Past Imperatives : Studies in the History and Theory of Jewish Ethics.

Front Matter -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Ethics: Applied and Theoretical, Prescriptive and Descriptive -- The Modern Study of Jewish Ethics -- Studies in the History and Theory of Jewish Ethics -- Content -- Part One: Ethics and Law -- Law, Virtue, and Supererogation in the Halakha -- The Problem of Lifnim Mishurat Hadin Reconsidered -- Talmudic Sources -- The Status of Lifnim Mishurat Hadin -- Interpreting Lifnim Mishurat Radin: A Fresh Perspective -- Ethics as Law, Law as Religion -- Reflections on the Problem of Law and Ethics in Judaism -- The Evidence -- The Parameters of the Debate -- Reframing the Issues -- Law and Ethics in the Context of Judaism as a Religious System -- Covenant and Contract -- A Framework for the Analysis of Jewish Ethics -- The Centrality of Covenant -- Covenant and Contract: A Typology of Relationships -- Covenant Theologies and Jewish Ethics -- Conclusions -- Part Two: Ethics and Theology -- The Quality of Mercy -- On the Duty to Forgive in the Judaic Tradition -- A Philosophical Model of Forgiveness -- Judaic Sources on Forgiveness -- The Theological Foundation of the Duty to Forgive -- Jewish Theology and Bioethics -- The Character of Traditional Jewish Ethics -- Some Principles of Jewish Biomedical Ethics -- Jewish Medical Ethics in a Wider Context -- Nature and Torah, Creation and Revelation -- On the Possibility of a Natural Law in Judaism -- Natural Law: Issues of Definition -- Natural Law in Judaism: Redefining the Question, Reexamining the Texts -- Nature and Torah, Creation and Revelation -- Religious Faith, Historical Relativism, and the Prospects for Modern Jewish Ethics -- Revelation, Historicism, and the Search for Moral Norms -- God's Presence in History: Reconstructing Jewish Theology.

Jewish Theology, Covenant, and Ethics -- Part Three: Methodological Issues in Contemporary Jewish Ethics -- Woodchoppers and Respirators -- The Problem of Interpretation in Contemporary Jewish Ethics -- Interpretation in Contemporary Jewish Ethics: Description and Analysis -- The Interpretation of Texts in a Legal Tradition -- Contemporary Jewish Ethics-A Reassessment -- Text and Tradition in Contemporary Jewish Bioethics -- Jewish Ethics in the Modern World -- Models in Contemporary Jewish Ethics -- The Hermeneutics of Contemporary Jewish Ethics -- The Concept of Tradition in Contemporary Jewish Ethics -- Talking Ethics with Strangers -- A View from Jewish Tradition -- The Nature of Secular Bioethics -- How Judaism Can Contribute to Secular Bioethics -- Englehardt and Secular Bioethics Revisited -- Conclusion -- New Directions in the Study ofthe Ethics of Judaism -- Jewish Ethics in the Context of Judaism -- Jewish Ethics in Relation to Other Religions' Ethics -- religious ethics.Jewish and Nonreligious/Philosophical Ethics -- Back Matter -- Notes -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Law -- Virtue, and Supererogation in the Halakha -- Chapter 2: Ethics as Law, Law as Religion -- Chapter 3: Covenant and Contract -- Chapter 4: The Quality of Mercy -- Chapter 5: Jewish Theology and Bioethics -- Chapter 6: Nature and Torah, Creation and Revelation -- Chapter 7: Religious Faith, Historical Relativism, and the Prospects for Modem Jewish Ethics -- Chapter 8: Woodchoppers and Respirators -- Chapter 9: Text and Tradition in Contemporary Jewish Bioethics -- Chapter 10: Talking Ethics with Strangers -- Conclusion: New Directions in the Study of the Ethics of Judaism -- References -- Rabbinic Sources -- Index.

Explores central questions in the history and theory of Jewish ethics, namely, the relationship between ethics and law, the relationship between ethics and theology, and the problems and prospects for constructing a contemporary Jewish ethic.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.