Chapter II: General Moral Principles (1)

The Ten Commandments, flowing as it were from the one source, “I am the Lord thy God,” branch off in all directions, and penetrate all man’s relations, guide him in his conduct towards God, towards his fellow-men and towards himself, and teach him how to rule his thought, his speech, and his actions. When the Almighty proclaims to us, “I am the Lord thy God,” we willingly respond, “Thou art my God.” But this declaration involves also duties on our part, the fulfilment of which is the natural consequence and the verification of our response. If our words, “Thou art my God,” come from our hearts, and are not empty sounds, uttered merely by the lips, we must be conscious of the duties they impose on us. These are:—

A. Duties towards God, as our Master, Creator, and Father. B. Duties towards our fellow-men, as children of one God. C. Duties towards ourselves, as the object of God’s Providence.

A. DUTIES TOWARDS GOD.

(a.) Duties of the Heart.

1. Fear of God. יראת השם—The true knowledge of God, of His Wisdom and Greatness, as visible in His works, leads us to fear God; that is, to fear doing anything that might displease Him and make us unworthy of His love. It is not a fear that terrifies us and drives us away from His presence; on the contrary, it draws us nearer to Him, and causes us to try to become more and more worthy of His love.

“And now, O Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God?” (Deut. x. 12).

“If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this name which is to be honoured and revered, the Lord thy God; then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful” (Deut. xxviii. 58).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. i. 7).

“The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (Ps. cxi. 10).

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. viii. 13).

“The fear of the Lord prolongeth days” (Prov. x. 27).

“Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccles. xii. 13).

“He who possesses learning but is without fear of God, resembles a treasurer who has the key for the inner door, but not for the outer one” (Babyl. Talm. Sabb. 31b).

“Everything is in the hand of God except the fear of God” (Babyl. Talm. Ber. 33b). [32]

2. Love of God. אהבת השם—The true fear of God is associated with the love of God. The latter means the constant longing for communion with Him, feeling happy and joyful when with Him, but unhappy and miserable when without Him. Love of God creates in us an anxiety to do everything in our power that might please the Almighty. He who is filled with love of God is חסיד, pious; he does not rest content with doing what he is commanded, but anxiously seeks the opportunity of fulfilling a Divine command; he is רודף אחר המצות, “eager in the pursuit of Mitsvoth.” The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge, but love of God is the aim and end of all our religious thinking and striving.

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. vi. 5).

“The Lord preserveth all those who love him (Ps. cxlv. 20).

“Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fulness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. xvi. 11).

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Ps. xlii. 2).

“Blessed are they who dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee” (Ps. lxxxiv. 5).

“The desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee” (Isa. xxvi. 8).

“I will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. iii. 18).

3. Gratitude towards God.—All that we possess, the very breath we breathe, is a present received at the hands of the Almighty. Whatever success we desire to achieve, whatever undertaking we desire to accomplish, we must ourselves first strive for it to the utmost of our power, and this done, we may hope for the Divine blessing. When we have attained what we sought, we are warned against believing that “our power and the strength of our hand hath gotten us this wealth.” We are to “remember the Lord our God, for it is he that giveth us power to get wealth” (Deut. viii. 17–18).

“For all things come of thee, and of thine own hand have we given thee” (1 Chron. xxix. 14).

“Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me” (Ps. l. 23).

“Though all sacrifices should cease, the sacrifice of thanksgiving will never cease” (Vayyikra Rabba ix.).

4. Reverence for His Name.—The more we fear and love God, the deeper and the more intense is our feeling of reverence for everything which is connected in our thoughts with the name of the Almighty. Whenever we enter a place dedicated to His worship, or open the Book that bears His name, or celebrate the days set apart as “seasons of the Lord,” this feeling of reverence overcomes us, and finds expression in our conduct. The reverence for the name of God impels us also to respect ministers and teachers who spend their life in spreading the knowledge of God and His Will.

“How awful is this place! this is none other but the house of God” (Gen. xxviii. 17).

“I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple” (Ps. v. 8).

“When I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our God” (Deut. xxxii. 3).

5. Obedience to the Will of God.—Whatever the Almighty, whom we love and fear, bids us do, we not only do, but find pleasure in doing.

“To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam. xv. 22, 23).

“But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people” (Jer. vii. 23).

“Thy statutes have been my song in the house of my pilgrimage” (Ps. cxix. 54).

“Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (Ps. cxix. 111).

“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened; burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come with the volume of the book written for me: I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is written within my heart” (Ps. xl. 7–9).

6. Faith and Confidence in God.—God is All-kind, All-wise, and All-powerful. The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all His creatures: He wills that which is good for us. Being All-wise, He knows best what is good for us, and by what means it can be attained; being All-powerful, He can always carry His Will into effect. He is, therefore, the only Being to whom we can safely entrust ourselves everywhere and always. In His words and commands, exhortations and warnings, we have the best and surest guide through life. Our confidence in God causes us to turn to Him for help in time of need, and for comfort in time of sorrow.

“Into his hand I commend my spirit, when I sleep and when I wake; and with my spirit my body also: the Lord is for me, and I shall not fear” (Daily Prayers, Morning Service).

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is” (Jer. xvii. 7).

“Trust in the Lord, and do good” (Ps. xxxvii. 3).

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; and wait on the Lord” (Ps. xxvii. 14).

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Ps. xxiii. 1).

7. Resignation to the Will of God.—Trusting in God’s goodness, we are contented with the lot which He determined for us. When we are prosperous we hope for His protection, lest we become corrupted and unworthy of His goodness; when we fail, faith in God will keep us from despair and encourage us to fresh attempts; when misfortune befalls us which it is impossible for us to remedy, we resign ourselves unto His Will, and say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away! blessed be the Name of the Lord!”

“My flesh and my heart failed; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever” (Ps. lxxiii. 26).

“I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercy is great” (2 Sam. xxiv. 14).

“We are bound to bless God in evil even as we bless Him in good fortune. It is written: ‘And thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might’ (Deut. vi. 5); love Him with all thy soul or life—i.e., even though for His sake thou risk thy life; and with all thy wealth—that is, whatever measure He metes out to thee, acknowledge with exceeding gratitude” [33] (Mishnah Berachoth ix. 5).

(b.) Duties towards God: In Speech.

The feelings of fear and love of God, of reverence, obedience, faith, gratitude, and resignation, must also find adequate expression in our speech. God, the Omniscient, knows our thoughts and sentiments, and there would be no necessity for giving them an outward expression, if we only intended thereby to make them known to the Almighty. But as in our relations to our fellow-men—e.g., to our parents or to our children—we frequently, in obedience to an irresistible impulse, communicate to them in words what we think and what we feel, even when convinced that we only tell them things well known to them already, so we address the Almighty, who is everywhere near unto us, and listens to our speech, although our wishes are known to Him before we utter them, and our innermost feelings are open before Him before we express them in words. We are aware that there is an immeasurable difference between the Divine Being and earthly creatures like ourselves. We know that He is not subject to human weaknesses, and that the audible sound of words cannot move Him more than the thoughts and feelings that prompt the words to come forth. And yet the mere communion of our heart with our Creator does not satisfy us; we feel ourselves impelled by some inner force to give it an outward expression. Besides, there is a constant interaction between our thoughts and our spoken words. Thoughts and feelings that remain unspoken, are seldom permanent: we soon cease to be conscious of them ourselves, and they often disappear without leaving any trace behind them, whilst sentiments and ideas expressed in spoken words become strengthened and take a deeper and firmer root in our hearts. The relationship between our lips and our heart is therefore of mutual benefit to both: the words uttered with the lips receive their value and importance from the heart, and the emotions of the heart derive strength and support from the lips.

1. Prayer.—All our feelings and sentiments towards the Almighty, our love and fear, faith and confidence, gratitude and resignation, find in Divine worship their due expression. When our soul is full of the love of God, and yearns for His presence, we call upon Him in hymns and songs of praise, and He is “nigh to all them who call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth” (Ps. cxlv. 18).

“I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have any being. Let my meditation be sweet unto him: I will rejoice in the Lord” (Ps. civ. 33, 34).

“Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely” (Ps. cxlvii. 1).

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. xxxiv. 2).

“O Lord, open my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise” (Ps. li. 17)

Our desire to please Him whom we love sincerely, our longing for an opportunity to do what is good in His eyes, ought not to remain hidden and silent. The sooner and the more frequently we give expression to these wishes in audible words, the sooner do they become realised, and the sooner are the promptings of our heart followed by deeds.

“With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth” (Ps. cxix. 13).

“How sweet are thy words unto my palate! yea, sweeter to my mouth than honey” (Ps. cxix. 103).

“Let my tongue sing of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness” (Ps. cxix. 172).

We fear lest we offend and displease Him by our words or acts; we recall to our mind the holiness of a God “who has no pleasure in wickedness, and with whom evil shall not sojourn” (Ps. v. 5); we not only meditate on the Holy One, but speak and sing of Him. Our meditation finds expression in songs on the holiness of God, and these songs again supply fresh material for meditation; we thus hope to fence and guard our heart against the intrusion of anything unworthy of the presence of the Most Holy.

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps. xxiv. 3, 4).

“I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar” (Ps. xxvi. 6).

