Judaism and Moral Law?

Question

the concept of a divinely inspired moral law.........


anybody help me out????

Answer 1

I can't speak for religious denominations of Jews who maintain that the Torah was written by human hands (even if the individual[s] writing it were "inspired"), but in classical Judaism, the Torah is understood to be nothing less than a divine revelation.

The Written Torah (i.e. the Pentateuch, as distinguished by the vast oral tradition that was given simultaneously and in conjunction with scripture) contains 613 commandments. These commandments come in two basic flavors, "bein adam l'chaveiro" ("between man and his fellow") and "bein adam l'makom" ("between man and G-d"). A secular philosopher might dub these ethical commandments versus ritual commandments. But to a Torah-observant Jew the important thing to remember is that they're all divine imperatives. Torah commandments are binding because they are Torah, and because the Torah was given us by the Creator, may He be blessed.

In short, Judaism believes that all its laws are divinely inspired, be they simple-to-understand moral imperatives, or ritual commandments with no immediately discernible ethical value. The G-d who commands us to only eat kosher food, and to keep the Sabbath, is the same G-d who commands us not to kill or cheat or steal. And this is the basis for our rejection of Jew-created movements that would tell you that while Judaism's moral precepts are still binding, its ritual laws are no longer relevant. You can't have one without the other and still end up with Judaism.

For more articles on Jewish law and related subjects, I would recommend all the following websites:

http://www.beingjewish.com
http://www.jewfaq.org
http://www.simpletoremember.com
http://www.aish.com

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me directly.

Answer 2

Sounds like a homework assignment you forgot to ask your teacher what is wanted. I'm sure you know the story of Moses and the burning bush and the ten commandments. If not, look that up. Then there are a great many other laws in the first five books of the Bible which are what Jews call the Torah. I can't imagine what you actually want here.

Answer 3

Well, the Hebrews got their moral laws from Abraham, didn't they? When God spoke to him through an angel right before the sacrificing of his own son? I'm doing this stuff too, now..