Q&A: What Is the Source of Your Morality?
What Is the Source of Your Morality?
Question
The Rabbi wrote that Jewish law and morality are separate things. If so, then what is the source of your morality? Your conscience? But there are people whose conscience is different from yours, and whose morality is different, and they can do something immoral while thinking it is moral. That shows that listening to one’s conscience is not the source of morality. What does the Rabbi think?
Answer
Wow. So many mistakes in one short passage.
What is the source of your Jewish law? The Holy One, blessed be He? But there are people with a different interpretation of Jewish law, and they can do something that contradicts Jewish law while thinking it is God’s will. Does that show that listening to the Holy One, blessed be He, is not the source of morality?
What is the source of your law? The state? But…
1. You need to clarify what is meant by “what is the source of morality.” What gives it validity? Or how do I know what is moral and what is not? Those are two different questions.
The source of validity is God. How do I know what is moral? From my conscience.
2. For others, the source of validity is different (the human being, society), and they are mistaken about that. See column 456.
3. Other people’s conscience tells them different things than mine does. So what? They are probably mistaken. The fact that there are different opinions does not mean there is no single truth.
4. So how do I conclude that I am the one who is right? See columns 247-248.
That is my view in brief.