Sunday, November 30, 2025

Suicide In The Charedi World Rachmana Litzlan

There are a number of suicide hotlines in Israel, available 24/7, staffed by people who speak various languages. One of these is the Tikvah Helpline for Olim, regardless of how long they have been in Israel. The staff are all licensed mental health providers. The number is 074-775-1433.


Suicide in Israel is a grave public crisis—complex, painful, and cutting across every line of demarcation: ethnic, communal, gender, and socio-economic. According to data from the Ministry of Health, some 400 people in Israel take their own lives each year, while over 6,000 others attempt suicide (Ministry of Health, 2019). Behind every single number lies a person, a family, a community—realities of deep fracture, of unbearable pain, and of a system that does not always know how to extend a hand in time.

Suicide does not occur in a vacuum. It is born of emotional, psychological, social, and at times even physical distress, bound together in tangled knots. It grows out of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, failure, disconnection, or loss of meaning—and each of these is shaped by culture, by society, by community. To speak of suicide responsibly is therefore to speak in layers: to see the individual within the social fabric in which his or her despair unfolds.

Though suicide is a phenomenon that traverses all sectors of Israeli society, in the Charedi world it takes on distinctive, fraught, and particularly complex forms. On the surface, suicide rates in Charedi cities appear dramatically lower than national averages: Bnei Brak, Modi’in Illit, Elad, and Beitar Illit report rates approaching zero, in sharp contrast to Tel Aviv, Haifa, Petach Tikva, or mixed cities (Zeleznik, 2024). Such figures can foster a sense of security: here is proof that the Charedi community protects its own; that its networks of support, strong communal values, spiritual purpose, and clear boundaries create a buffer of resilience. And indeed, these resources are real, and they do provide genuine strength.

Emotional distress is not absent from the Charedi community—it simply finds other channels of expression. At times it is silenced. At times repressed. At times addressed through indirect means that prevent any open or full confrontation

But the deeper one peers beneath the polished surface, the more complicated the picture becomes. Emotional distress is not absent from the Charedi community—it simply finds other channels of expression. At times it is silenced. At times repressed. At times addressed through indirect means that prevent any open or full confrontation. Cultural constraints, rigid communal norms, fear of stigma, anxiety about family reputation, and above all the ever-present specter of harm to marriage prospects—all of these converge to weave a tight web of concealment and denial. This web may protect communal stability on the surface, but it exacts a heavy toll from the lives lived within it.

The tension between concealment and intervention marks almost every encounter with suicide in Charedi society. It is not a theoretical matter; it is a searing, practical, moral, and value-laden question: How can one extend help, build effective responses, and develop services and infrastructures for treatment without threatening the social fabric, undermining public trust in rabbinic leadership, or shaking the very pillars on which Charedi identity rests?

And the difficulty is not only conceptual but practical. Time and again, professionals working within the Charedi community (myself included, in my capacity at the Ministry of Welfare) find themselves caught between two imperatives: the need for cultural sensitivity on the one hand, and the moral and professional duty to save lives on the other. The question is not only how to identify those at risk, but also how to treat them without unraveling the delicate weave of their family, social, and communal existence.

Suicide in Israel and in Charedi Communities

Suicide is not a marginal issue. In Israel, as across the world, it is a pressing public health crisis. According to the Ministry of Health, each year approximately 400 Israelis end their own lives, while more than 6,000 attempt suicide (2019 data). Each case reverberates outward: children, parents, spouses, neighbors, communities—all are scarred by the shattering loss.

Suicide never occurs in a vacuum. It is the culmination of emotional, psychological, social, and sometimes even physical distress. It arises against the backdrop of depression, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, loss of meaning, social alienation. These factors are always interwoven with culture, community, and social structure. Hence, suicide must be viewed not only through the prism of the individual, but also within the context of the social fabric in which it occurs.

In Charedi communities, official statistics paint a striking picture: in cities such as Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, and Elad, reported suicide rates are nearly zero. By contrast, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and mixed cities present numbers in line with global norms. On the surface, this disparity appears to testify to the strength of the Charedi world: the protective power of family, the depth of faith, the bonds of community. And indeed, these do provide real resilience.

Cultural constraints, communal norms, deep-seated fear of stigma, concern for family honor, dread of harming children’s marriage prospects—all create a system of concealment and denial

But beneath the surface, the picture is far more complex. Emotional and psychological suffering is not absent. It simply manifests differently. It is suppressed, denied, redirected. Cultural constraints, communal norms, deep-seated fear of stigma, concern for family honor, dread of harming children’s marriage prospects—all create a system of concealment and denial. On one hand, this system can protect the collective. On the other, it exacts a heavy toll on individuals.

