Yes, I know there are eleven candle slots on this menorah, and not seven, but good luck getting AI to count in an image! Ugh!
Tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning “repairing the world,” is a Jewish ethical concept emphasizing acts of justice, charity, and social improvement to fulfill moral responsibilities. In practice, it often inspires advocacy for progressive policies, which some critique as leaning toward legislated morality rather than voluntary action.
Legislating morality refers to the use of government laws and policies to enforce ethical or moral standards, often prioritizing collective compliance over individual choice. Critics argue it undermines personal freedom and genuine virtue, as it relies on state coercion rather than voluntary adherence to moral principles.
Principled morality refers to ethical behavior guided by universal, reason-based principles such as natural law and individual rights, emphasizing voluntary action and personal responsibility. It contrasts with coerced compliance, valuing genuine virtue rooted in free choice over externally imposed moral standards.
Machiavellianism is a political and ethical philosophy, derived from Niccolò Machiavelli, that prioritizes pragmatic, often manipulative tactics to achieve desired outcomes, regardless of moral considerations. It emphasizes the use of power, including coercion or deception, to secure results, often at the expense of principled integrity or individual freedom. It’s ethos is “the ends justify the means,” implying that immoral actions are fine as long as they lead to [supposedly] moral outcomes.
Kenneth D. Wald’s The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism explores the historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors driving the American Jewish community’s alignment with liberal politics, particularly the Democratic Party. Wald attributes this to persecution, religious ethics like tikkun olam, and urban professional success, which fostered support for progressive policies. From a perspective rooted in natural law, natural rights, and the principled morality underlying the U.S. Constitution, this book’s portrayal of Jewish liberalism reveals a flawed reliance on legislated morality, using state coercion to enforce ethical ideals. This Machiavellian approach undermines personal freedom and distorts the essence of morality, which thrives in voluntary action. Wald’s failure to critique this legislated morality highlights his bias toward the political left’s statism, neglecting the superiority of principled, individual-driven morality.
Wald argues that Jewish experiences of marginalization, particularly in Europe, and opportunities in America shaped their support for government policies promoting equality and minority rights. However, this dependence on state intervention reflects a preference for legislated morality, leveraging government’s monopoly on force to achieve moral outcomes—a direct affront to the constitutional emphasis on individual liberty. By championing expansive social programs, Jewish liberalism replaces personal responsibility with bureaucratic mandates, a point Wald overlooks. This mirrors the New Testament’s critique of Jewish religious leaders, where Jesus condemned their legalistic enforcement of rules over genuine moral transformation, exposing the gap between coerced compliance and true virtue.
The book links Jewish religious values, notably tikkun olam (repairing the world), to advocacy for redistributive and social justice policies. Wald presents this as a moral imperative, but a perspective grounded in principled morality critiques it as an attempt to impose ethics through state power, undermining the voluntary nature of moral action. Legislated morality, by compelling behavior through coercion, contradicts the principle that virtue arises from free choice—a Machiavellian tactic at odds with natural rights. Jesus’ confrontations with Jewish authorities in the New Testament highlight this, criticizing their focus on external legal adherence over internal righteousness. Wald’s uncritical acceptance of this statist approach ignores its moral bankruptcy compared to principled, voluntary morality.
Socioeconomic factors, such as Jewish prominence in urban professions like law and education, further entrenched their support for progressive policies, Wald notes. Yet, this enthusiasm for welfare programs and regulations reveals a troubling embrace of legislated morality, using state force to achieve social good rather than fostering voluntary cooperation. This conflicts with the natural rights philosophy that limits government to protecting individual freedoms, prioritizing personal initiative over collective mandates. Wald’s failure to question this approach neglects its parallels to the New Testament’s portrayal of religious leaders who valued institutional control over spiritual authenticity, missing the deeper purpose of morality rooted in individual choice.
In conclusion, The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism details the roots of Jewish political ideology but fails to address the flaws of its reliance on legislated morality. From a perspective anchored in natural law and principled morality, this approach is immoral, as it erodes personal liberty and misconstrues morality as achievable through state coercion rather than free will. The New Testament’s critique of Jewish legalism, seen in Jesus’ clashes with religious leaders, underscores the folly of prioritizing enforced outcomes over genuine virtue. Wald’s alignment with the political left’s trust in government overlooks the moral superiority of principled, individual-driven solutions, reinforcing a troubling departure from the constitutional commitment to personal freedom.
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for all the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ~C.S. Lewis
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