Our weakness and helplessness in many conditions of life fill us with trouble and care. When we enjoy good health, we fear a change might take place; in possession of wealth, we are in anxiety: it might be taken from us. The pleasures of home and family we know to be but temporary: how soon may sorrow visit us there! From all these fears and anxieties we seek and find refuge in Him, who is “a stronghold to the weak, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Ps. ix. 10). We tell Him confidently all the troubles and cares of our heart, as we would do to a friend who is always willing and ready to help us. We have faith in God, and therefore we approach Him with our petitions; and when we have poured forth our heart before the All-merciful we feel more at ease, and our faith and confidence have gained in strength.

“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him” (Ps. xci. 15).

“When they have cried unto the Lord in their trouble, he will save them out of their distresses” (Ps. cvii. 6).

“Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. When I find trouble and sorrow, then will I call upon the name of the Lord. When I take the cup of salvation, then will I call upon the name of the Lord” (Ps. cxvi. 2, 4, 13).

“What sufferings may be called chastisements of love? Such as do not prevent us from prayer” (Babyl. Talm. Ber. 5a).

“Even when the edge of the sword touches already a man’s neck, even then he must not abandon his faith in praying to God” (Babyl. Talm. Ber. 10a).

“‘I was asleep, but my heart was awake;’ I have no sacrifices, but I have ‘Shema’ and ‘Prayer’” (Shir ha-shirim Rabba on v. 2).

“‘Hope in the Lord,’ and pray again” (Rabboth, Deuter., chap. ii.).

Our Rabbis teach, “Prayer is good for man both before his fate has been decreed and after it has been decreed” (Babyl. Talm. Rosh-hashshanah, p. 16a). But at the same time we are warned against impatiently expecting and demanding an immediate effect from the words uttered by our lips, however devoutly they may have been spoken. Such expectation—denounced in the Talmud as עיון תפלה [34]—would indicate our confidence in the wisdom of our petition, whilst confidence in the wisdom and goodness of God would suggest that “the Lord will do what is good in his eyes.”

We give expression to our feelings of gratitude towards our benefactor by acknowledging the fact, that whatever we enjoy, we are enabled to enjoy through His kindness. The various blessings formulated by our Sages serve a double purpose: first, they facilitate the expression of our feelings; secondly, they remind us of the presence of the Almighty, and of His goodness in providing for us and all His creatures. From the time we awake in the morning till the evening when we lie down to sleep, there is not a moment that does not bring to our knowledge some Divine act of kindness towards us. In the morning we perceive the benefit of light, in the evening we have reason to welcome the blessing of repose it brings with it, while the interval between the two periods constantly reveals to him who does not wilfully shut his eyes the hand of Him “who is good, and whose loving-kindness endureth for ever.”

“I will give thanks to thee, for thou hast answered me, and art become my salvation” (Ps. cxviii. 21).

“I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanks giving” (Jon. ii. 10).

“Though all prayers were to be discontinued, prayers of thanksgiving will never be discontinued” (Vayyikra Rabba, chap. ix.).

When things happen which are not pleasant to us, which give us pain and sorrow, we ought to consider that the plans of God are different from our plans, and His ways from our ways, and what He wills is better for us than our own wishes. With resignation, without murmuring, we ought to utter words of praise and thanks to the Almighty.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job i. 21).

“Learn to say, ‘Whatever the Almighty does, is done for our good’” (Babyl. Talm. Ber. 60b).

Public Service.—Man has a natural desire to communicate his sentiments to his fellow-men, and finds a certain pleasure or relief in knowing that others share in his joys and sorrows. The same is the case with regard to his sentiments towards the Most High. If, yearning for communion with God, we fervently appeal to Him in solitude, where we are undisturbed by the intrusion of any other person, it will not be long before we shall feel ourselves in the very presence of Him who is “nigh to all those who call upon him in truth.” Standing before the Almighty, the Creator and Master of the whole Universe as well as of ourselves, we should like all nature to join in His praises, and we summon the inhabitants of the heavens above, His angels and hosts, sun, moon, and all the stars of light; and the dwellers on earth below, inanimate and animate, irrational and rational, kings with their peoples, to come and to praise the name of God (Ps. cxlviii.). Such moments of solitary devotion are very precious, and are by no means to be despised. But they are not frequent, and not always successful. Public worship has this advantage, that the object of our meeting, the holiness of the place, and the union in a worship with our fellow-men combine to create, maintain, or intensify our devotion. Although each one has his individual wants, joys, and sorrows, there are many wants, joys, and sorrows which we have all in common, and concerning which we may in common give expression to our feelings in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.

“Bless ye the Lord in congregations” (Ps. lxviii. 27).

“If ten pray together, the presence of God is with them” (Babyl. Talm. Ber. 6a).

“‘But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time’ (Ps. lxix. 14): which is the acceptable time? The time of public worship” (Babyl. Talm. Ber. 8a).