Here lies the central tension: how can one provide help, open avenues of care, and respond responsibly—without threatening the delicate fabric of Charedi society, without undermining trust in rabbinic leadership, and without destabilizing the very structures that grant the community its strength?

Suicide in Halacha

Jewish tradition regards life as an ultimate value, with the sanctity of life a principle beyond dispute. The prohibition against suicide is learned from God’s stern words to the children of Noah: “But your blood of your lives will I require” (Bereishis 9:5). As Rashi explains from the Sages: “But—to include one who strangles himself.” In other words, not only the shedding of another’s blood is forbidden, but even one’s own. Maimonides reinforces this in unequivocal terms: “One who kills himself is a shedder of blood.”

Yet the halachic approach has never been flat or binary. Halacha recognizes human complexity and allows for situations in which anguish overwhelms the capacity for free choice. Already in the Shulchan Aruch it is ruled: “One who takes his own life, but was under duress, like King Shaul—nothing is withheld from him.” Shaul, “the chosen of God,” ended his life on the battlefield of Gilboa, and halacha interprets his act not as sin but as compulsion. This ruling opens the door to broader interpretation: it allows communities and decisors to view cases of suicide not as absolute transgression but as responses to crushing inner torment, where freedom of choice is dimmed and the sufferer becomes captive to his pain.

Likewise, Hannah and her seven sons, who chose death in sanctification of God’s Name, were enshrined in Jewish memory as paragons of valor and faith

This duality—between an absolute prohibition and an acknowledgment of broken humanity—runs like a thread through our sources. Consider the Talmudic tale of the executioner who hastened Rabbi Hanina ben Teradyon’s death by fire. Far from condemning him, the act is presented as heroic. A heavenly voice proclaimed: “Rabbi Hanina ben Teradyon and the executioner are destined for life in the World to Come.” Likewise, Hannah and her seven sons, who chose death in sanctification of God’s Name, were enshrined in Jewish memory as paragons of valor and faith.

Such examples reveal that suicide is not always seen, in every circumstance, as a categorical sin. At times, death itself is framed as a choice of principle, a stand for values, an act of transcendence. And even when the act stems not from religious devotion but from despair, from intolerable pain, from psychological torment—the halachic view does not necessarily label it sin in the simple sense, but rather as the tragic outcome of an unbearably human condition.

A Living Reality

As noted above, official statistics paint a picture of near-zero suicide rates in Charedi cities—figures that, at first glance, suggest a society of remarkable resilience and stability. Yet beneath the surface lies a far more tangled reality. Over generations, the Charedi community has cultivated powerful cultural and social defense mechanisms, designed to safeguard its unity, preserve its values, and protect its inner cohesion. Chief among these is the halachic prohibition against suicide, viewed as a grave sin and a desecration of life’s sanctity. Added to this are communal solidarity, an abiding sense of belonging and mutual responsibility, robust networks of formal and informal support, a strong family structure reinforced by relatively early marriage, and a daily rhythm of life grounded in spiritual mission. Taken together, these elements do indeed serve as a protective wall against the loneliness, alienation, and meaninglessness that are among the greatest risk factors for suicide.


A society built upon solidarity, purity, morality, and modesty also generates intense levels of social surveillance, rigid norms, and relentless expectations to conform to communal standards


Yet in a troubling paradox, those same protective structures can themselves become a trap. A society built upon solidarity, purity, morality, and modesty also generates intense levels of social surveillance, rigid norms, and relentless expectations to conform to communal standards. Within this environment, emotional distress struggles to gain legitimacy. It is not always perceived as a medical or psychological condition, but as a spiritual failing, a personal weakness, even evidence of distance from Torah values or loss of faith. As a result, acknowledging emotional pain—let alone voicing suicidal thoughts—may be seen not merely as a personal blemish but as an existential threat to the family’s standing within the community.


The fear of stigma and the dread of social rejection are not theoretical. They represent lived reality, where even suspicion of mental health struggle can lead to silent ostracism, exclusion from vital circles of belonging, and at times even rupture within one’s own family.


In the Charedi world, depression often manifests in hidden, passive, or veiled ways: vague talk of “tiredness from life,” of emptiness or lack of desire, of “nothing to get up for in the morning.” Sometimes distress is expressed in failing physical health, in unexplained bodily pain, or in prolonged social withdrawal. “Death wishes” are rarely stated outright; they are hinted, whispered, tucked between the lines. In a culture that sanctifies silence, psychological anguish is translated into a language of allusion and concealment. This makes it extraordinarily difficult for professionals, family members, and even close friends to recognize the signs of distress in time (Moshkovitz, 2024).


This state of affairs creates a formidable challenge for anyone seeking to develop effective therapeutic responses within the community. How can one identify a person at risk if that individual cannot—or dares not—admit it to themselves? How can we open a conversation about psychological pain when the very act of speaking is deemed a moral failure? And more than this: how can help be extended without endangering a person’s social standing or a family’s wholeness?


