Download Religion and Ethics - Year 11-12 Studies of Religion 2Unit 2013-4

Religion and Ethics
JUDAISM
Jewish Ethics – Sources of Ethical
Authority
 The primary sources of Judaism are the Hebrew
Bible and Rabbinic literature.
 The Hebrew Bible is known as the TENACH (it does
not include the NT) – it has 3 parts:
1)Torah – Teachings
2) Neviim – Prophets
3) Ketuvim – Writings
 The MIDRASH is a form of ancient written biblical
commentary & interpretation – it often seeks to
uncover the hidden meaning of the Torah. It also
contains AGGADAH, which are stories, legends, wise
sayings, parables, prayers & other forms of writings
Jewish Ethics – Sources of Ethical
Authority
 Strictly speaking the Torah is the first five books of
the Tenach – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers &
Deuteronomy. However the word Torah is used in
several ways.
 Torah is usually translated by the word law but way of
life is more appropriate – to observant Jews, the
Torah is God’s gift – it is the communication of His
will for His people and the study and practice of it is
their privilege.
 While the Torah gives guidelines for moral behaviour,
applying those guidelines is often up to the individual.
 It includes matters of personal morality/ law
Jewish Ethics – Sources of Ethical
Authority
 HALACHAH is the Jewish Law, showing the way to
follow God, the route that God requires. It is the legal
tradition in Jewish religious writing.
 Beginning with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of
the Torah, the halachic tradition was expanded
through the clarification of the mitzvot through
centuries of the writings of the rabbis.
 Ten of the best known are the Ten Commandments
or Decalogue – these have never lost their value as
spiritual & moral guidelines for the Jewish people –
but modern problems see rabbis supply answers
where necessary in a way that is meaningful today.
Jewish Ethics – Sources of Ethical
Authority
 Pious Jews look to the Torah for guidance for all their
actions. But the mitzvot are open to a variety of
interpretations, so Jews study them carefully so that
they can understand them & grasp their wisdom.
 Halachah, with its detailed rules, became, in the time
of the rabbis the foundation of Jewish life. So
collections of these rules began to be made. Each
collection is called a MISHNAH. The Mishnah, then,
is the Oral Law established in written form. It has six
main divisions – one part the “Ethics of the Fathers”
deals solely with moral guidance. It contains a
number of sayings for Jews to follow.
Jewish Ethics – Sources of Ethical
Authority
 The Gemara is an Aramaic commentary on,
elaboration of, and scriptural underpinning of the
Mishnah. The Mishnah and Gemara are contained in
the TALMUD (from the Hebrew word to learn). The
Talmud is the most authoritative work of the Oral
Torah. It was written in the period 200-500 CE.
 As legal traditions came to be written down, so
narrative traditions were also recorded. The name
given to this narrative material is Aggadah (story
telling) – it is the non-legal tradition in Jewish
religious writing
Ethical Monotheism
 Judaism’s ethical mitzvot are standards of human
behaviour that lead people to lives of decency,
kindness, righteousness, justice, goodness &
compassion.
 They serve to elevate & enoble human relationships
& inspire people to strive for the highest good. The
Jewish “ethical code” is based on the authority of the
Author – this code is called ethical monotheism,
because the ethic, the standard of behaviour comes
from the One Lord God.
 God’s ethical commandments are not affected by
time or place – right / wrong are universal.
Ethical Monotheism
 Judaism’s ethical code – ethical monotheism –
comes from God – by following Judaism’s ethical
code, and by continually striving to ingrain and
observe its principles and moral mandate, observant
Jews come to understand and act on what God
expects of them – to be truly human and humane.
 The ethical and moral teachings of Judaism are
grounded in the Torah, “the rule of life”. In traditional
Jewish thinking, to live by the Torah is to live as a
religious Jew.
 Ultimately the Halachah is concerned with guiding
believers in right relationship with God/family/others
Jewish Beliefs
 The main principles of the Jewish ethical system are
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derived from the Tenach, the Talmud and the ongoing
rabbinical tradition:
1)the need for justice……….
2)act with piety……
3)act in a way that brings “shalom”………..
4)actions must be pervaded with compassion….
5)dietary laws
6)shabbat observance
7)Responsible for community they live in
8)the mitzvot – good deeds commanded by God
Jewish Beliefs
 9)ethics address the whole community…..
 10) divine retribution …………………
 Halachah is the fleshing out of the essence of ethical
living, so that it can be understood and actually lived
by the follower.
 At its core, though, the Halachah symbolises the very
ethical principles upon which Judaism is based.
 Basis of Jewish ethics is the belief that every human
is created in the image of God, and is therefore
worthy of respect & dignity
 It is important to be “intrinsically” ethical in person &
character
Jewish Beliefs
 according to Judaism a person uses morality and a
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system of ethics to reach in two directions:
1)proper conduct between an individual and God
2) proper conduct between two or more people
The first caters for the religious aspect of one’s life
and the second allows for an ethical and just society.
Both of these are derived form the Halachah and for
the Jewish person it provides an ethical and moral
framework for life.
Jews believe that when they keep God’s mitzvot, they
bring holiness into the world and prepare it for the
time when all human beings will know him.
Jewish Beliefs
 The Jews have a special assignment to act in such a
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way as to turn people towards an ethical God.
The Talmud speaks of three principles in life:
1) Torah or “learning”
2) Service of God – to be worshipped out of love not
fear
3) Performance of good deeds or charity
Keeping the mitzvot means leading a disciplined life.
Jews believe that by fulfilling the commandments,
they are communicating with God – they understand
the mitzvot to be God’s way of reaching out to
people.