Ethics and Justice

Justice, moral responsibility, punishment, testimony, compensation and the meaning of law.

38 articles

“Three Men”From the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 19 min readExtended study
Abraham's Servant at the SpringFrom the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 16 min readExtended study
On Sex and MoralityFish, unlike land animals but like plants, are not moral creatures and were therefore not punished in the floodFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 5 min read
Of All That You Give Me, I Will Give You a TenthFrom the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 16 min read
A New World OrderAfter the flood, humanity did not change; the LORD’s approach changed, and moral law became necessaryFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min read
The Argument from MoralityGod is bound by morality rather than being its sourceFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min readPodcast (Hebrew)
Emotional BlackmailAbraham uses manipulative arguments to try to save Sodom’s people despite their wickednessFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 5 min read
A Study of the Splitting of the SeaFrom the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 14 min read
Why Were Sarah’s Years Counted?Sarah afflicted Hagar, so Ishmael lived ten years longer than she did – measure for measureFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 2 min readPodcast (Hebrew)
“Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk”From the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 11 min readExtended study
EliezerThe Torah avoids naming Eliezer to emphasize his submission of personal wishes to Abraham’s willFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
The People Did Not Journey Until Miriam Was Brought InFrom the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 10 min read
A Sleepless Night – Lailah LavanLeah thought she would marry Jacob; he failed to detect the deception because he returned to his tent drunkFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
“He Shall Dwell There Until the Death of the High Priest”From the book “In Search of Lost Meaning”About 15 min readExtended study
Why Does the Torah Ignore Rebekah?The Torah hints that Jacob abandoned the deceptive course learned from his motherFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 2 min read
“Esau Thy First-born”The Torah hints that Jacob’s actions were improper and Esau remained the firstbornFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 5 min read
The God of the HebrewsThe exodus is a national story bearing universal significanceFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 2 min read
Through Righteous WomenEgyptian and Israelite women offer a moral alternative to oppression and crueltyFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min read
A New Reading of the Parting of the SeaThe Egyptians drowned while fleeing, rather than pursuing – as punishment for their deeds, rather than as Israel’s rescueFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
The Feedback MechanismThe people need laws, and the divine law that answers that need remains responsive to their demands for justiceFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 5 min read
“If a Thief Be Found Breaking In”The Torah rejects the death penalty for theft and disputes the laws of HammurabiFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 5 min read
Ox InsuranceDivision rather than payment: where fault is unclear, the loss is sharedFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min read
Between a Person and the HeartThe Torah addresses the inner reluctance to help an enemy, requiring a person to overcome it and helpFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 2 min read
“It Be Hid from Him, and He Knoweth of It, and Be Guilty”Even without actively violating a command, deliberately ignoring what one knows, delaying a response, or postponing a duty entails guiltFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
The Additional Fifth in a Guilt-OfferingThe fifth is redemption rather than a fine, for property linked to holiness through a false oathFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
Forbidden Sexual RelationsDid the nation’s ancestors violate the prohibitions on sexual relations?From the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min read
“Ye Shall Do No Unrighteousness”The Torah counts judgment as measurement alongside length, weight, and volumeFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min read
“I Am the LORD”Is morality binding in itself, or because the LORD commanded it?From the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 5 min read
The Secret of Loosening the Suspected Wife's HairLoosening the hair in the suspected-wife ritual marks the transition from human justice to divine judgmentFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
Who Waited for Miriam?Although the Israelites traveled according to the cloud, they could delay their departure – and chose to wait for MiriamFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
“Why Should It Be Done Away?”Law develops chiefly through questions not previously asked, as well as cases not previously encounteredFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 2 min read
Annulment of VowsVows cannot be canceled – the question is who bears responsibility for themFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
“And He Shall Dwell Therein until the Death of the High Priest”Blood vengeance is recognized as a temporary right, limited to the tenure of the high priest as head of the judicial systemFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 3 min readShort study
“That Thy Days May Be Long”To thrive and endure as a people on the land, Israel must build a moral society founded on the Ten CommandmentsFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 2 min read
“Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk”Shavuot’s exceptional permission to bring leaven and honey does not permit violating the mother–offspring bond by cooking a kid in its mother’s milkFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min readShort study
“Shall Not Rise Up” – “If … Rise Up”The Torah preserves the false-witness law’s principles while preventing its use on a single accuser’s testimonyFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
A Stubborn and Rebellious DaughterStoning in the slanderous-husband passage results from parents seeking to remove family disgrace, like the rebellious-son case, rather than an obligatory prosecutionFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read
The Watered and the ThirstyThe sinner’s formerly fertile land will join the thirsty land and become like it – he alone will sufferFrom the book “Peshat in Brief (working title)”About 4 min read