2. Study of the Law (תלמוד תורה).—Another way of employing speech in the service of the Lord is the reading and the study of the Word of God: the Holy Scriptures and their Commentaries. Our love and reverence of God ought to induce us frequently to consult the book which contains His commandments, and which He has given us as a guide and companion. Even if we derived no further benefit than the consciousness of having spent some time in reading His Word revealed to us by the mouth of the Prophets, the time thus spent would not be wasted. But we derive a further advantage. It is impossible to imagine that our devoting a certain time, however short it may be, to the reading of the words of the Most Holy should have no purifying influence upon us, provided we approach the book before us with due reverence, and with the intention to be guided by its teachings.

Joshua, when placed at the head of the nation, is exhorted by the Almighty as follows: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein” (Joshua i. 8).

“As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord: my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.” (Is. lix., 21)

3. Teaching.—The gift of speech is of service also in communicating our thoughts, feelings, and convictions to our fellow-men. They who are able to read the Word of God and to understand it, ought to read and expound it to those who are less favoured; they who feel the presence of God, and comprehend His holiness, goodness, and unity, ought to direct the hearts of their brethren to God, His words and works. It is a special duty and privilege of the Jew to proclaim and teach the Existence and the Unity of God—יחוד הבורא.

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up” (Deut. vi. 7).

“Happy are we! how goodly is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful our heritage! Happy are we who early and late, morning and evening, twice every day, declare, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One’!” (Daily Prayers, Morning Service).

4. Reverence of the Name of God.—The mention of the name of God ought to make us most careful about that which we utter in connection with it. If a person makes a promise or statement on oath carelessly or with levity, he shows that he has no reverence of the name of God; no fear of God. It is only through such irreverence that a person is capable of breaking the third commandment. Blasphemy, a sin treated in the Bible as a capital crime, has likewise its source in want of due reverence of God’s name. In order to preserve and strengthen that reverence we must avoid pronouncing the Divine name too frequently. Hence arose the custom of substituting such words as השם “the Name,” המקום “the Omnipresent,” for the names of God, and employing in ordinary writing letters like ה or ד or יי instead of any of the Divine names. In writing single letters instead of the full names we also intend to guard ourselves against causing irreverence towards the name of God; as our writing is frequently destroyed or liable to be thrown among the refuse. This precaution, dictated by a feeling of reverence for God and His name, serves at the same time to strengthen that feeling. [35]

From the same reason, the word which is exclusively used as a name of God, the Tetragrammaton, [36] was rarely pronounced, and in reading the Bible the word Adonai, “My Lord,” is substituted wherever it occurs. It was only pronounced in the Temple by the High-priest on the Day of Atonement, in the Confession of Sins, and in the Prayer for Forgiveness; and by the ordinary priests when they blessed the people in accordance with the Divine precepts (Num. vi. 24–26). Since the destruction of the Temple the Tetragrammaton has not been pronounced, and thus it has come about that the right pronunciation of the word is at present unknown.

5. The consciousness that we frequently address the Almighty with our lips, and read His Holy Word, ought to make us strive for the utmost purity and holiness in our speech. When the prophet Isaiah, in a Divine vision, perceived the majesty of the Most High, and heard the sound of His ministering angels proclaiming His holiness, a sense of his own failings forced even from this chosen messenger of God the confession, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man, unclean in lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people unclean in lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. vi. 5).

Duties towards God: In our Actions.

Rabbi Jose teaches, “Let all thy deeds be in the service of heaven,” כל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים (Sayings of the Fathers, ii. 12).

The feeling of love and fear of God which fills our heart and soul, and to which we frequently give expression in words, must also be visible in our actions. Our whole life must be devoted to His service, and ought to be one continuous worship of God. Every act of ours must aim at the sanctification of His name. He has revealed unto us His Will, and shown us the way in which we should walk; unconditional submission to His guidance and strict obedience to His command should distinguish the people of the Lord. True love of God and faith in His goodness make us “bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a stag, and strong as a lion to carry out the will of our Father in heaven” (Sayings of the Fathers, v. 20). For what could be the value of our professions of love for God, if we refused to listen attentively to His voice, to walk in the way He has prepared for us, or to observe His statutes? From this point of view we may consider all our duties as duties towards God, since their fulfilment implies obedience to His Will. But there are certain duties which chiefly or exclusively concern our relations to God. Such duties are: the observance of Sabbath and Festivals, providing reminders of God’s Presence, establishing and supporting Public Worship, sanctifying God’s Name (קדוש השם), and imitating His ways. Of these duties, the first three will be fully treated in special sections.

The sanctification of God’s Name is a duty incumbent on all mankind, but it is incumbent on us Jews in a higher degree, for we are called the people of the Lord, the chosen people, a holy nation, and a kingdom of priests. We sanctify the name of God by remaining faithful to Him and to His Word, resisting every kind of force or temptation to turn us away from our faith, making sacrifices for our holy religion, and conducting ourselves in such a manner that our fellow-men may become convinced that the tree of our Law bears good and holy fruit. Every action that brings disgrace upon us as Israelites, and causes our neighbours to despise “the people of the Lord, who profess to be the guardians of the revealed Torah,” is חלול השם “Profanation of the Name of God.” “And ye shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel” (Lev. xxii. 32).

