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So, not too long ago someone on here felt like pointing out how unloving and cruel the "fake" (read: real, OT Chosen People of God) Jews are, and today while reading a book by Hayim Donin, I stumbled upon some quotes that proves the exact opposite.
And now, I will post these quotes not only to show you that Jews are not unloving or cruel, but also because they are pretty great quotes that we can learn from and live by. They are speaking of Jewish values, but the values come from the Torah, and any values found in the Torah can apply to our lives. Right?
Rabbi Kook write: "The love of all people must pulsate in one's heart and soul, the love of every human being individually and of all nations collectively, expressed by a desire to assist in their spiritual and material growth. Hatred must be directed only towards the acts of evil and the corrupt deeds in the world."
Paralleling the love and reverence for God is the Jewish tradition's emphasis upon the verse in the Torah, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). The Hebrew text uses the word rai-aka which...implies fellow human beings [as opposed to it implying a select number of people].
The stress upon acting with due regard and consideration for the feelings of others is found throughout Torah sources. ... The sages of the Talmud added: "The dignity of the human being is a great thing."
This basic value is reflected in the religious prohibition against publicly embarrassing a person, which is treated as the moral equivalent of murder.
Inherent in the Jewish value system is the view that looks upon all people as equal and that refutes all idea of racial superiority. The idea is embodied in the answer given to the question as to why God chose to create just one human being and then commanding, be "fruitful and multiply and fill the earth," when He could just as easily have started with many hundreds or thousands of people and quickened the process of filling the earth. It was done, says the Mishna, to enhance the peace of mankind, so that no man should be able to say to another, "my father was greater than yours." [I really like this quote]
When the Talmud notes the qualities possessed by Israel it says: "Three characteristics does the [Jewish] people possess: they are merciful, modest, and perform deeds of kindness." Jews who lacked these qualities were considered unworthy members of the people. Maimonides went so far as to declare that "there is reason to be suspicious of the Jewish credentials of one who is cruel."
In the chapter I drew these quotes from (yes, they all came from 1 chapter), the headings found in the chapter were as follows:
The Basic Values of Judaism: What Kind of People Do We Want Our Children to Be?
To Love and Revere God
To Love Our Neighbor
To Respect Human Dignity
To Treat All People Equally
To Regard Life as Sacred
To Strive for Holiness
To Study Torah
To Cherish Eretz Yisrael
To Love Justice
To Be Compassionate
To Show Civic Responsibility
To Be Creative
While all of this does go a long way to prove the sort of character a Jew (whether you wish to label him as fake or not) really and truly has, it also served to show me, at least, the type of person I should strive to be. Should I not love and revere God, love my neighbor, be compassionate, etc? Those are all things God would want from me just as much as He wants them from His chosen people.
Okay, you all might not feel inclined to cherish Eretz Yisrael, but other than that it's pretty good stuff.
And now, I will post these quotes not only to show you that Jews are not unloving or cruel, but also because they are pretty great quotes that we can learn from and live by. They are speaking of Jewish values, but the values come from the Torah, and any values found in the Torah can apply to our lives. Right?
Rabbi Kook write: "The love of all people must pulsate in one's heart and soul, the love of every human being individually and of all nations collectively, expressed by a desire to assist in their spiritual and material growth. Hatred must be directed only towards the acts of evil and the corrupt deeds in the world."
Paralleling the love and reverence for God is the Jewish tradition's emphasis upon the verse in the Torah, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). The Hebrew text uses the word rai-aka which...implies fellow human beings [as opposed to it implying a select number of people].
The stress upon acting with due regard and consideration for the feelings of others is found throughout Torah sources. ... The sages of the Talmud added: "The dignity of the human being is a great thing."
This basic value is reflected in the religious prohibition against publicly embarrassing a person, which is treated as the moral equivalent of murder.
Inherent in the Jewish value system is the view that looks upon all people as equal and that refutes all idea of racial superiority. The idea is embodied in the answer given to the question as to why God chose to create just one human being and then commanding, be "fruitful and multiply and fill the earth," when He could just as easily have started with many hundreds or thousands of people and quickened the process of filling the earth. It was done, says the Mishna, to enhance the peace of mankind, so that no man should be able to say to another, "my father was greater than yours." [I really like this quote]
When the Talmud notes the qualities possessed by Israel it says: "Three characteristics does the [Jewish] people possess: they are merciful, modest, and perform deeds of kindness." Jews who lacked these qualities were considered unworthy members of the people. Maimonides went so far as to declare that "there is reason to be suspicious of the Jewish credentials of one who is cruel."
In the chapter I drew these quotes from (yes, they all came from 1 chapter), the headings found in the chapter were as follows:
The Basic Values of Judaism: What Kind of People Do We Want Our Children to Be?
To Love and Revere God
To Love Our Neighbor
To Respect Human Dignity
To Treat All People Equally
To Regard Life as Sacred
To Strive for Holiness
To Study Torah
To Cherish Eretz Yisrael
To Love Justice
To Be Compassionate
To Show Civic Responsibility
To Be Creative
While all of this does go a long way to prove the sort of character a Jew (whether you wish to label him as fake or not) really and truly has, it also served to show me, at least, the type of person I should strive to be. Should I not love and revere God, love my neighbor, be compassionate, etc? Those are all things God would want from me just as much as He wants them from His chosen people.
Okay, you all might not feel inclined to cherish Eretz Yisrael, but other than that it's pretty good stuff.