The difficulty emerges even in the hesitant voices of contemporary rabbinic leaders who, sometimes with heavy hearts and trembling voices, dare to breach the wall of silence. Thus, for example, in an unusually sharp shiur on Parashas Noach (5782), Rav Asher Weiss spoke on the verse “And surely your blood of your lives will I require”:


“It is not pleasant to deal with this subject, and even less so to say that it is relevant. But sadly, shamefully, and with great pain—we must admit: even in our community, even in the Charedi world, there are cases of suicide. In recent years there were two very well-known incidents that shook the entire public, and brought some awareness to this great tragedy. But what many do not know is that every year there are dozens of such cases in Israel—and even more in the United States and across the Jewish world.”


These words, painful as they are, amount to a cry to abandon denial and to choose, however painfully, to shine light into the darkest corners. The Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, addressed the issue almost a decade ago. In a talk delivered with deep sorrow, he said (Kikar HaShabbat, 19.09.16):


“Today, to our great sorrow, we hear of cases of young men taking their own lives. They suffer from depression—and they commit suicide. We need to speak about this. It is something terrible and dreadful. A person who commits suicide loses both this world and the World to Come. He is cut off entirely…”


We cannot allow ourselves to continue looking away. I cry out in pain to all community rabbis: go down to the people, speak with your congregants, and join together in devising ways to confront this silent epidemic


To this anguished picture we can add the voice of Rabbi Yitzchok Mordechai Brach, a senior member of the Chevra Kadisha in New York, who in Adar 5785 issued a dramatic public letter. He warned of a “silent epidemic” of suicide among Charedi youth in America, and in words that pierced the heart he called for the urgent establishment of support centers. He wrote (Kikar HaShabbat, 19.03.25):


“We are in a state of real emergency… We cannot allow ourselves to continue looking away. I cry out in pain to all community rabbis: go down to the people, speak with your congregants, and join together in devising ways to confront this silent epidemic… Charedi youth are choosing to end their lives, bringing grief and destruction upon themselves and upon their families.”


And indeed, he warned, every delay in developing proper responses is itself the loss of more lives. Tragically, since the publication of his letter, additional names have been added to the list of victims.


 


Groups at Risk

Although Charedi society as a whole benefits from strong protective factors—communal cohesion, mutual support systems, deep faith, and stable family structures—there are groups within it that face heightened, sometimes dramatically heightened, risk of depression, despair, and even suicide. The danger arises when the very mechanisms of protection that the community provides cease to function for the individual.


At the top of the list are those who have left the fold. For one raised within the Charedi community, personal identity is inextricably bound with communal belonging. Exiting is not experienced merely as a shift in worldview, but as a severing from every system that sustains existence: family, friends, education, faith, and even the cultural and linguistic framework. For many, leaving entails not only estrangement from society but painful rupture with family. Studies show that the risk of suicide in this group is 50 percent, compared with 12 percent in the general population (Zeleznik, 2024). The crisis they endure is not only a crisis of faith, but a collapse of existential identity: the loss of support networks, the breakdown of belonging, immense economic challenges, obstacles to integration in the world of employment and higher education, and often the delayed processing of childhood traumas or emotional and sexual abuse long hidden from view.


The gap between the ideal of the joyous, devoted, and fulfilled mother, and the complex emotional reality that often follows childbirth, can create a profound sense of failure


Another significant risk group is postpartum women. Charedi society has both high fertility rates and birth intervals far shorter than the national average. While the broader Israeli society has made strides in recognizing postpartum depression and establishing support systems, in the Charedi world awareness is still developing. The gap between the ideal of the joyous, devoted, and fulfilled mother, and the complex emotional reality that often follows childbirth, can create a profound sense of failure. A cultural script that elevates motherhood as the central axis of Charedi life transforms any deviation from this role into a source of shame, guilt, and fear. Women suffering from postpartum depression often hesitate to seek help, fearing the impact on their marital harmony, their family’s standing, or once again—the marriage prospects of their children.


Within this tapestry, we must also name one of the most silent and anguished groups of all: survivors of sexual abuse. Despite significant progress in recent years, the Charedi community still struggles to create a public platform of acknowledgment for abuse. The tendency to favor internal handling, concealment, and at times outright silencing leaves victims carrying their pain in profound isolation. They suffer not only the initial trauma, but also the secondary trauma of denial: the trauma of being unacknowledged, delegitimized, blamed, and afraid. For many, this silence and isolation lead to chronic depression, anxiety, and a sense of inescapable despair that places them at heightened risk for suicidal ideation and attempts.


What unites all of these risk groups is the way in which communal defense mechanisms—the same structures that shield members from the outside—become barriers from within. The very mechanisms designed to guard can, in these cases, stifle. The individual finds himself trapped between the desperate need to remain part of the community and the equally desperate need to cry out: I am in pain. I can’t go on. I need help.


