Q&A: Moral Imperative Versus Jewish Law
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Moral Imperative Versus Jewish Law
Question
Hello, honorable Rabbi,
I watched your interview on YouTube, in which the interviewer asked you what happens when there is a clash between your morality and Jewish law, and you answered that there is no clear answer, and that sometimes you would go with morality and sometimes with Jewish law.
My question is: how can there be a moral imperative external to Jewish law that is not subordinate to it? What gives it its validity and binding force, if not God?
Answer
It is God, yes (see Column 456), but not through Jewish law.