Outline the Ethical System of Judaism, with reference to
the sources and using appropriate terminology, and explain
how this system gives ethical guidance to the believers in
the area of marriage and divorce, with reference to variants.
Introduction
The essential basis of all Jewish ethics is the declaration that God is good (Psalms 100:5)
and that every human is created in the image of God, and is therefore worthy of respect
and dignity. Ethics in Judaism can be divided into two sub categories, the first involves
the conduct between ones self and god, and the other involves the conduct between
people on earth. The first relates to the religious aspect of ones life, while the other leads
to a just and ethical society for all. These simple rules derive from the Halachah, which
for a Jewish person provides an ethical and moral structure for life.
Sources
The greatest source for ethics in Judaism comes from the Torah or Talmud. They regard
the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) as the basic code of bahaviour given to them by
god through Moses. The first five commandments deal with the conduct between the
believer and god, the remaining deal with the conduct within the Jewish community. The
Ten Commandments throughout the ages have never lost their value as a spiritual guide
to life.
The Tenach contains the same books as the Christian Old Testament, it contains the
Torah (teachings), Neviim (prophets) and ketuvim (writings). They are all written in the
traditional Hebrew, except for Daniel, which was written in Aramaic.
The First five books of the bible are called the Torah. They contain information on
matters including personal morality as well as Criminal and Civil law. The Jewish
traditions come in the form of the Halachah, which contain the legal traditions, and the
Aggadah, which contains the non-legal traditions. These contain stories, legends, wise
sayings, parables and prayers. The Hallachah is the Jewish law, Rabbis compiled it from
200-300 CE, and it begins with 613 mitzvot in the Torah, The mitzvot are standards of
human behaviour that lead people to lives of decency, kindness, righteousness, justice,
goodness and compassion. The Main source of the Aggadah is the Midrash. Which is a
certain collections of writings that are ordered around the layout of the Tenach, it is,
mostly collections of stories that relate to words, themes, or narratives in the Tanach.
Sacred stories and texts have many roles. In the Torah and Talmud they give guidance in
personal morality and directions for the cult and purification. It also details what to eat or
not to eat. They show Jewish how to live as people of God.
Ethics and Beliefs
Jews believe they were created in the image of god, so if God is good, the people of God
are to imitate and express this goodness, this is shown in the Talmud, “Just as God is
Compassionate, be though compassionate”, and in Leviticus (19.2) “You must be Holy
because I, the Lord your God, am Holy”.
In Judaism it is belived that to be truly Holy one has to follow the spirit of the law as well
as the letter of the law. Action always takes priority over intention by Jews. For example,
if a man intends on helping another man, but does not do so, his best intentions are
basically of no value, similarly if a man intends to hurt another man, but no harm is done,
there is no fault.
Jews must always act in a way, which brings Shalom (Peace and well-being among all
people). This is why the more important prayers are ended with a prayer for peace on
earth. They also believe that what they eat is a moral decision, because food has been
organized for them by God, this means they cannot eat for example- pork, shellfish or
other unkosher animals, and not mixing dairy and pork.
Jews see themselves as responsible for the needy and less fortunate in their community.
They are expected to provide relief organizations for the poor, care for the aged and
provide proper working conditions for the employed. This applies to Jews, but also
extends to Gentiles (non-Jews). Undertaking deeds of loving kindness is called Gemilut
Chasidim and it is believed that whosoever denies the duty of gemilut chasidim denies
the fundamental of Judaism.
Jews believe themselves to be the chosen people. By keeping God’s mitzvot, they bring
holiness into the world and prepare it for time when all human beings will know Him.
Ethical guidance for Marriage and Divorce
Having a family in the Jewish religion fulfills many of the religious Commands.
According to the Hebrew bible or tenach, the high priest was encouraged to marry, so
that he can complete his role in the temple. The Talmud says that unmarried man is
constantly thinking of sin, lives without joy, blessing and good. Jews often call marriage
kidushin, which means sanctification. They believe that they are lacking something until
they marry. “God created the first human being half male, half female. He then separated
the two parts to form a man and a woman.” (Midrash)
Furthermore, Genesis 2:18, 2:24 and Isaiah 45:18 stress that deliberate celibacy is
inconsistent with God’s will.
The rabbis teach that marriage serves three main purposes: it maintains social order,
offers happiness and companionship, and provides children with a stable family
environment. Genesis 1:28 mentions marriage as procreation. It is a figure for the
relationship between God and his people, as illustrated in the book of prophet Hosea. Any
Jew is encouraged to have at least two children, a boy and a girl. Among ultra-Orthodox
Jews, having ten or more children is not unusual.
The Talmud says that a man is incomplete without a wife. Mishnah Kiddushin 1:1
specifies that a woman can be acquired in any of three ways: through money, a contract
or sexual intercourse. In all cases, it can only happen with her consent (Kiddushin 2a-b).
The man then gives a ketubah (marriage contract), which spells out the husband’s
obligations to the wife and children during marriage and conditions of inheritance upon
his death. It also provides support for the wife in the event of divorce. A husband is
responsible for providing his wife with food, clothing and sexual relations (Ex. 21:10), as
well as anything specified in the ketubah. Jews believe that ketubah discourages divorce
by serving as a constant reminder of the husband’s substantial financial obligations if he
divorced his wife.
Marriage is a private contractual agreement between the couple. Hence, it doesn’t require
the presence of a rabbi, although that is often the case. Before the marriage, there is a
period of fasting to allow the couple to seek God’s forgiveness for past sins and to start
the marriage with a clean conscience.
In the Jewish community, weddings are very happy events, for marriage is a gift from
God which will bring untold blessings. Jews who marry Gentiles can’t have a Jewish
wedding in the synagogue. Such a marriage is not encouraged because it can easily run
into difficulties, for example, disagreements over religious upbringings of the children.
Finding a bashert (wife or partner sent by God) doesn’t mean that the marriage will be
trouble-free. That is why Judaism allows divorce. The Talmud teaches that God also
arranges second marriages and a man’s second wife is chosen according to his merits.
The Talmud says that only the husband can initiates divorce, and the woman’s consent is
not required. However, later rabbis require the woman’s consent. In addition, rabbinical
court can force a man to divorce his wife, for example, when he neglects his marital
obligations.
To discourage divorces, rabbis created complex rules regarding the procedures. A
competent rabbinical authority should be consulted prior to divorce. According to the
Torah, the husband must write a document of divorce, sefer k’ritut but known today as a
get, to his wife. Divorced people are encouraged to remarry. Marriage with a woman who
has not been properly divorced is strictly prohibited by the mitzvot. The offspring of such
marriage are mamzerim (bastards, illegitimate) and are subject to many restrictions.
There are other classes of prohibited marriages, such as marriage between a Jew and a
non-Jew.
According to the Torah and Talmud, polygyny was permitted, but it was never common.
The Talmud never mentions any rabbi with more than one wife. Today, the majority of
Jews, including the modern state of Israel, allow only one wife. Marital sexual relations
are the woman’s right, not the man’s. A married woman retains ownership of her
property, however, the husband has the right to manage them and enjoy profits from
them. Jewish wives and mothers have always been highly recognised in Judaism for their
role in the home and in teaching of their children.