Q&A: Morality and Jewish Law
Morality and Jewish Law
Question
Hello!
This question follows the debate with Yaron Yadan and several of your lectures that I heard.
You argued that the source of morality and Jewish law is God.
You said that in certain cases, when there is a conflict between morality and Jewish law, you would prefer Jewish law over morality. You gave as an example the killing of Amalekites. You explained that since this is stated explicitly in the Torah, that is a sign that God apparently expects you to override your moral conscience and carry out the killing.
Following this, I have several questions:
1. If I killed a definite Amalekite because of a divine command, did I do something morally wrong, and should I be judged for it?
2. If a Muslim kills a human being whom he regards as an infidel because of a divine command—assuming it is stated explicitly in his tradition / holy book that it is from God—did he do something wrong, and should he be judged for it?
Answer
- You did something morally wrong and religiously right.
- The same. See column 372.