The Star of David. Image from www.religion-cults.com
Judaism, although similar to Christianity and Islam in its history and origin, is a unique, fascinating, and captivating religion with a moral system that emphasizes justice, tolerance, and piety. The morality of the Jewish people has a lot to do with their deeds because they believe what they do in life has the most significant impact on whether they are moral people. The following sections represent some of the most important moral challenges that Jewish people face in trying to live in a good manner according to their religion.
Story of Origination
The beginnings of Judaism can be traced to Abraham, the first Hebrew. Jewish tradition says that Abraham was the first to reject the polytheistic culture of his day to preach monotheism. Because of this, G-d gave him children that would continue his lineage and the culture. Abraham fathered Ishmael (a patriarch of Islam) and Isaac, who in turn fathered more children. Thus, Judaism spread throughout the world and became a major world religion.
Aseret ha-Dibrot: The "Ten Commandments"
The word “commandment” in Jewish is “mitzvot”. The mitzvah are what the Jewish people are meant to follow and are the quintessential guidelines to living correctly. The phrase “aseret ha-dibrot” means the 10 Statements, which is how the Christian Ten Commandments are more commonly referred to. The 10 Statements, instead of commandments, are more specifically categories in which the 613 mitzvah are categorized. Jewish people believe that they cannot say that these ten commandments are the most important because they cannot determine what G-d thinks are the most important commandments. The 10 Statements below include the following:
Belief in G-d
Prohibition of improper worship
Prohibition of oaths
Shabbat (Sabbath)
Respect for parents and teachers
Prohibition of murder
Prohibition of adultery
Prohibition of theft
Prohibition of false witness
Prohibition of coveting
Anything that a Jewish person does that can be considered against the following guidelines is considered sinful. The 613 mitzvah encompass all of the specific details of what a person must do to be a morally upright Jewish person.
The Jewish Ten Statements are not equal to the Christian Ten Commandments. The connotations of some of the words in the Jewish version imply important differences. For example, instead of “kill”, they have “murder”. Judaism understands that killing is necessary in many circumstances (for food) but the malicious and violent connotations “murder” carries with it makes it prohibited to the Jewish people (which applies to animals as well as humans).
Some Jewish people oppose the placement of the (Christian/Catholic) Ten Commandments on public schools and government buildings because, first, it places more prominence on the Christian/Catholic view of Moses’ teachings than the Jewish peoples’. As Judaism 101 says, “When a government agency chooses one version over another, it implicitly chooses one religion over another, something that the First Amendment prohibits.”
Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws
Some people believe the dietary laws of Jewish people were created because of the health benefits they provided for people before the invention of the refrigerator. Although this is true, most Jewish authorities believe that the primary reason that the practice of eating kosher foods is simply because G-d wanted it so.
Some of the more prominent food laws include the following:
Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.
Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).
Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.
Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.
These restrictions, although they seem strict, also have a lot of moral implications. Jewish people are not allowed to consume the blood of any animal (excluding fish…go figure) because the blood holds the life of the animal within it, and to consume it would be brutal. Also, to be kosher, animals must be slaughtered humanely (quickly and with as little pain to the animal as possible). Grape products also are a threat to morality because wine used in non-Jewish ceremonies could appear in pagan rituals which supported actions such as non-kosher animal sacrifice.
Treatment of Animals
The Jewish people believe that the treatment of animals is of the utmost importance to a person’s moral state. In many cases, animals are supposed to be treated with the same care as a human being. Jewish tradition teaches this because their three greatest prophets, Jacob, Moses and David, were all shepherds and protectors of their flock, while two great villains, Esau and Nimrod, were hunters.
Another reason they support ethical treatment of animals is because the way a person treats animals reflects how they treat their fellow human beings. As Judaism 101 states, “A person who is cruel to a defenseless animal will undoubtedly be cruel to defenseless people, and a person who cares for the lowest of creatures will certainly care for his fellow man.”
