Sublime

There must be justice not only in how the law is applied, but also in how the means of existence – wealth as God’s blessing – are distributed. That is tzedakah.

One of the most stunning gestures of Judaism was to overturn the whole idea of a hierarchy of knowledge,18 for if there are inequalities of learning, they will be replicated through all other social structures, giving some people unwarranted power over others. This is the great insight of the Jewish vision, from which all else followed: A free soci

What is wrong in Jewish life today is that we have forgotten Zis gut zu zein a Yid, “It’s good to be a Jew.”

as Jews we have a responsibility to work across the borders of faith and be a blessing to humanity as a whole, seeking neither recognition nor reward.

Darkhei shalom is essentially hessed universalized and applied to those who are not members of our faith.

Different cultures represent different lives, different human possibilities that are not available everywhere.

A leader is held responsible for the sins of the people he leads – at least those he might have prevented (Shabbat 54b). With power comes responsibility: the greater the power, the greater the responsibility.

God creates divine justice, but only we can create human justice, acting on behalf of God but never aspiring to be other than human.

Hence the vital principle: when bad things are happening in society, when corruption, violence, and injustice prevail, it is our duty to register a protest, even if it seems likely that it will have no effect.