Jewish Values 1

Shalom, I am Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg of the Ezra-Habonim, Niles Township Jewish Congregation. I am beginning a series called Jewish Values to be 38 of them and I will be dividing it into short videos. These values do not occur in any classic book but all of the terms and ideas do occur through our Jewish tradition. It is a wonderful way to understand some basic and fundamental Jewish ideas. I hope through this course over video we will be able to expand our knowledge about fundamental Jewish ideas and the principle upon which Judaism are founded.

The very first idea, the value is called Adam Hakhad, one Adam. For Adam who began the bible. This idea teaches us that we all come from one person. Why do we take it literally or not and many Jews do not, the idea is fundamentally important that no one can say as the Mishna tells us that my father is better than your father if we all come from the same fellow. This basic idea goes to the fundamental divine aspects of every human being whether you are Jewish or not Jewish whatever color your skin, your IQ, you height, weight every human being is entitled the basic human dignity.

I know this flies in the face of so many cultural ideas out there especially Natzi’s in which said that Jews were inferior or any kind of racism or phobias about other people, every human being deserves dignity because no one can say my father was better than yours. We concept of one Adam Hakhad

Concept number two, Ojave and Abriot to love your fellow creatures. This goes the very same basic idea that we must love all of Gods creation. When the Torah begins by saying God created the heaven and the earth and God looked him so is very good God did not say that was good and this was not good but all the creation is good. You must give basic respect and love to all of God’s creatures and to all our fellows. Now this may mean that we cannot treat other thing unfairly or harmfully, it does not mean necessarily that we cannot eat products of nature all though some people say we can. But everything has to be treated with dignity and respect. And so value number two is Ojave and Abriot, to love your creatures.

Now some may consider values number three paradoxical. Because it teaches us that every Jew is responsible for every other Jew. Call Israel [Foreign Language] how sadly according to the kind sociological statistics about half of the Jews do not feel that this is true, but as a basic Jewish Idea. I sense it when I hear people traveling around and they say they stop in this community or they bump into a Jew there and they thought a special connection. This is not contradict values number one and two. It does not mean that we should not treat every non-Jew with respect and dignity. It does not mean that we should not love well other creatures. It does not mean that we think that Jews are better in any way but just we have a special connection born out by our long historic heritage and ideas and moving together through all time. And so that is the reason why Jews historically have given Sudacah, help to other Jews not that we have not given into other people and we will learn later on in this course that we should. But do we have a special connection?

To some Jew who is aging and living in Poland and needs the help of a Jew here that they never met we do feel that kingship. That gave rise to the whole federated giving system where we stretch out hands across the oceans to other communities, to Israel and where ever Jews live to feel it. So this is a value idea number three to feel the commitment and connection of Jews everywhere. One, two, three we will continue these values in further videos.


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