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Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics are the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics, Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues, and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics.
Ethical traditions can be found throughout the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinic Oral Torah that both interpreted the Hebrew Bible and engaged in novel topics.
Ethics is a key aspect of rabbinic legal literature, Halakha, which is found in the Mishnah, Talmud, and other texts. Ethics is also a key aspect of non-legal aggadah. The best-known text of Rabbinic Judaism associated with ethics is Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) of the Mishnah.
Direct Jewish responses to Greek ethics may be seen in major rabbinic writings in the medieval period. Notably, Maimonides offers a Jewish interpretation of Aristotle (e.g., Nicomachean Ethics), who enters into Jewish discourse through Islamic writings. Maimonides, in turn, influenced Thomas Aquinas, a dominant figure in Christian ethics and the natural law tradition of Christian 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. This ethical tradition was given expression through Musar literature, which presents virtues and vices in a didactic way. The Hebrew term musar, derived from a word meaning "discipline" or "correction", is often translated as ethics, morality, moral instruction, or moral discipline.
Examples of medieval Musar literature include:
Halakhic writings of the Middle Ages also inform the Jewish ethical corpus. Important sources of Jewish ethical law include Maimonides's 12th-century Mishneh Torah and Rabbi Joseph Karo's and Rabbi Moses Isserles's Shulkhan Arukh (16th century), especially the order entitled Choshen Mishpat. A wide array of topics on ethics is also discussed in medieval responsa literature.
In the modern period, Jewish ethics sprouted many offshoots, partly due to developments in modern ethics and partly due to the formation of distinct Jewish religious movements. Trends in modern Jewish normative ethics include:
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Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics are the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics, Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues, and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics.
Ethical traditions can be found throughout the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinic Oral Torah that both interpreted the Hebrew Bible and engaged in novel topics.
Ethics is a key aspect of rabbinic legal literature, Halakha, which is found in the Mishnah, Talmud, and other texts. Ethics is also a key aspect of non-legal aggadah. The best-known text of Rabbinic Judaism associated with ethics is Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) of the Mishnah.
Direct Jewish responses to Greek ethics may be seen in major rabbinic writings in the medieval period. Notably, Maimonides offers a Jewish interpretation of Aristotle (e.g., Nicomachean Ethics), who enters into Jewish discourse through Islamic writings. Maimonides, in turn, influenced Thomas Aquinas, a dominant figure in Christian ethics and the natural law tradition of Christian 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. This ethical tradition was given expression through Musar literature, which presents virtues and vices in a didactic way. The Hebrew term musar, derived from a word meaning "discipline" or "correction", is often translated as ethics, morality, moral instruction, or moral discipline.
Examples of medieval Musar literature include:
Halakhic writings of the Middle Ages also inform the Jewish ethical corpus. Important sources of Jewish ethical law include Maimonides's 12th-century Mishneh Torah and Rabbi Joseph Karo's and Rabbi Moses Isserles's Shulkhan Arukh (16th century), especially the order entitled Choshen Mishpat. A wide array of topics on ethics is also discussed in medieval responsa literature.
In the modern period, Jewish ethics sprouted many offshoots, partly due to developments in modern ethics and partly due to the formation of distinct Jewish religious movements. Trends in modern Jewish normative ethics include: