Jewish Ethics
Jewish Ethics: Conduct, Virtue, and Community
Jewish ethics are found in a complex dialogue between codes of conduct for day-to-day living, individual virtue, and communal engagement. On the 'codes of conduct' side of the equation, traditional Judaism embraces not only the Ten Commandments laid out in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 20:2-14), but an overall list of 613 commandments laid out in various passages throughout the Torah (the Hebrew Bible) – commandments which are themselves elaborated upon at great length by later traditions of Rabbis in the Talmud, and other texts concerned with providing detailed guidelines for proper action and right-living. While not all contemporary Jewish congregations adhere to all of these ideas, they do mirror a genuine commitment to the link between community, guidelines for day-to-day conduct (aimed at inspiring right actions), and the capacity for virtuous living.
"Repairing the World": Judaism and Activism
Inspired by the teachings of a certain strand of Jewish mysticism in the 16th century ("Lurianic Kabbalah"), many Jewish communities today speak in particular of Jewish ethics, and the deep concern for 'right action,' in terms of "Tîkkûn ‘Ôlam" (a Hebrew phrase which literally translates as, "Repairing the World"). Leaving aside the particular mystical teachings which gave rise to this concept, the idea, as it is embraced in many Jewish communities today, is that living a good Jewish life is primarily about making the whole world a better place – an insight which has tended to foster strong social, political, and – more recently – environmental activism on the part of many Jewish congregations, as well as on the part of individual Jewish practitioners within those communities.
Rules and Virtue: Hand-in-Hand
One of the biggest misunderstandings of Jewish ethics comes in thinking that for Jews, "following rules" is the bottom line, and that, as such, Judaism is not essentially a virtue-based system of ethics. This caricature – which needlessly opposes "rules" and "virtue" – could not be further from the truth. Unfortunately, this widespread and misleading picture of Judaism as a religion-of-rules in contrast to a religion-of-virtue reflects a certain sustained anti-Jewish polemic designed to suggest that Judaism is an outdated religion superseded by Christianity. Looking at things, though, without this polemical lens in place, we might say, rather, that within Jewish tradition properly and fairly understood, "following rules" and "being virtuous" go hand-in-hand.
To see this idea of how following rules and being virtuous go together in any proper understanding of Jewish ethics, it might be helpful to reflect upon the writings of three very different Jewish thinkers:
In The Guide of the Perplexed, Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) explains that the Torah – with all its rules for living – is aimed primarily at three goals:
- to abolish wrongdoing between people,
- to foster noble moral virtues within the hearts of people, and
- to communicate certain correct beliefs, itself in the service of helping with goals 1 and 2 listed above.
In his analysis, it is clear that the laws of the Torah are important to the extent that they foster inter-human care and flourishing human communities – in large part by fostering noble human virtues within the hearts of people. This is quite different from saying that Judaism is simply about following rules.
The reminder that Judaism is not primarily about following rules is seen even more emphatically in the 20th century Jewish existentialist Martin Buber, where we find a decided and repeated focus on inter-human encounter as the key to Jewish life: Buber stresses again and again (for example in his book, I and Thou) that it is a certain reflective engagement (and a deep tendency for that kind of engagement) with people in our midst – as well as with the world around us – that lies at the heart of Jewish ethics. As Buber makes clear, seeing the Torah as a book about "following rules" is to miss the point of Jewish ethics completely. In this regard, we might speak of Jewish ethics in terms of a rather complex virtue, namely: "feeling the pressing call to respond to others and to the world around me."
This point is brought home by Hayyim Vital (1542-1620), a 17th century Jewish thinker, who clarifies (in his work, The Gates of Holiness) that it is virtue, and not rules, which constitute the heart of Jewish ethics. Vital explains the relation of following-rules and being-virtuous in Jewish ethical tradition in his observation that the person who attains a virtuous heart will of their own accord live according to the codes of conduct upon which the Torah elaborates. Here again, it is virtue, and not rule-following per se, which lies at the core of Jewish ethics.
Resolving Conflict
While Rabbis are not seen as having any special powers in Jewish tradition, they are seen as people (traditionally men, but more recently in many Jewish denominations, men and women) of great practical wisdom – people who have developed insights with respect to human goodness and issues in day-to-day living on the basis of having studied in great depth the teachings of the Torah, and the ethical deliberations and insights of Jewish Rabbis and philosophers throughout the ages. It is in this light that Jewish practitioners are encouraged to consult with a Rabbi for help in resolving conflicts, and for guidance on a range of issues in day-to-day life. Rabbis give advice and make rulings based on careful consulting and consideration of texts in the Jewish tradition, as well as careful consideration of the particular circumstances of the unique person coming to them for help. Abortion, for example, is not a cut-and-dried issue within Jewish law, and has to do as much with a more complicated understanding of "the beginning of life" in Jewish Law, as it has to do with the circumstances of the woman who is involved: Rabbis, for example, will almost always allow for abortion in cases of rape, as well as in cases where the fetus poses a threat to the mother’s life, and will sometimes even allow abortions in cases where the woman in question is suffering great emotional distress given her particular circumstances.
Conclusion
In general, the Jewish approach to living is very concerned about the details of day-to-day life (including following various commandments, rules, and codes-of-conduct) precisely because it is so concerned to make the world a better and more just place, and so concerned to foster the sorts of people who will strive towards that goal. The fact that it values a number of laws should not mislead one to think that Judaism sees ethics as a question of "following laws." On the contrary, Jewish thinkers through the ages have stressed the importance of social justice, repairing the world, and becoming the kind of person who feels the call of these sorts of concerns on a day-to-day basis.
Martin Buber. I and Thou. Translated by R.G. Smith. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1937. Maimonides. The Guide of the Perplexed. Translated by Chaim Rabin. London: East & West Library, 1952