Jewish ethics

Like other types of religious ethics , the diverse literature of Jewish ethics primarily aims to answer a broad range of moral questions and, hence, may be classified as a normative ethics. The rich tradition of rabbinic religious law (known as Halakha ) addresses numerous problems often associated with ethics, including its semi-permeable relation with duties that are usually not punished under law.¹ Jewish ethics may be said to originate with the Hebrew Bible , its broad legal injunctions, wisdom narratives and prophetic teachings. Most subsequent Jewish ethical claims may be traced back to the texts, themes and teachings of the written Torah. In early rabbinic Judaism, the oral Tora both interprets the Hebrew Bible and delves afresh into many other ethical topics. The best known rabbinic text associated with ethics is the non-legal Mishnah tractate of Avot (“forefathers”), popularly translated as “Ethics of Our Fathers”. Similar ethical teachings are interspersed throughout the more legally-oriented portions of the Mishnah , Talmud and other rabbinic literature. Generally, ethics is a key aspect of non-legal rabbinic literature, known as aggadah . This early Rabbinic ethics shows signs of cross-fertilization and polemical exchange with both the Greek (Western philosophical) ethical tradition and early Christian ethics . In the medieval period, direct Jewish responses to Greek ethics may be seen in major rabbinic writings. Notably, Maimonides offers a Jewish interpretation of Aristotle (e.g., Nicomachean Ethics ), who enters into Jewish discourse through Islamic writings. Maimonides, in turn, influences Thomas Aquinas , a dominant figure in Catholic ethics and the natural law tradition of moral theology. The relevance of natural law to medieval Jewish philosophy is a matter of dispute among scholars. Medieval and early modern rabbis also created a pietistic tradition of Jewish ethics (see references, below). This ethical tradition was given expression through the mussar literature. The Hebrew term mussar , while literally derived from a word meaning "tradition," is usually translated as ethics or morals. In the modern period, Jewish ethics sprouted many offshoots, partly due to developments in modern ethics and partly due to the formation of Jewish denominations . Trends in modern Jewish normative ethics include: The pietistic mussar tradition was revived by the Jewish ethics education movement that developed in the 19th century Orthodox Jewish European ( Ashkenazi ) community. There is a separate article on the Mussar Movement . Modern Jewish philosophers have pursued a range of ethical approaches, with varying degrees of reliance upon traditional Jewish sources. Notably, Hermann Cohen authored Religion of Reason in the tradition of Kantian ethics . Martin Buber wrote on various ethical and social topics, including the dialogical ethics of his I and Thou . Hans Jonas , a student of Martin Heidegger , draws upon phenomenology in his writings on bioethics, technology and responsibility. Emmanuel Levinas sought to distinguish his philosophical and Jewish writings; nevertheless, some scholars are constructing Jewish ethics around his innovative and deeply-Jewish approach. Inspired by both Maimonides and the success of Catholic social ethics , David Novak has promoted a natural law approach to Jewish social ethics. While Jewish feminists are not prominent in ethics per se, the principles of feminist ethics arguably play a pivotal role in the ebb and flow of Jewish denominational politics and identity-formation. In the liberal tradition , the 19th Century Reform movement promoted the idea of Judaism as “ethical monotheism”. The liberal movements (especially Reform and Reconstructionist ) have fostered novel approaches to Jewish ethics. In 20th Century, Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, Jewish writers typically tackle contemporary ethical, social and political issues by interpreting rabbinic law ( Halakha ) in responsa (formal opinions). The Reform movement also employs a rabbinic law approach in its responsa . The dominant topic for such applied ethics has been medical ethics and bioethics (see references, below). (See also Jewish business ethics .) In terms of descriptive ethics, the study of Jewish moral practices and theory is situated more in the disciplines of history and the social sciences than in ethics proper, with some exceptions (e.g., Newman 1998).²