An Cient isr Ae L s ethi Cs An

An. Cient isr. Ae. L’s ethi. Cs An. D VALUes An. D their. . . i. Mp. ACt on Western Ci. Vi. Li. ZAtion Produced by Learn. Israel. org www. learnisrael. org © 2007

Key Values For an Ideal World • Respect for Human Life • Justice and Equality • Family • Social Responsibility • Education • Peace and Harmony

Where Did the Values and Morals of the Modern World Come From?

Life is Sacred- Thou Shall Not Murder One of the basic tenets of ancient Israel is that human life is sacred. This is considered a SHARED Judeo. Christian value because this tenet was later picked up by Christianity due to its Jewish heritage. The sanctity of life was an idea that was considered RADICAL in the ancient world. Ancient civilizations killed people as a form of religious worship and sport. INFANTICIDE, the killing of infants who were deformed, disabled or didn’t meet a certain standard of beauty was considered NORMAL in the Greek and Roman cultures while the ancient Israelite Law of NOT killing one’s child was considered perverse or strange.

The Roman Ideal of Entertainment The Coliseum was considered one of Rome’s greatest engineering feats. The arena, completed in 80 C. E. sat 50, 000 people, had a roof that could be removed and a floor that could be raised or lowered. What was the Coliseum used for? To entertain the Roman crowds. Spectators were fed meat and wine, sat on pillows and watched as 1, 000 wild beasts fought each other in the morning, followed by condemned prisoners being fed to the beasts and gladiators fighting each other to death. Women, children, blind people and dwarfs were used as gladiators to entertain the crowds. Even though Rome was advanced technologically, it was a barbaric culture by today’s standards.

What- No Human Sacrifice? The Bible tells the story of Abraham’s test when God asks him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, who he loves, on Mount Moriah. At the last minute an angel sent by God stops Abraham from sacrificing his son. Unlike the views of pagan societies, the God of the ancient Israelites abhorred and condemned human sacrifice. What is mind-boggling is that this moral code was envisioned almost 3, 800 years ago.

Ancient Israel traces its ancestry back to Abraham, a nomadic chieftain who traveled to Canaan from Ur.

Ethical Monotheism. The Great Jewish Discovery: God is One How Did it Happen?

Pagans Worshipped Many Gods Pagan societies at the height of the Bronze age practiced polytheism- they worshipped many gods. The gods were represented by statutes called idols. Pagans could pray to their gods and ask for favors. But the gods demanded much in return- some required a blood sacrifice such as the sacrifice of the first-born son.

Enter Abraham: the Rebellious Son As a young boy, Abraham worked in his father’s idol store and realized that the idols his father made had no powers. In a story from the Midrash, Abraham takes an axe and chops to pieces all the idols in his father’s store- except for the largest idol, in whose hands he places an axe. When confronted, he tells his father that the largest idol did the deed. His father replies, “Idols can’t do anything. ” Abraham tells his father to think about what he just said. Abraham looks up into the sky and realizes that it wasn’t created on its own. He comes to the ORIGINAL CONCLUSION that there is only ONE GOD, INVISIBLE and NOT PHYSICAL, who created the heavens and the earth. THIS CONCEPT IS KNOWN AS ETHICAL MONOTHEISM.

HOW DID ETHICAL MONOTHEISM CHANGE THE WORLD?

L’Chaim-to Life! The ancient Israelites believed that all humanity should follow one universal moral standard because all of humanity was created in the image of God. This saying is from the Talmud. What do you think it means? Can You Think Of Any Modern Innovations That Save Lives?

Ancient Israel’s Rule of Law

The Ten Commandments and the Torah form the cornerstone of our laws and provide the moral basis for all Western Civilization.

the ten Commandments > You shall have no other gods before me > You shall not make for yourself an idol > You shall not murder > You shall not commit adultery > You shall not steal > You shall not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain > You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor > Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy > You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor > Honor your father and your mother

Which of these commandments are part of the law in the United States today?

Requirements to be a Judge Have to be a Parent. Have to speak 70 languages. Open to all qualified candidates regardless of status as long as distinguished in Torah, wisdom, humility and of honest reputation.

Family and a Woman’s Place

Ancient Take on Women Two primary sources from Ancient Greek and Hebrew times; notice the contrasting perspectives on marriage " Marriage brings a man only two happy days: the day he takes his bride to bed and the day he lays her in her grave. " Greek poet Palladus “. . Yet a wife is a necessary evil because without her a man cannot have a son to inherit his property. ” Hesiod, a Greek "And so our rabbis decreed that a man should honor his wife more than himself and love her as much as he loves himself. " MAIMONIDES. MISHNA TORAH, "Laws of Marriage. " 15: 19

The Ketubah: Ancient Pre-Nuptial Agreement The ketubah dates back to over 2000 years ago and is one of the earliest marriage contracts to spell out the husband’s obligations to his wife during the marriage and in the event of divorce.

Education

Ancient Take on Education In Rome and Greek societies there was no such thing as a free public educational system- only the wealthy could afford to send their children to elementary schools. “. . It should be obvious in Greece and to an even greater extent in the Roman Empire the illiteracy of the masses contributed to the stability of political order. . . ” William V. Harris, “Ancient Literacy” “Appoint teachers for children in every country, province and city. ” Maimonides, Misna Torah, “Laws of Learning Torah”, 2: 1 in Quote 22

By the 1 st Century B. C. E. , all Jewish male children regardless of social status were educated to read the Hebrew Scriptures. The Hebrew Scriptures are also known as the Old Testament or the. . . tana. Kh to r. A gs in h it r W prophets

The Tanakh or Hebrew Scriptures touched on all aspects of daily life: • Relationships • Diet • Environment • Charity • Health • Finances • Legal Issues

Social Responsibility “Love your neighbor as yourself. " LEVITICUS 19: 18 Social consciousness is a mitzvah, a legal obligation in the Torah.

Israel is at the Forefront of Humanitarian Programs to Share its Innovations In 1958, only 10 years after its independence, Israel created MASHAV, Israel’s Center for International Cooperation, to offer emerging nations its expertise in: Agriculture/Desert Agriculture Water Management Refugee Absorption Early Childhood Education Emergency and Disaster Medicine Employment Programs Click above for Video Courtesy of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs MASHAV conducts 300 courses annually for emerging nations and has trained almost 200, 000 participants in over 140 countries from Albania to Zimbabwe.

Vision of World Peace Outside of the United Nations General Assembly Headquarters in Manhattan, engraved on the "Isaiah Wall, " is the motto of the UN: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. " ISAIAH 2: 4

One God: Basis for Democratic Governments These values have been spread through the growth of liberal democracy during the last 200 years. The shapers of British democracy and the "Founding Fathers" of America constantly turned to the Bible as a source of inspiration and values. Look at the following statement from the "Declaration of Independence" of the United States. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that amongst these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. "

This presentation was inspired by Rabbi Ken Spiro’s excellent book, World. Perfect-The Jewish Impact on Civilization. We wish to give special thanks to Rabbi Spiro for permission to use graphics and information.

Special thanks to Wendy Lewis for designing and writing this presentation

Ancient Israel’s Ethics & Values and their Impact on Western Civilization Produced by Learn Israel, A division of Standwithus P. O. Box 341069 Los Angeles, CA. 90034 -1069 E-Mail: info@learnisrael. org Please contact us to order more copies of this CD.