All Comments (32)

With all due respect, "Jews" the Children of Israel are as guilty with the Christians, Muslims and others of ignoring plainly written scriptures, turning instead to the commentaries from scholars. One misunderstanding becomes translated again, on and on and on so the religions do not resemble the word of God He sent through the prophets.

God's word is clear, I said it, I am God, do it and be blessed, don't do it and be cursed. Look around, Christians, Jews, Muslims and more are not blessed; we are destroying ourselves from off the earth as God said we would. We thought this prosperity was a blessing; it was a curse.

"Jews" don't follow Torah law, Christians don't follow Jesus who said to follow all God's commandments, Muslims don't follow the word to Muhammad to follow the whole Bible, Torah, Gospel and whatever God sent down. Buddhists and Hindus are not living by God's law as they were told. None are following. What would it look like if they did? It would look like the same religion.

The promise of God is that He will bring us to Himself. He is His word and His word is God. Jesus came to show that God is faithful to His word no matter how horrific the prophecy is.
He has made a way to restore all that God told the prophets, as it was prophesied. Many things were restored within the last two hundred years; found in scriptures.lds.org Doctrines and Covenants. Clearer understanding and restoration of many things was given to Joseph Smith Jr. by Jesus Christ and other prophets (his people are not living by it; but God did His part, now we have to believe it).

Life will be blessed as we turn to believe every word of God was to be a blessing for protection and guidance.

The goal in life is not employment, it is retirement in a garden paradise. We can and we must turn to creating that freedom where God grows are our needs.

With all due respect, "Jews" the Children of Israel are as guilty with the Christians, Muslims and others of ignoring plainly written scriptures, turning instead to the commentaries from scholars. One misunderstanding becomes translated again, on and on and on so the religions do not resemble the word of God He sent through the prophets.

God's word is clear, I said it, I am God, do it and be blessed, don't do it and be cursed. Look around, Christians, Jews, Muslims and more are not blessed; we are destroying ourselves from off the earth as God said we would. We thought this prosperity was a blessing; it was a curse.

"Jews" don't follow Torah law, Christians don't follow Jesus who said to follow all God's commandments, Muslims don't follow the word to Muhammad to follow the whole Bible, Torah, Gospel and whatever God sent down. Buddhists and Hindus are not living by God's law as they were told. None are following. What would it look like if they did? It would look like the same religion.

The promise of God is that He will bring us to Himself. He is His word and His word is God. Jesus came to show that God is faithful to His word no matter how horrific the prophecy is.
He has made a way to restore all that God told the prophets, as it was prophesied. Many things were restored within the last two hundred years; found in scriptures.lds.org Doctrines and Covenants. Clearer understanding and restoration of many things was given to Joseph Smith Jr. by Jesus Christ and other prophets (his people are not living by it; but God did His part, now we have to believe it).

Life will be blessed as we turn to believe every word of God was to be a blessing for protection and guidance.

The goal in life is not employment, it is retirement in a garden paradise. We can and we must turn to creating that freedom where God grows are our needs.

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TO SOJA JOHN THAIKATTIL:

If we listen to what Jesus tried to teach us, we would see that He often said that the intention behind an action is very important also, such as: giving to the poor, is it to help or is it to draw attention to how good we are?

There are many other examples also.

Jesus said that we are to "Proclaim the Good News", if the "Good News" isn't for all of humanity than I imagine that He would have called it the "good enough news" wouldn't He?

If we are to judge anyone, it should be ourselves, no one else, that is not our job, as Jesus said, "All power and authority has been given unto Me", in other words the Authority over us that rightfully belongs to God since He is the Author of Life itself, not to mention absolutely everything else also, was won back by God since we gave it to satan at our falling.

Judging ourself is taking responsibility for what we have done or not done and admitting, at least in my case that I am guilty.

We are all given choices to make all during our lives and that is free will.

If you think that you can grow into perfection, good luck.

Have you ever thought that being Perfect as the Heavenly Father is Perfect could be to forgive everyone and not to judge anyone?

If you think and try to be a better person, then that is not only realistic but also a fine way to try and live your life.

God knows that we are not perfect and He also knows that we have a fallen nature and that fallen nature is what we are to strive to rise above.

God is Pure Love and we, being made in His Image, are to try and let that image shine thru.

By the way, the "Good News" is like the angels said at Jesus's birth, "This is Good News for all People".

The angels at Jesus's birth also said, "Peace to whom God's favor rests".

The two preceding statements are different and both true, some try to smash them into one statement.

Take care, be ready, see you and the rest of humanity in the Kingdom.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Anyone who is serious about their relationship with God and reads Scripture and prays with that intent would examine their own conscience. It is God's spirit that shed light on what is right and wrong, the Scripture is merely a guide. Self-deception is revealed to the one who is truly seeking to do God's will. The more truth we seek, the more sensitive our conscience becomes to what is right and wrong. That is God's work in our soul. We only need to remain open to Him and do what is in our power. We grow to perfection in slow painful degrees. It is a lifelong task that we are expected to remain faithful to. Our work here is done only when we have breathed our last.

