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Divine morality and human morality

שו”תCategory: faithDivine morality and human morality
asked 8 years ago

Hello Rabbi Avraham,
An idea that came to my mind during Shabbat regarding religious obligation versus moral obligation.
I know that I have a moral obligation towards human beings, not towards animals, plants, or inanimate objects.
Is there any point in saying that the obligation towards God is a greater obligation than the obligation towards humans because He (God) is in a higher category of existence than humans (for illustration – having an obligation towards Him is equivalent to having an obligation towards ‘billions of humans’ who He is ‘worth’ much more than, categorically, is ‘something different from them’).
A practical consequence follows from this – if it turns out that a duty towards God contradicts a duty towards man, ‘religion versus morality’, I will prefer the religious imperative over the moral imperative. Just as one should prefer the value of saving a life over the value of gratitude, for example, which is a greater value.
This is the wort, I’m curious if the rabbi agrees with it or if there is any problem with it.
And now a question: Why should the obligation towards God be fulfilled through the duties He said on Mount Sinai and not through an intellectual action on my part? What is the point of commandments? Why shouldn’t we fulfill a religious obligation through an intellectual commandment like human morality?
 
 


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מיכי Staff answered 8 years ago
I don’t see any significant gain in this consideration. It may be true, but at most it adds a layer of understanding to those who find this commitment within themselves. Those who don’t find it – it won’t convince them. The implication can also be debated. First, because he himself commanded respect for human beings (a similar consideration appears regarding respect for parents). If you do something because it makes sense, then it is not God’s work. This does not mean that the commandment must be illogical, but that the motivation for doing it cannot be logic alone. See the last post on altruistic actions. Otherwise, is there a commandment between a rational secular person and a committed religious person?

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