Outlining objective morality was achieved at Sinai.
Jewish tradition established a system for anchoring ourselves in eternal truths while we launch debates and ask questions about how to achieve a world and lives of holiness.
Some say Moses received the chapter headings and others say the text is straightforward. We know life is complex, and sometimes the clear law makes us know what is right and wrong. And other times we must fill in the details about a given conceptual framework.
We should not covet others’ property or powers. What will help people refine their outlooks, so that we can rid ourselves of jealousy? “Thou shalt not murder.” We understand this instruction, and how do we become instrumental in spreading the value of the sanctity of life?
Moral mandates arise from the Torah just as an ethical code is set into stone on the tablets of the law Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton