oa Judaism and Social Justice: Five Core Values from the Rabbinic Tradition

For Judaism there are two core mandates—justice and holiness. Jews should be fully engaged with the world. There is no other way to bring about justice. Yet holiness requires the Jewish people to establish some separation from the world. This paradox is common to virtually all religions. In this article, Rabbi Sid Schwarz analyzes the five Jewish values that stand at the core of Jewish teachings about social justice: Kavod Habriot (dignity of all creatures), Chesed (lovingkindness), Lo Ta'amod (You Shall Not Stand Idly By), Darchei Shalom (Ways of Peace) and Ahavat Ger (loving the stranger).