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Jewish ethics - Justice

Jewish ethics - Justice: Encyclopedia II - Jewish ethics - Justice

Social ethics is defined by Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel's words: "The world rests on three things: justice, truth, and peace" (Avot 1:18). Justice ("din," corresponding to the Biblical "mishpat") being God's must be vindicated, whether the object be of great or small value (Sanh. 8a). "Let justice pierce the mountain" is the characteristic maxim attributed to Moses (Sanh. 6b). They that ridicule Talmudic Judaism for its hair-splitting minutiae overlook the important ethical ...

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Jewish ethics, Jewish ethics - Altruistic virtues, Jewish ethics - Animals and the environment, Jewish ethics - Bioethics, Jewish ethics - Charity, Jewish ethics - Ethics in rabbinic literature, Jewish ethics - Jewish family ethics, Jewish ethics - Justice, Jewish ethics - Medieval and early modern ethical literature, Jewish ethics - Peace and hatred, Jewish ethics - Prophetic ethics, Jewish ethics - Sanctification of God's name, Jewish ethics - Truth and Peace

Jewish ethics: Encyclopedia II - Jewish ethics - Justice

Jewish ethics - Justice

The Talmud denounces as fraud every mode of taking advantage of a man's ignorance, whether he be Jew or Gentile; every fraudulent dealing, every gain obtained by betting or gambling or by raising the price of breadstuffs through speculation, is theft (B. B. 90b; Sanh. 25b). The Talmud denounces advantages derived from loans of money or of victuals as usury; every breach of promise in commerce is a sin provoking God's punishment; every act of carelessness which exposes men or things to danger and damage is a culpable transgression.

The Talmud extends far beyond Biblical statutes responsibility for every object given into custody of a person or found by him. A rabbi in the Talmud opines that putting one's fellow man to shame, in the same category as murder (B. M. 58b), and brands as calumny the spreading of evil reports, even when true. Also forbidden is listening to slanderous gossip, or the causing of suspicion, or the provoking of unfavorable remarks about a neighbor.