Jonathan Kaplan Lecture
What concept was the main focus of Kaplan’s lectures?
Moral agency
What is Jewish ethics primarily concerned with?
How to live and conduct oneself in daily life
Who is speaking to Israel in Deuteronomy?
Moses
Where does Jonah try to flee instead of going to Nineveh?
Tarshish
What does “moral agency” mean?
The ability to make moral or ethical decisions
Name one major source of Jewish ethical norms.
The Bible OR Rabbinic literature OR community custom
What key event is recalled when God speaks from fire at Sinai?
The giving of the covenant / Ten Commandments
What causes the storm at sea?
Jonah fleeing from God
In the Hebrew Bible, is moral agency internal, external, or both?
Both
Jewish ethics helps guide people’s what?
Behavior / actions
According to Deuteronomy, what happens if Israel obeys God’s commandments?
They receive blessings and prosperity
What happens to Jonah after he is thrown into the sea?
He is swallowed by a fish for three days and nights
According to the lecture, moral agency involves control of what?
The self
How does moral agency relate to Jewish ethics?
It explains how individuals make ethical decisions within the framework of divine law and authority
What happens if Israel disobeys God’s commandments?
They receive curses, suffering, and possible exile
How do the people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s warning?
They repent by fasting, wearing sackcloth, and turning from evil
Moral agency in the Hebrew Bible is shaped by obedience to what?
God / external authority
Jewish ethics focuses on actions between people and also between people and who?
God
What does God tell Israel not to do to His commandments?
Not add to or take away from them
Why is Jonah angry at the end of the story?
Because God shows mercy to Nineveh instead of destroying it