“Profanation of the name of God is a greater sin even than idolatry” (Babyl. Talm. Sanhedrin 106a).

Imitating the Ways of God.—We know that God is perfect, and that all His ways are perfect; we are conscious also of our weakness and of the impossibility of ever becoming perfect. But this conviction must not deter us from seeking perfection as far as our nature permits it, or from setting before us the ways of God as an example for us to follow, as the aim which should direct the course of our life, the balance in which to weigh our actions, and the test by which to determine their value.

“Ye shall be holy; for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev. xix. 2).

“I set the Lord always before me” (Ps. xvi. 8).

“‘Ye shall walk after the Lord your God’ (Deut. xiii. 5). Is it possible for man to walk after the Lord? Has it not been said, ‘The Lord thy God is a consuming fire’? (ibid. iv. 24). The meaning of the verse, however, is this: Follow the ways of God: He clothes the naked, as we are told, ‘And the Lord God made coats of skin for Adam and his wife’ (Gen. iii. 21); do the same. He visits the sick, as is indicated in the words, ‘And God appeared to him in the plain of Mamre’ (ibid. xviii. 1); you must also visit the sick. He comforts the mourners, as appears from the passage, ‘And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaak’ (ibid. xxv. 11); do the same, and comfort mourners,” &c. (Babyl. Talm. Sotah 14a).

It may happen that we are sometimes disposed to exclude a fellow-man from our brotherly love. It would be against human nature to love those who have hurt or wronged us. But, on the other hand, we are taught that we must keep our heart free from feelings of revenge and hatred. If an offence has been committed against us by our brother, the Law directs us as follows: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt surely reprove thy neighbour, and not bear sin against him. Thou shalt not revenge, and thou shalt not keep a grudge against the children of thy people, but love thy fellow-man like thyself: I am the Lord” (Lev. xix. 17, 18). The traditional interpretation illustrates revenge and grudge in the following way: If your neighbour, after having been unkind to you, is in need of your assistance, and you refuse it on the ground of his want of kindness towards you, you are guilty of revenge; if you grant him his request, but at the same time remind him of his unkind conduct, you are guilty of “bearing a grudge against your neighbour.” (Sifra, ad locum.)

B.—DUTIES TOWARDS OUR FELLOW-CREATURES.

(a.) Duties towards our Fellow-men in General.

“Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?” (Mal. ii. 10). “Thou shalt love thy fellow-man as thyself” (Lev. xix. 18). These are the sentiments which, according to the Will of God, ought to guide us in our relation to our fellow-men. When, therefore, a Gentile came to Hillel and asked him to explain to him in one moment the duties which Judaism enjoins on its adherents, he replied, “What is displeasing to thee, that do thou not to others. This is the text of the Law; all the rest is commentary; go and learn” (Babyl. Talm. Shabbath 31a). In a different form this idea has been expressed by Rabbi Akiba and by Ben-Azai, who respectively quoted as a fundamental principle of the Law, “Love thy neighbour as thyself,” and “This is the book of the generations of man; in the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God” (Yalkut on Gen. v. 1).

From this principle we derive the following general maxims with regard to our neighbour’s (1) life and health, (2) property, (3) honour, and (4) well-being:—

1. Life and Health of our Fellow-man.—Life is a precious treasure which the Almighty has given us; if it is once taken from us, no man is able to restore it. Among the first lessons revealed to man in Scripture is the value of the life of a human being, created by God in His own likeness, and when the first murder had been committed, God said to the murderer, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood is heard that crieth unto me from the ground” (Gen, iv. 10). The first commandment in the second section of the Decalogue is directed against this crime: “Thou shalt not murder.” The significance of these words, the general lessons implied in this commandment, and the extent to which a person, though not an actual murderer, may become guilty of having broken this commandment, have already been explained in the chapter on the Ten Commandments (p. 261). It has been shown how the sixth commandment forbade—

(1.) The taking of the life of a fellow-man by violent means. (2.) The doing of anything by which the health, the peace, and the well-being of our fellow-man is undermined. (3.) The omission of any act in our power to save our fellow-man from direct or indirect danger of life.

2. The Property of our Neighbour.—The eighth commandment in its wider sense comprehends all our relations to our neighbour’s property. It prohibits, as has been shown above (p. 263), the appropriation of anything that belongs to our neighbour—

(1.) By theft and robbery, or (2.) By any kind of fraud and dishonesty.

Our Sages teach: “Let the property of thy fellow-man be as dear to thee as thine own” (Aboth ii. 12); i.e., you do not like to see your own property damaged, diminished, or destroyed; so it would be wrong if you were to cause loss and ruin to your fellow-man, whether you did it directly or indirectly. [37] Let every one enjoy the labour of his hands; partake of the gifts of the earth and the Divine blessings as much as his physical and mental powers enable him to do in a righteous manner.

