Worship and Ethics: A Study in Rabbinic Judaism

Worship and Ethics not only describes certain key forms of Jewish worship and the character of Jewish ethics, but also demonstrates that in rabbinic Judaism worship has ethical concomitants. The individual and society are not two entities distinct from each other, for it is society which makes the experience of the individual possible. And, in the author's words, 'We regard ethics not as a system thought out by a philosopher but as a pattern of concepts developed by society.' In rabbinic Judaism, complex society is thought of as organic, maintaining stability while allowing full scope to individual personalities. This is made possible by supplying a pattern of common value concepts, represented by such conceptual terms as God's love, Torah, charity, and repentance, all of which are elements of a basic vocabulary. Both worship and ethics are shown to be governed by Halakah-Jewish law. In the merging of these two spheres the 'normal mystical' experience of God is achieved, a religious experience available to the common man and woman.