder] is condemned as a form of murder.  Lamentations Rabbah 1:17, ed. Buber, pp. 81-82; Gittin 57b.  [Among the causes that have made for the rapid growth of suicide (this text published 1948-AJL), the decay of religious faith undoubtedly plays a leading role. Dr. Elwood Worcester expresses the conviction of religious people of all creeds that “When God goes out of a man’s life, hope and courage, fortitude in adversity, and a sense of responsibility are apt to go with Him.” Body, Mind and Spirit, p. 188.  A crime whether against oneself or one’s fellow man is an offense against God.  See Sefer Hasidim, ed. Wistinetzki, 174-175.  “Surely,” the priestly writer declares in the name of God, [this and preceding verse].” … R. Akiba deduced from the verses of Genesis that “Whoever sheds blood is regarded as if he has diminished the Divine image. What is the reason for inflicting capital punishment upon one who killed his fellow man? Because man has been made in the image of God.” Murder is an affront to holiness, for which one forfeits his right to the enjoyment of the Divine gift of life.  Genesis Rabbah 34:13-14; Yebamot 63b; Tos. Yeb. 8:5; Yalkut Shimeoni, Samuel, 134; Targum Jonathan. COHON 158-9

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GENESIS — 9:6 shed

GEN721 The death penalty is first stated in [this verse]. Yet, the Torah does not stop there. It is chock-full of offenses punishable by death. Capital punishment is designated for crimes ranging from intentional murder Exodus 21:12 to sexual offenses Leviticus 20:10-21 to even cursing one’s parents Exodus 21:27; Deuteronomy 21:18-21. It is also prescribed for theological offenses such as idolatry Deuteronomy 5:8, sorcery and witchcraft Leviticus 20:13, and violating the laws of the Sabbath Exodus 31:14. There are at least thirty–six offenses for which the Torah authorizes the death penalty. In modern times it is difficult to countenance such a system. To understand the morality of biblical death penalty law, one must put it in context. In biblical times, there were no prisons. The options for punishment were fairly limited – flogging, execution, or fines. The offenses designated for capital punishment were those that threatened the lives of individuals or the very ethical and religious life of Jewish society. Capital punishment for murder represents the basic ethical principle that each life is valuable. Absent extraordinary circumstances, there is no right to take another person’s life. Executing the offender will not bring back the lost life, but it will reestablish the basic principle that intentional killing is wrong. It will also serve the fundamental practical purpose of preventing blood feuds. Capital punishment for idolatry and certain prohibited sexual offenses serves to save the spiritual life of a community. While one can certain debate which, if any, of the transgressions should still lead to the death penalty today, Judaism recognizes that life serves no purpose unless it is imbued with a fundamental morality. If one wants to be Jewish, one cannot be an idolater. If one wants to be Jewish, one cannot engage in sexual acts that threaten the propagation and moral norms of the Jewish people. Leviticus 20:2. (By Laurie L. Levenson, "Judaism and CriminalJustice" OXFORD 475-6

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GENESIS — 9:6 shed

GEN719 It was taught: “If one is pursuing his neighbor to hill him, he is to be told: ‘Take heed, it is a Jew you are pursuing, a son of the covenant; and the Torah says: “One who spills the blood of a man in a man, his blood shall be spilled”‘ – Save the blood of one man [the pursued] through the blood of another [the pursuer] Sanhedrin 72b. TEMIMAH-GEN 47

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