It is not only direct illegal appropriation of our neighbour’s goods that is condemned as theft or robbery; it is equally wicked to buy things which one knows to have been stolen by others. [38] He who does it is worse than the thief; for, whilst the latter injures only the person whom he robs, the former encourages and corrupts the thief, hardens his heart, helps to silence the voice of his conscience, and thus obstructs the way to repentance and improvement.

There are transactions which are legal and do not involve any breach of the law, and which are yet condemned by the principles of morality as base and disgraceful. Such are all transactions in which a person takes advantage of the ignorance or embarrassment of his neighbour for the purpose of increasing his own property. Usurers frequently belong to this low and heartless class of society. The worst thing, however, they do is, that they plan the ruin of others; in many cases they bring about disaster by inducing young and inexperienced persons to borrow money and to spend it in luxuries, or increase the embarrassment of the distressed by charging exorbitant interest and imposing cruel conditions, which make it impossible for those who have once fallen into the hands of usurers to free themselves from their bondage.

It makes no difference whatever whether the victim be a Jew or a non-Jew; the transaction is equally condemnable, and the usurer equally wicked. This statement would be superfluous, were it not for the misunderstanding that exists both among some of our co-religionists and among non-Jews with regard to the principle it involves. Great stress is laid in the Pentateuch on the prohibition of taking interest for advances of money or articles of food. “And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with thee. Take thou no interest of him, or increase: but fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord your God,” &c. (Lev. xxv. 35–38; comp. Exod. xxii. 24).—It is one of the characteristics of the pious who is worthy to “abide in the tabernacle of God,” that “he putteth not out his money to usury” (Ps. xv. 5).

The strict prohibition to take interest on advances of money or goods served a twofold purpose. In the first place, the surplus money of the wealthy was to be employed in disinterested charity. Secondly, labour and activity, both physical and mental, were to be the sources of income and wealth for the individual as well as for the whole nation; money without labour was not to bear any fruit or produce any increase.

An exception from this law was made for the benefit of the stranger. The inhabitants of a town or a country who lived in the midst of their relatives, friends, and countrymen could, as a rule, be trusted to return the loan in due time. If they were not known themselves, they could find persons who would recognise them or even offer themselves as security for them. It was different with the stranger (הנכרי) “who came from a far land” (Deut. xxix. 21); he was not known; he was, as a rule, without friends; he had none to offer security for him. [39] When in need, therefore, he would be unlikely to obtain a loan, if the lender were not permitted in such cases to take interest as compensation for risking the capital itself. The same reason explains also a second exception made in the law with regard to a stranger when a debtor. The payment of old debts is, as a rule, a great hardship to the insolvent, especially at a time when the benefit derived from the loan has already been forgotten. It was therefore ordained that every seven years a remission of all debts should take place. The debtor that lived in the country could easily be urged or forced to pay his debts, and the creditor could safely expect that he would receive his money before the year of release began. This was not the case with the stranger, who might with impunity keep out of sight for some time before the beginning of the seventh year: a circumstance that increased the uncertainty of the repayment, and would have rendered it almost impossible for a stranger to enjoy the benefit of a loan in times of temporary embarrassment, but for the exception made in his case from the law commanding the remission of all debts in the seventh year.

We see here a difference made in our duties towards our fellow-men between an Israelite and a stranger, but solely for the benefit of “the stranger.” At present, when the original relation between the Israelite and the stranger has ceased, the spirit of charity and justice towards the stranger (נכרי) or non-Jew, which is the basis of this law, must continue to regulate our intercourse with our neighbours, and if the non-Jew would recognise the prohibition of taking interest as equally binding upon him as upon the Jew, the latter would not be allowed to take any kind of interest from a non-Jew. At all events, if any of our co-religionists take this law as a pretext for imposing upon their non-Jewish fellow-men, and injuring and ruining them by exorbitant usury, they pervert alike the letter and the spirit of the Divine command; they do not act in a Jewish spirit, and instead of being members of a holy nation or the people of the Lord, they are guilty of חלול השם, the profanation of the name of God, and do not deserve to be honoured by the name of Jews.

Denunciations are sometimes levelled against the Jews, on account of the misdeeds of some individuals, as cruel usurers. Those non-Jews who would take the trouble of thoroughly studying Jews and Judaism would soon discover the error and the baselessness of such denunciations. Judaism has never sanctioned usury, but, on the contrary, always condemned it. [40]

With regard to the property of our neighbour our Sages expressed the following maxim:—

“There are four characters among men: he who says, ‘What is mine is mine and what is thine is thine,’ his is a neutral character; some say this is a character like that of Sodom; he who says, ‘What is mine is thine and what is thine is mine’ is a boor; he who says ‘What is mine is thine and what is thine is thine’ is a saint; he who says ‘What is thine is mine and what is mine is mine’ is a wicked man” (Aboth v. 10).

