What are religious systems if not guides for ethics? Any religion worth its salt must give its followers a concrete notion of the good life - of virtue, justice, and rectitude. It needs to offer a conception of what counts as good in this world; it must explain how a person can be good, and how people collectively can create the best possible existence for themselves. These things will naturally be tied to a specific conception of God (or the gods), but still, concrete and specific ethical norms must be the outcome; otherwise, followers will be largely left in the dark regarding how to conduct a proper life.
Judaism is no exception. The basic outline of this religion is of course found in the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament (the Tanakh). Unfortunately, from an ethical perspective, the Old Testament is an utter fiasco: moral precepts abound, but they are ambiguous, contradictory, vapid, and arbitrary. And worse: they lead to a catastrophic and repulsive set of attitudes, as I will demonstrate. [Read More]