When I mentioned, in an earlier post, that there is the trivial truth and the important truth, I meant exactly that. It is something that I have thought on a lot. It is not a virtue to use a trivial truth to cause unnecessary injury to another. That has nothing to do with wanting to avoid confrontation.

One of the 10 commandments says, "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

Most people take this to mean, don't lie. But there are many ways to promote deception. You can promote deception by speaking a lie. And you can promote deception, by leaving a truth unspoken.

For a person who is sincerely interested in ethics and virtue, I do not think there can ever be such a thing as a book of rules to cover every situation. Because in the rules, there is always the loop-hole, and the legal dissection of meaning, which the insincere can use, to support and defend their unvirtuous and unethical behavior.

In the book, The Cloud of Unknowing, the author tells us about why we need to read Scripture regularly. Without reading the Scriptures which tell us about right and wrong, we would not know the dirt in our souls that need to be washed, the sin that we need to ask forgiveness for, the right path we need to follow. Scripture helps us to discern good and evil. And of course we use our common sense to apply the wisdom contained in Scripture to particular situations. The bottom line Jesus taught is love. Love for God, love for our selves with an equal love for neighbour.

That Akus would be the Second table of the ten commandments and most of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

I think that what you are saying is that there is no formal, written list of sins or virtues. But surely there are many rabbinical sayings which describe the proper way to behave towards others?

TO WHOMEVER:

As I have said before, it is important what you do and why you do it and what you know.

Implicite in this statement is also what you don't do.

God is a searcher of hearts and minds not of religious affiliations or lack thereof.

Some do not know God's Name or even believe that there is a God and yet their hearts are following the Great Command.

Some know God's Name but that is about all that they know about God.

Jesus wasn't big on rules but He said, "I have not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law".

The Law is Love, God Himself Who is Love, PURE LOVE.

Jesus condensed the ten commandments to two and they are: 'Love God' and 'Love others as I have Loved you', and if you think about it, you could say He condensed it all into one word, LOVE, and since God and Love are one and the same the Law is God.

Take care, be ready, see you all in the Kingdom.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Daniel you misunderstand both me and the purpose of the rules and further appear to refuse to examine yourself and your motives this I warn you is a very dangerous combination spiritually and has produce more pain and agony than anyone sane can stand to look upon for long.

There exists the old saw 'the road to hell is paved with Good intentions'. I would modify it just slightly by adding at the end 'that weren't closely examined as to motive and reason.'

Sounds very much like moral relativism. However, in ancient times, communal matters were judged in Israel by a council of wise elders. Would to God we had such councils now. I can well imagine Rabbi Steinsaltz on such a council, and no doubt Rabbis and elders of Judaism form similar think tanks, as do wise clergy of various religions.

The Supreme Court was established on this premise, but it is sullied by politics, and pertinent only to pedestrian matters. Courts do not seek ultimate truths.

I believe the matter can be summed up as: Do no harm.

GaryD

You have the rules memorized, but you do not have wisdom.

I have virtually no Talmud.

This is a very nice thread and by and large i have been moved by everyone here.

Thou shall not covet is a place to start.

This is commanded and so is it commanded not to bear false witness. When we sit together in a court to determine what has happened we can discover and prove many things by scientific methods and yet even the scientist (like any other witness) gives an oath to tell the truth. That is, in court, we should not be false witnesses.

If i recall properly, taking or making oaths is no great blessing and should be avoided. This is probably not merely because we may "miss the mark," but because what we say can influence not only our own life, but countless other lives inside and outside the courtroom.

It is a desirable thing not to covet. If i recall properly it is also sensible not to worry or discriminate too much (if at all) about the various merits of various commandments. For instance, it is also a desirable thing to love G-d with all of our everything, but when somehow we do covet, it is good to take a desirable course of action.

Bless HaShem for His commandments offered to all and those who study them with love!

And what if one should commit adultery. One has sinned. Should one sin again? Perhaps it is best in one case that a couple divorce. How then should it be examined if this is so? Perhaps in another case the union can be strengthened. What measures might be taken? Blessed are those who seek & find a way of peace and truth.

It is desirable to be guided by what is just and to seek what is just at all times, but if one fails can one remain ignorant?

Differing notions concerning "ethics and morals" and the nature of "good measures" are not insurmountable.

Let the concerned parties of each discrete issue each pick a tradition of guidance and discourse and let them pick individuals willing to exchange them for one that they may form one and judge from one and there will be peace and justice.

-mason

Here are some things to think about...

If we perceive something as being harmful than we call it a sin. Suppose we are wrong in our perception and what at first looks to be a bad thing turns out to be a good thing. Is it still a sin or is our mis-perception the sin?

What if in a situation we only have two choices, and both choices are hurtful to someone? Don't we sin no matter what?

I was taught that sin was not any one quality, but rather the "missing of the mark" that comes as a result of our inherent imperfection. It is a part of us wether we want it or not. It is easy to find situations in which we will sin no matter what. Is our moral imperative is then to minimize sin rather than eliminate it?