We are not only commanded to abstain from injuring our neighbour with regard to his property, but we are exhorted to protect it as far as lies in our power. “If thou meetest the ox of thine enemy or his ass going astray, bring it back to him” (Exod. xxiii. 4). “Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely bring them again unto thy brother” (Deut. xxii. 1). “Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again” (ibid. ver. 4).

3. The Honour of our Fellow-man.—“Let the honour of thy fellow-man be as dear to thee as thy own” (Aboth ii. 10). We are very sensitive about our own honour; and many of us—nay, all right-minded persons—are more anxious for the good name acquired through integrity of character than for the safety of their property. We must be equally sensitive about the honour of our fellow-man, and take good care lest we damage his repute by falsehood, slander, or spreading evil reports in apparently innocent gossip. An evil tongue (לשון הרע) is a serious failing from which few are exempt; even if a person is not guilty of the sin of evil speech, he does not entirely escape “the dust of the evil tongue” (Babyl. Talm. B. Bathra 165a). Calumny, it is said, kills three—the slanderer himself, him who listens, and the person spoken of. We therefore add to the Amidah the words: “My God, guard my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking guile;” and in one of the Psalms we read: “Who is the man that desireth life, and loveth days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile” (Ps. xxxiv. 13, 14).

Our Sages are very severe against those who attack the honour of their fellow-men. In one passage it is said: “Whoever causes by offensive words the face of his fellow-man to turn pale is almost guilty of shedding blood” (Babyl. Talm. B. Metsia 58b). Another passage runs thus: “Rather let a man throw himself into a furnace than publicly offend his fellow-man” (ibid. 59a).

The Law does not only forbid the utterance of evil reports, but also the encouragement given to the tale-bearer by listening to his stories. “Thou shalt not take up a false report” (Exod. xxiii. 1). In the Book of Proverbs the evil consequences of listening to slander are thus depicted: “If a ruler hearkeneth to falsehood, all his servants are wicked” (Prov. xxix. 12). “He who giveth heed to wicked lips causeth evil-doing; he who giveth ear to a mischievous tongue feedeth lies” (ibid. xvii. 4).

When we hear evil reports about our neighbour, we should try to defend him; when we are convinced that he has done wrong, we must rebuke him, lead him back to the right way, and not utterly reject him; we may still find some redeeming feature in his character that makes it worth our while to save him. Thus Joshua, the son of Perachjah, teaches us: “Judge every man favourably” (Aboth i. 6); that is, if you are uncertain as to a man’s faults, let him have the benefit of the doubt. When we criticise our neighbour’s character—and idle gossip frequently leads to this practice—we are too often inclined to dwell upon his weak points—his vices—and to pass over his merits in silence; but we ought to consider how little we should like to see the same treatment applied to ourselves. Another fault of ours is to judge the doings of other people without fully understanding all the circumstances and the causes that led to such actions. Hillel said, “Do not judge thy neighbour until thou hast come into his place;” that is, do not pass judgment upon your neighbour before you are able to place yourself in his position, and to say with certainty what, you would have done under the same circumstances. The Law forbids us to use divers weights and divers measures in our business transactions, lest we damage the property of our neighbour; equally unlawful is the use of one kind of weights and measures for weighing our own words and deeds, and another kind for weighing the words and the deeds of others, to the injury of our fellow-man’s name and repute. Contrary to the usage of courts of justice, our neighbour’s words and deeds are generally reported by us, interpreted, tried and condemned in his absence, when he is unable to defend himself, to show his innocence, or to prove the falsehood of the report, the error of the interpretation, and the injustice of the trial and the condemnation.

The perversity of such conduct is evident, especially in the case of the departed. The prohibition, “Thou shalt not curse the deaf” (Lev. xix. 14) has been interpreted to apply to all kinds of slander about those absent or dead. Our respect for the memory of the dead is expressed in the Latin maxim, “De mortuis nil nisi bonum;” or in the Hebrew, אחרי מות קדשים אמור [41] “After their death say of them ‘saints.’” Similar maxims are the following: “We must not refute the lion after his death;” מיתה מכפרת “Death atones for all offences.”

4. The Well-being of our Fellow-man.—The duties expounded in the above are of a negative character. The commandment, “Love thy neighbour as thyself” implies also certain positive duties, which are comprehended in the terms, צדקה and גמלות חסד “charity.”

