God and Community

Everything starts with God. All of Bible study points to God the creator and mover of all things. Jewish tradition says that God created Torah first and then the world according to it. Torah, then, is embedded in the fabric of creation. Jewish tradition also has it that God created man with two "inclinations:" Yetzer Ha-Tov and Yetzer Ha-Ra; 'the good inclination' and 'the evil inclination' respectively. Choosing the Yetzer Ha-Ra has had far-reaching consequences as can be seen in the rest of the Bible stories. Most notably being ejected from the Garden of Edin. Every human being has these two inclinations or instincts, one pulling upwards towards God and the other pulling downwards. At Sinai the Jews accepted a particular covenant relationship with God which is in accordance with creation. 

There are certain Signs and Symbols of this covenant: circumcision which is the first and goes back to Abraham and certain aspects of dress that would be a bit more obvious. These, along with many aspects of Torah serve to separate the Jews from the other nations in which they live. In the Torah there are certain prayers and blessings that have become part of daily life and the liturgical practice. The Rabbis have written additional blessings for every event and they have become part of the life of an observant Jew.

Civil regulations are a bit problematic in our current day even in Israel, which is not a theocracy. The Jews can manage to live many of these laws even as a minority culture within other nations. What might be part of these regulations are the commands to love and brotherhood these apply primarily the other Jews which would clearly include the poor and unfortunate among them. Because the Jews were often mistreated in captivity they are reminded of this and that they are to remember it as relates to the treatment of gentiles in their midst.

Family is the foundational unit of the community; the Marriage, Divorce and Family regulations are meant to keep families strong. The traditions surrounding marriage begin with the engagement. Divorse is regulated and discouraged.

Leviticus chapter 18 is all about Forbidden Sexual Relations. It is interesting to note that this chapter is the basis of the Table of Kindred and Affinity in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.

Times and Seasons ends this section and outlines the responsibilities surrounding the calendar and holy days (see Jewish feasts). Jewish feasts commemorate various times in history where G-d intervened on Israel's behalf. For more on calendars generally see calendars.

 

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