Notes on Ethics of Responsibility by Nathan Sacks

Ethics are tricky. How does one decide by what rules to live? Science is helpful along many fronts but it is difficult to find ethical guidelines that arise naturally from physics or biology. . . someone might argue environmentalism is "natural", but there is nothing to say that science itself supports that idea.

Philosophers address the idea, of course, and that is what I'm most versed in. But, after reading Marilynne Robinson, I wanted to venture into the religious realm to see what ethical guidance religious interpreters could provide.

Sacks states that Judaism's ethical imperatives are "to make a difference, to mend the fractures of the world, a day at a time, an act at a time, for as long as it takes to make it a place of justice and compassion where th lonely are not alone, the poor not without help; where the cry of the vulnerable is heeded and those who are wronged are heard" (p. 5).


If someone is in need, give. If someone is lonely, invite them home. If someone you know has recently been bereaved visit them.

Simhah: the happiness we make by sharing

What can I give? What can I contribute?

The Imperative of Responsibility by Hans Jonas