The ethical in the Jewish and American heritage
Print Book, English, 1977
Jewish Theological Seminary of America : Distributed by Ktav Pub. House, New York, 1977
Moreshet series, v. 4
History
xvi, 327 pages ; 24 cm.
9780873340021, 0873340027
3002988
Chapter I. Ethics, religion, and Judaism
Section 1. The scope of this inquiry
Section 2. The secular rationalization of the ethical preliminary remarks
The secular view of the self
Section 3. The secular rationalization of the moral
Section 4. The secular rationalization of the unethical
Section 5. The secular rationalization of the unethical might makes right
The concept of justice
That the benefit exceed the injury
The greatest possible good for the greatest possible number
The good
Section 5. The religious component in the secular rationalization of the moral and the ethical
That the ethical and moral coincide with self interest
One should identify his self with his 'higher' self
The metaphysics of secular ethical systems
Section 6. The religious component in the secular rationalization of the unethical
The doctrine that makes right
The religious component in the secular concept of justice
The religious component in the relativistic or the absolute concept of the good
Section 7. Judaism and the ethical
Some preliminary remarks
Two categories of Mizvot
Why revelation
ON the religious and the secular in Judaism
Section 8. Judaism and the unethical
Preliminary remarks
Judaism and the principle that might makes right
Judaism and the unethical which is subservient to the ethical
Judaism and the principle of the greater good for the greatest number
Judaism and the concept of justice
Judaism's rationalization of Israel's conquest of Canaan
Section 9. Judaism and the moral
Introductory remarks
The moral component in Judaism: to share one's physical possessions with the needy
Not to take advantage of the defenseless
To perform acts of mercy
Obligations to one's enemies
Remaining true to a commitment
Acting as conscience of society
To risk limb and life in behalf of a fellowman
Love thy neighbor as thyself
Kindness to animals
Limitations of the scope of the moral
Section 10. Judaism's rationalization of the ethical and the moral
Love of God vs. fear of God
On expecting a reward
Section 11. Judaism's concept of the universe and of man
Epilogue. Chapter II. Ethics and law in the American tradition
The Declaration of Independence and the constitution
The period between 1783 and 1791
Defining liberty in the first ten amendments
The period between 1854 and 1869
The great debate on the rightness of wrongness of slavery, on the meaning of the word 'people' in the preamble, and on the word 'men' in the declaration
The third period 1873-1965
The debilitation of the 14th and 15th amendments
The rehabilitation of the amendments
The right to privacy
The pursuit of happiness and the general welfare
The commerce clause and the general welfare
The concept of sovereignty and the general welfare
The limitations of the declaration and the constitution
Chapter III. Ethics and law in Judaism
Law, hardship, and justice
Rabbinic measures on behalf of the wife
Failure to deal with the Agunah
Protection of the wife and preservation of the family
Study guidelines
Definition of terms
Ethical concepts and legal enactments
Mutual indispensability of Israel and Torah
Biblical text and ethical context
The Lex Talionis
The Prozbul
Saving life, violating the Sabbath
Inviolable laws
Ethical validation of Rabbinic legislation
Recapitulation and proposal
Chapter IV. Some affinities between the Jewish and the American historical experience