ערכים

In a passage recited daily as part of the Shema prayer, the Torah commands loving God “with all your heart, soul, and might.” For thousands of years. Jewish commentators, thinkers, and legal scholars have explored the meaning of this commandment, how it can be accomplished, and its role in Judaism.

Many biblical characters display courage, like the midwives who defy Pharaoh's decree to kill Jewish babies or Queen Esther, who exposes the plan of the evil Haman to King Ahasuerus. The charge to "be strong and courageous" appears several times throughout the Bible, especially to the character of Joshua as he prepares to lead the people into the land of Israel. Rambam, the 12th-century scholar, counts the prohibition of fearing the enemy and deserting battle as one of the commandments, and other rabbinic, Chasidic, and kabbalistic sources analyze the merits and qualities necessary to achieve courage.

Many biblical characters express thankfulness and laughter; the first character described explicitly as feeling happy is Aaron. Later parts of the Torah tell of the happiness that will accompany worshiping God in God’s chosen place in the land of Israel, and the Torah commands rejoicing on the festivals. Some Jewish thinkers see happiness as naturally accompanying, or as something that should accompany, performing the commandments, and as an inherent part of fulfilling them. Others minimize the role that happiness ought to play. Jewish wisdom texts offer ideas about how one can arrive at true happiness, like by being content with what one has.

Jewish tradition, with roots in midrash, maintains that Israelites stood at Mount Sinai as though they were “one person with one heart.” Acheinu, a prayer expressing Jewish unity, occupies an important place for many in Jewish prayer. The Torah also warns of the dangers of uniformity, through stories like the Tower of Babel, and Jewish texts throughout the ages consider how to balance unity with values that at times conflict with it.

From the outset of the Torah, its characters are challenged to take responsibility for their actions: God questions Adam and Eve about their sin in the Garden of Eden and later asks their son Cain about the whereabouts of the brother whom he murdered. Responsibility is a foundation of the covenantal pact between God and the Israelites that appears throughout the Bible. The concept that all Jews are responsible for one another reverberates throughout Jewish texts, as they delve into the practical applications of responsibility and its theoretical underpinnings.

Faith is a value central to Judaism. The biblical Abraham is noted throughout Jewish texts as a paradigm of fatih. Medieval scholars like Rambam crafted principles of faith, and sources throughout the Jewish tradition tell stories of faith and discuss the role and nature of faith in Judaism.

The value of truth is discussed throughout the Jewish textual tradition, with roots in the biblical command to distance oneself from lying.. Jewish texts also make room for bending the truth or lying in certain circumstances, like for the sake of peace.

"He put his trust in God," the Torah states of Abram (later to be called Abraham), as God shows him the stars and promises that one day his descendants will be so numerous that they'll be just as uncountable. This is perhaps the first moment of explicit trust in the Torah, and Abraham is often discussed as a paragon of trust in God in later Jewish texts. Many other biblical texts speak of trust in moments when help didn't feel immediately tangible, and works of Jewish thought and Musar discuss trust extensively, including its connection to knowledge of God, the balance between trust and action, and how to practically develop and grow one's trust.

Treating others with kindness is a foundational Jewish practice and is considered one of three pillars on which the world stands. Biblical characters like Abraham exemplify kindness in their generous treatment of strangers, and rabbinic texts instruct people to follow God’s example of behaving with kindness.

Though the contemporary Hebrew word for imagination, dimyon, is not found in the Torah, the first book of the Torah speaks of "thoughts of the heart," and characters throughout the Bible employ imaginative thinking to build, protect, create, and develop schemes. Later sources discuss the use of imagination in prayer, its role in prophecy and everyday life, and its use as a tool in parenting.

Several biblical passages feature laughter, playfulness, or irony, though the extent to which the Bible contains intentional humor is a matter of debate. In rabbinic literature, humor is utilized as a tool for engaging with foreign views, as a pedagogical method to engage students, and as part of natural interactions between scholars. Chasidic texts expound on the significance of incorporating humor in one's spiritual life, and works throughout the Jewish textual tradition engage in humor and analyze its role in Jewish life.

Teaching is a central value in Judaism that features in a variety of context. The biblical patriarch Abraham is instructed to teach his descendants the ways of justice and righteousness, for examples, and rabbinic literature analyzes the responsibilities of parents to ensure that their children receive an education.

In the Bible, the Hebrew word for "wisdom," chokhmah, can take on different meanings depending on context: for example, the word can refer to superior intellect, moral discernment, or excellence with a practical skill. Several biblical characters are described as wise, from Betzalel to the wise woman from Tekoa to, perhaps most notably, King Solomon. Later Jewish texts further explore the nature, divine origins, merits, and limitations of wisdom.

In the Torah, God commands the Jewish people to act compassionately toward the stranger. Jewish texts of many genres elaborate on what this means, how to emulate God’s compassion, and how to navigate situations where compassion conflicts with other values.