The literal meaning of the term tsedakah is “righteousness,” but it occurs also frequently in the sense of “charity;” and we may infer from this that charity was to the Hebrew a mere act of righteousness. In the Book of Daniel and in post-Biblical Hebrew tsedakah is “alms,” and distinguished from gemilluth-chesed, “charity.” The former is given to the poor; the latter to poor and rich alike: tsedakah, consisting of money or things that can be purchased for money, is a duty chiefly incumbent on the wealthier class; gemilluth-chesed, consisting of personal acts of kindness, is a virtue that can be acquired and practised by every one, whether he be poor or rich; and whilst tsedakah can only be given to those that live, gemilluth-chesed can be shown even to the departed. When Jacob asked his son for a burial in the cave of Machpelah, he relied on his son’s חסד ואמת, “Kindness and truth;” and the Midrash adds the remark, “Kindness shown to the dead is an act of true love, as there can be no prospect of gratitude or repayment.”

The principal kinds of גמלות חסד are the following:—

(1.) בקור חולים Visiting the sick. [42] The object of the visit ought to be to cheer up the sufferer by pleasant conversation, to assist him by good advice, to render him any service that is wanted, to inspire him with hope, and to strengthen his faith in God by the comforting words of Scripture and by prayer. (2.) הלוית המת “Accompanying the dead” to his last resting-place, and doing everything that our love and regard for the departed requires. Almost every Jewish community includes an association whose members undertake to perform personally, as far as possible, these acts of love. Such a society is generally called חברת גמלות חסדים “Association for practising loving-kindness towards our fellow-men,” or חברא קדישא “Holy Association;” that is, an association for a holy object. (3.) נחום אבלים Comforting the mourners, who find relief in the conviction that their fellow-men have sympathy with them. (4.) הבאת שלום בין אדם לחברו “Peace-making.”—War, whether carried on between nations, or between parties, or between one individual and another, is equally detestable; and all those who by their exertion and intercession contribute to a diminution of warfare are engaged in praiseworthy work. The principal prayers in our Liturgy conclude with a petition for peace, and we look forward for the state of uninterrupted peace, the Messianic time, as the most perfect condition of mankind. Forbearance, a kind word, a judicious counsel, frequently averts the great evil of strife and enmity.—Peace, harmony, and friendship are best promoted by— (5.) Judging favourably the deeds and words of our fellow-men. It is not an easy task to correctly estimate the motives which guide our neighbour in his actions, and in doing so we err frequently; but it is better to err by over-estimating them; since this produces far less harm than going astray in the other direction and speaking ill of others without any justifiable cause. Conduct like this leads to peace and happiness within and without. “Speaking peace to all his seed” is the climax of the virtues praised in Mordecai, the Jew (Esther x. 3).

Charity (tsedakah) in its narrower sense, as a duty towards the poor, includes—

(1.) Alms-giving to the poor for the purpose of alleviating temporary suffering. (2.) Providing for the comfort of the aged and sick, widows and orphans. (3.) Assisting the stranger. The Law lays special stress on this branch of charity, and reminds us that we all have once been strangers in the land of Egypt. Even in the various countries of which we have become citizens, our forefathers, three or four generations back, were strangers; and, besides, we are told by the Almighty, “Ye are strangers and sojourners with me:” (Lev. xxv. 23). This kind of charity is known by the name הכנסת אורחים (4.) Support given to the poor towards obtaining a livelihood, by procuring occupation for them, teaching them a trade and giving them a start in it. (5.) Providing for the religious and secular education of the children of the poor. (6.) Raising their intellectual, social, and moral condition by personal intercourse with them, and by kind words of advice, comfort, and encouragement. (7.) Helping those who have gone astray and have fallen into vice or crime to return to the path of virtue, industry, and righteousness.

There are generally associations formed for the various branches of gemilluth-chesed, the number of which grows, especially in large towns, with the increase of misery. It is our duty to support such institutions, as combined action is in most cases more practical and productive of good result. But the existence of public institutions, and our support given to them, by no means exempt us from assisting individually those who apply to us for help. We must be judicious in our charitable acts, lest we nurse poverty and promote imposture. But, on the other hand, we must not be over cautious, and must not unduly suspect every applicant for assistance as guilty of idleness or other vices, lest by refusal or hesitation to help we become guilty of neglect, when by prompt action we might save from utter ruin a person or a whole family well worthy of our sympathy. In this regard we are warned by King Solomon: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee” (Prov. iii. 27, 28).

(b.) Special Duties towards our Fellow-men.

1. Children towards their Parents.—“Honour thy father and thy mother” is one of the Ten Words which God spoke to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. The child honours his parents by considering them as his superiors, as endowed with authority over him, and entitled by experience to be his guides and instructors; by listening respectfully when they speak to him, and by speaking with reverence when he speaks of or to them.

The love of parents towards their child should find an echo in the heart of the latter.

The child’s love of his parents finds expression in willing, cheerful obedience; in the endeavour to do everything that pleases them, in the sacrifice made for the purpose of giving them pleasure, in the assistance given them when, through age, sickness, or misfortune, they are in need of aid.