Q&A: Moral Validity
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Moral Validity
Question
To give morality validity, is it enough to believe in God, or do you have to believe in a God who punishes and rewards? If God does not punish, why should His will matter to us at all?
Answer
This applies not only to morality but also to the commandments. The requirement, as Maimonides formulates it at the beginning of chapter 10 of the Laws of Repentance, is to serve not for the sake of reward or punishment but for its own sake (to do the truth because it is truth). Assuming that God’s command is the truth, that is what gives morality its validity. There is no need at all for reward and punishment for this point itself.
See also Column 120 on this.
See also in the Fourth Notebook, part 3. “If there is no God in this place, they will kill me” is not talking about punishment, but about the very existence of God.