The Torah, Judaism's foundational text, begins with creative acts as God makes the world over six days. The same chapter describes how the first humans are created in the image of God and tasked with the project of creating new life and filling the earth. Texts throughout the Jewish textual tradition speak of the importance of imbuing religious practice — from prayer to Torah study — with creative spirit, the nature of creative work and its prohibition on Shabbat, and ownership rights of those who create.

Atonement, or kapparah in Hebrew, is the process of bringing about forgiveness for a sin. In the Jewish textual tradition, atonement may be achieved through repentance, prayer, sacrifice, punishment, the rituals of Yom Kippur, and other methods.

An argument for the sake of heaven — a machloket leshem shamayim — is a disagreement over a point of Torah law or ethics, debated with pure intentions. In Jewish thought, while disagreements can be destructive, disagreements over matters of Torah help sharpen our understanding of God's will and how to understand and live according to the Torah. The classic examples of these kinds of disagreements are those between the late Second Temple era sages Hillel and Shammai.

Jewish textual tradition values giving and generosity. The Torah instructs providing for those in need and requires the distribution of agricultural gifts to the poor, the priests, and the Levites. Later Jewish texts elaborate on these commandments, discussing who should give, how much, and in what ways, as well as the spiritual impacts of generosity.

Comfort appears in the Jewish tradition as an ease to be wished and prayed for, as a luxury to be wary of, and as an assistance to be offered to others. The act of comforting those in grief or distress in particular is a personal and communal obligation, and also a divine act. Halakhah (Jewish law) regulating mourning practices provides guidelines for mourners and their supporters receiving and giving comfort after the death of a close family member. In the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah preach prophecies of comfort in response to national catastrophes (as well as prophecies of rebuke and warning in advance of them). Certain such prophecies of consolation from the book of Isaiah are traditionally read publicly in the seven weeks following the communal mourning day of Tisha B’Av.

Jewish textual tradition values giving and generosity. The Torah instructs providing for those in need and requires the distribution of agricultural gifts to the poor, the priests, and the Levites. Later Jewish texts elaborate on these commandments and on the importance of supporting communal institutions.

Forgiveness is a value discussed throughout the Jewish textual tradition. It is particularly associated with the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the days that lead up to them.

The Jewish tradition emphasizes that humility is a desirable character trait. This trait is exhibited by biblical characters — most notably Moses — analyzed by commentators who discuss the balance between humility, self-worth, and self-recognition, and celebrated by works of musar that offer guidance on cultivating humility.

The Torah commands “Justice, justice you shall pursue” as a condition for inhabiting the land of Israel. The Torah further commands specific measures to be put in place in order to establish just societies, including just courts and fair and honest weights and measures. Several biblical prophets critique those who prioritize ritual practice but ignore the Torah’s imperatives to act justly, and sources throughout the rabbinic tradition discuss and analyze the requirements and parameters of justice.

Usually a reference to religious martyrdom.

The Torah uses a version of the word "wholeness" in the context of a commandment to have "completely honest" weights and measures and in the context of the commandment to build the altar with whole stones. Verses in the Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible speak of wholeness of the heart, meaning honesty and thorough commitment. Sources of Jewish thought use the Hebrew word for "wholeness" – sheleimut – to talk about the goal of achieving spiritual perfection, discussing different types of wholeness: wholeness of intention, wholeness of heart, physical wholeness, and more.

Sources throughout the Jewish textual tradition touch on the topic of xenophobia, or fear or dislike of the foreigner or stranger. Rabbinic sources count dozens of instances in which the Torah warns of mistreating the foreigner, and countless texts expand on the importance of treating all people with dignity since humans were created in God's image. Other sources stress the chosenness of the Jewish people and that non-Jews are at times treated differently. Generations of Jewish scholars have grappled with explaining these diverse texts and approaches.

While Judaism is often thought of as a sound-filled religion — God uses speech to utter the world into existence, and synagogues and study halls are often places of audible prayer and learning— silence has its place in the Jewish textual tradition. The high priest Aaron reacts to the death of his two sons with silence, and Pirkei Avot praises silence as a "fence to wisdom." Sources throughout the centuries discuss the place and value of silence.

Gratitude, or the concept of being thankful, is prevalent throughout Jewish texts. It is the theme of the first prayer uttered upon waking up in the morning, Modeh Ani (“I give thanks”), and is a value that drives countless other Jewish practices, traditions, and customs.

The Torah is Judaism's foundational text, described as given by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. The five books that make up the Torah are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They tell of the origins and development of the Israelite nation and present the foundational laws of Judaism. In some contexts, “Torah” refers broadly to both the Written and Oral Torah, which includes not only the five books of the Torah but the entire Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, and any interpretations relating to those texts.

Biblical books are filled with reassurances from God and the prophets that a hopeful future lies ahead. Later Jewish texts offer guidance on how to turn despair into hope, analyze the relationship between hope, trust, and fear, and provide language for expressing hope through prayer.