Q&A: A Strange Tangle
A Strange Tangle
Question
Hello Rabbi. When I try to draw a clear boundary between Jewish law and morality, I run into something that doesn’t add up. First assumption: morality is distinguishing between good and evil (things it is right to do and things it is not right to do). Second assumption: divine commands are things it is right to do them (because God commanded them), and God would not tell me to do something that is not right. Conclusion: every divine command is בעצם moral by definition. It follows that when there seems to be a contradiction between morality and Jewish law, there really is no contradiction, because the right thing to do (what Jewish law instructs) is God’s will, and therefore it is the moral thing. So there is never any contradiction between morality and Jewish law, because really they are the same thing (??)
I know something here doesn’t work, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’d be happy for some help. Thank you very much.
Answer
You’re playing with words. Identifying morality with the will of God is mistaken. Morality is indeed God’s will, but the reverse is not true. Alternatively: not everything that it is right to do is morality. There is also Jewish law. Therefore, sometimes God may instruct you to do something immoral, because that is what ought to be done in such a situation (in order to achieve a religious value).
Discussion on Answer
See column 457
I’ve already heard your videos and read columns on the subject (apparently I’m missing something). After all, morality is from God, and there is no such thing as valid morality without Him. Meaning, He could have decided that being cruel to someone is moral, and then it would simply be defined as moral. So what’s the difference? Let’s just say that the decision to murder an Amalekite baby is moral simply because God said so. (It’s not like He ever spelled out everything that is moral and immoral in every situation, so how do we know it really conflicts?) On the one hand, there is no morality without God; on the other hand, do we just know everything that is moral simply because we know it on our own, and that’s it? If we go by what is implanted in us, I can bring you someone from a cannibal tribe who will tell you that he murders when he’s hungry and that it’s the most moral thing there is, because he really feels it just like you feel that murder is forbidden. My whole problem is that there is no explicit definition for every act—whether it is moral and in which situations… Sorry for the long rant.