Judaism does not teach, however, that all killing is prohibited. It realizes that animals are needed for food, clothes, etc. so the idea of “kosher slaughtering” is introduced. If the animal is killed in a way which minimizes time and suffering and there is legitimate need to kill the animal, it is permissible. Judaism 101 states that, “Hunting for sport is strictly prohibited and hunting and trapping for legitimate needs is permissible only when it is done in the least painful way possible.”
Animal sacrifices were considered acceptable traditions to Judaism because sacrifices were only performed at certain times (religious ceremonies) in a kosher fashion. Animal sacrifices are no longer practiced today because the only place an animal could be sacrificed was in a certian place determined by G-d (the last place was the Temple which was destroyed).
Some Key Terms
Commandment (mitzvot), Covenant, Kosher, Law, Torah
Tzedakah: Charity
Charity is one of the most important, yet one of the most complex, ideas of Jewish morality. While most charity today is viewed as a benevolent (or non-necessary) act, Jewish tradition teaches that charity is a necessity of fairness and justice: the duty to give those in need what they need.
Jewish people are required to give one tenth of their earnings, or a tithe, (after taxes) to a charitable organization, which may include a government organization, synagogues, or even to family members below or above the age of self-reliance.
There are different levels on which a person can give to charity:
Giving begrudgingly
Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully
Giving after being asked
Giving before being asked
Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant
The farther down this list a Jewish person's charity resides, the more morally respectable that person is because they follow the commandment in a more generous spirit.
War
Judaism believes that war should be avoided because “peace is everywhere recommended and urged as the highest boon of man” (Wikipedia - “Jewish Ethics”). Also violence is, in general, frowned upon by the Jewish faith because the first part of the Last Judgment asks, “whether one has dealt justly with his neighbor”.
Speech and Lashon Ha-Ra
In Jewish customs and religion, the power of speech is revered as a powerful tool for creation and destruction. That G-d himself created the world by his speech demonstrates to them the immense power it can wield. The act of false/hurtful speech is in many ways worse than theft or cheating because when a person uses speech as a weapon, it is impossible to repair. Also, gossip and false speech is detestable because it has the power to separate people, which is against Jewish teaching. This mitzvot teaches that anything that a person tells you is considered a secret unless the direct permission of the person says otherwise. That means everything else you say from another person is considered tale-bearing and is sinful. In fact, it is immoral for a person to even listen to gossip for, “no harm could be done by gossip if no one listened to it.” (Judaism 101)
Tale-bearing is sometimes allowed, in the instances where human life is directly and immediately in danger, when you are called for in a Jewish court of law, or if a person is entering a relationship without important knowledge of the person, among other circumstances.
Kosher Sex
There are many important differences of the Jewish “kosher sex” to Catholic “chastity”, while they also have similarities. The two religions both believe that having a meaningful connection, marriage, love, and desire are all important factors.
One of the main differences lies in the Jewish belief in contraception. Jewish custom believes that contraception is acceptable so long as the couple plan to have children at some point in their marriage (the best is two children…one of each gender). Forms of contraception that block the passage of the “seed” are not permitted because it is destructive to the “seed”. Some believe that the use of condoms should be permitted because it hinders the transmission of STD’s to uninfected partners, but there is no definitive authority on this argument.
Furthermore, Jewish law not only permits abortion, but in some cases, it requires abortion. In cases where the mother would die if she gave birth to the baby, Jewish tradition requires that the mother has an abortion, because, “An unborn child has the status of "potential human life" until the majority of the body has emerged from the mother. Potential human life is valuable, and may not be terminated casually, but it does not have as much value as a life in existence.” (Judaism 101)
Finally, Judaism and Christianity coincide in the matter of homosexuality. They both agree that homosexuality is not sinful in itself, but the act of homosexuality is immoral (similar to heterosexuality outside of marriage). Judaism 101 goes on to say that men with homosexual tendencies are more worthy of merit for abstaining than men who do not have this tendency.
This brief overview of Jewish tradition concerning moral and immoral acts shows us how morality plays a vital role in Jewish life.
"Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof. Image from www.musicals.org.uk