Justice, justice you shall pursue – Dt 16:20

A study of the Holocaust necessitates at least some awareness or even an appreciation of modern Judaism or Jewry, a term which implies the cultural life of Jews as distinct from the strictly religious notion. While it is impossible to capture the wide range of diversity within the contemporary Jewish world, the six items listed below will offer Catholics an enlightening glimpse into contemporary Judaism.

Mitzvah—(MITS-vah) to do good deeds /Commandment—Popularly understood as the doing of a good deed, it is more precisely understood as a commandment to do such deeds. Since it is a commandment one must see the doing of good deeds not as a purely voluntary option but as an obligatory facet to the ethical life of Jews. The idea is that to be a good Jew one must do good deeds.

Tzedaka—(ts-DA-ka) Justice, Righteousness—“to give tzedaka” is to give charity as a component of extending justice and righteousness in the world. In its simplest form it is similar to the Christian teachings to care for one’s neighbor, to give alms to the poor and to care for the needy in society.

Tikkun Olam—(TEE-koon OH-lom) Repair the world—Performing deeds of justice is perhaps the most important obligation of Judaism. A central teaching of Judaism is that all Jews have a responsibility to the larger world community. Through ethical living one contributes to the perfection and well being of human beings living here on earth.

Hillel (1st century CE)—“Judaism’s model human being”—He was famous as an intellectual giant who placed the idea of doing justice at the heart of Judaism. He is known for his numerous insightful proverbs, which are among the collected wisdom contained in the “Ethics of the Fathers” (Pirkei Avot). One classic aphorism from Hillel is “If I am not for myself, who will be for me, and if I am only for myself, what am I?”

Theodor Herzl (1860-1904)—He led the cause for a return to the land of Israel in the latter half of the 19th century. Jews came to realize, especially after the Dreyfus Affair, that as long as Jews lived in non-Jewish societies they would be vulnerable to attacks as scapegoats for the problems of those societies. Herzl became the critical voice in the call for a return to “Zion,” i.e., the Zionist Movement.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972)—He is the quintessential Jewish leader and religious activist. He is seen as the Jewish Martin Luther King, Jr., and marched with King during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. Heschel’s view of religion is that it is inherently socially active.