Dear Rabbi Steinsaltz

Buddha defined evil as ignorance, ignorance of universal principles of good.

I do like your definition of sins - anything that harms us or the other is a sin and anything that helps us (without harming another) and another is a virtue. Each situation should be judged individually. Discernment is the key; and for discernment knowledge of good and evil is a prerequisite. We live in a world of gray and hence discernment will always remain a challenge. But I believe God will judge us by what we know and not by what we don't know; and we all have a duty to do all we can to acquire knowledge and to reduce ignorance to the best of our ability.

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

Good job Daniel. In your comment on truth you have quoted almost the exact lie we use when we begin to consider telling the proverbial white lie. The 2nd is 'After all I just want to spare her feelings.' The reality is we just don't want to go to the trouble of telling the truth or risking a confrontation

I like it.

Rabbi, I agree so much with your first paragraph I must be Jewish even though I know better.

As for your last paragraph, maybe I can help out with an example from my real life observations. There was a very rich man with lots of poor relatives. He was forever helping them out with their business ventures. I noticed how those seemingly sound businesses had a way of failing. When I asked he, the rich man explained how "people always stub their toes."

When I looked deeper, got the details it seems that he was really setting them up for failure. Yes there was help at the outset and help when it wasn't needed but when help was a requirement it was withheld and lectures on good sound conservative business practices substituted in it's place.

In reality, the rich man saw wealth as relative. He was the rich man of the large family and didn't want anyone, especially another family member to out do him. Needless to say, he was really big on morality and family values prompting me to wonder just how much a family was worth, in dollars.

In simpler terms, sins can be very subtle. It is a sin to plan the failure of another is it not, probably covered by, a sub sin of one of those deadly sins? I'm still trying to figure out why God allows sins if God is both almighty and against them. And, God is clearly on the side of those who are rich and, of course those willing to commit suicide to kill a few Jews, or Americans, better yet American Jews. Isn't being American bad enough?

Of course losers are really important participants for without them there can be no winners. Mr Bernanke seems to think losers are dangerous for the economy. He's probably worried about losing becoming stylish.

Where is your monitoring? What is wrong with you that you allow sham posts here and all manner of vileness elsewhere. You have a duty to police your boards.

You will loose customers and traffic, if this persists.

Do you really wish to be known as the once mighty publication that became a wasteland for the lowest denominator of racists and lunatics.

Shame on you!

BEHOLD:

Do not let Pride get in your ways!

Remember:

"MODERn MORALiTY" is the Superior of Biblical-MORALiTY!"

Same like The Superiority of the MELCHiZEDEK PEACE BLESSiNG is Superor to the NOAH Racisr WAR-BLESSINS!

Thus Saeth EPONYMOUS-ECLAT, the Holy No-Mon, Lord YAWEH Ishavara Allah G-d and by many names, to know, not to know & never to be known!

H A L L A L U j A!

< ?: +)/ Yo Yo Momma Tatta Monso Mono's!

I like this way of thinking. I do not believe that morality can be written down in a book of rules, black and white. It's true understanding is acquired through experience and wisdom.

Human experience is endlessly varied and mutating. No one rule can ever apply to all cases. Black an white is the easy way; nuance is not so easy.

For example, the point has been brought up about the virtues of truthfulness. But is truthfullness always a virtue? There is the trivial truth and then there is the important truth, so I think, it is not always a virtue.

Yet the 10 commandments includes envy under the heading Thou shalt not Covet.

Rabbi Adin Steinsalzt,

Thank you for your essay.

Frankly I am confused. It comes close to accepting moral ambiguity or ambiguousness that may only make sense if one look at the focus on ethics and ethical behaviors by some rabbis and Jewish thinkers, scholars and writers.

Yes, ethics and morals are not the same for some. One can be ethical is saying truthfully to one's spouse that one is having an affair wiht the neighbour's spouse. Lying is not a virtue, but telling the truth is no matter how painful the consequences are for some. What is good and what is evil here?

Surely there has to be some agreed standards on what is ethical and what is moral behavior if we are to arbitrate between two parties with different notions on ethics and morals.

The lack of determination of and possible elasticity of good measures is good to allow for flexibility in dealing with changing times and circumstances? What are these measures? Preventive, reactive or ongoing? For what purpose and for the benefit of whom?

I'll admit it. I don't completely understand, or not at all, what you are saying here Rabbi. The first time I don't by any rabbi. It has always easier for a Muslim to grasp most of Jewish theology.

Thank you and best regards
"J"

Rabbi Steinsaltz, that is by far the BEST explanation I've heard to describe not just the "7 deadly sins", but morality in general. Situations dictate what is good and when. Having absolute rules is a sure-fire way to create conflict...and will eventually lead to an us-versus-them mentality.

Thanks for a very thoughtful post.

Craig

Dear Rabbi,

I believe many of the readers here will missunderstand some of what you have written. Could you please say a little about the role of motive and "frame of mind" in Jewish Law.

Respectfully,
Joe