 


Research and Systemic Response

Recent findings from the research literature show that suicide in Charedi society (as in Israeli society more broadly) follows a pattern of constant tension: between exposure and concealment, between recognition of reality and repression that serves cultural and social ends. The State of Israel, through its Ministry of Health, operates the National Suicide Prevention Program—a multi-year, multi-system initiative integrating the health, welfare, education, security, and civil sectors. Its goals include early detection, restricting access to lethal means, training “gatekeepers,” and raising awareness of mental health while reducing stigma (Ministry of Health, 2019).


International research underscores the effectiveness of measures such as limiting access to means of suicide (closing bridges, regulating medication sales), alongside the use of evidence-based therapies like CBT and DBT, both of which have proven highly effective in reducing suicidal ideation. Pharmacological treatments to reduce immediate suicidal thoughts have also demonstrated significant impact (Mann et al., 2021; Zaltzman et al., 2016).


At the same time, modern research warns unequivocally of the contagious effect of suicide—the so-called “Werther Effect.” This is a recognized pattern of social imitation, where exposure to a suicide, particularly of someone known or prominent, significantly raises suicide risk among others. Hence the enormous responsibility that falls on professionals, educators, parents, and the media: to speak carefully, but to speak nonetheless. There is no place for glorifying suicide, no place for presenting it as a solution. But nor can the subject be left in silence. We must talk about it. We must place on the table the pain of the living—those who ask to be seen, to be heard, to be believed.


He did not speak about risk, nor about prevention. He did not cite protocols or statistics. Instead, he spoke—plainly, painfully—about the soul. About the child. About listening.


When I asked my colleague Rabbi Shimon Aflalo—a social worker, suicide-prevention expert, and trainer of prevention workshops in the Charedi community—what he thought was the single most important message to convey on this subject, I was surprised by where he began. He did not speak about risk, nor about prevention. He did not cite protocols or statistics. Instead, he spoke—plainly, painfully—about the soul. About the child. About listening.


He quoted the piercing words of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on Parashat Toldot, on the verse “And the boys grew”:


“To wish to teach and educate Jacob and Esau on the same school bench, with the same habits of life, in the same way for the same future of study and thought, is certainly the surest way to ruin one of them.”


Words written more than a century ago could hardly be more relevant today. How often do we—parents, teachers, friends—try to force all our children, all members of our community, into a single mold? How often do we overlook individuality, difference, emotional need, and inner struggle?


Rabbi Aflalo’s message was sharp and unambiguous:


“Parents—listen. Understand. Care. Speak. Do not neglect. Seek professional advice. Use the tools offered by community and state alike. Do not say: ‘This doesn’t happen here,’ or, ‘Time will heal it.’ Pain does not simply go away. Pain only takes on new forms—quieter, more dangerous forms.”


The Ministry of Welfare, too, has joined efforts in this field, particularly in supporting bereaved families, accompanying those in crisis, and offering marital and family counseling through municipal treatment centers and regional hubs. Still, as of now, the Ministry lacks a dedicated, comprehensive, structured program for suicide prevention. As someone who works in the community day in and day out, I see this as a gap that must be filled quickly and responsibly. There are promising joint initiatives between the Health and Welfare Ministries, aimed at training professionals to recognize signs of psychological distress and provide immediate support. But the road ahead is long.


And yet, in our time, we are fortunate. Fortunate to have hotlines. Fortunate to have accessible, available, culturally attuned responses. Dozens of call centers and professionals with Charedi orientation are now available to anyone seeking help, anonymously and in full discretion. Sometimes a single phone call, a single question, a moment of genuine listening—can save a life. And no less important: the national hotline, 118, operated by the Ministry of Welfare, is always open.


 


Practical Tools

Having traced the unique contours of suicide within Charedi society—its halachic, cultural, and social contexts—it is clear that the response cannot be one-dimensional or generic. It must be precise, sensitive, culturally attuned, and grounded in a deep understanding of the community’s needs and challenges. The built-in tension between the sanctity of life on the one hand and the mechanisms of concealment and silence on the other demands a holistic, multi-system approach—one that weaves together professional knowledge, communal realities, and the values of Torah and halacha.


At the heart of every response lies a simple yet profound truth: suicide prevention is not only the responsibility of mental health professionals. It is a social, educational, communal, and spiritual responsibility as well


What follows is not a set of magic solutions but a framework of practical tools, drawn from professional experience, research findings, and long conversations with community leaders and field workers. These are stepping stones toward change: change in discourse, in the range of responses available, in the willingness to recognize pain and in the capacity to address it. At the heart of every response lies a simple yet profound truth: suicide prevention is not only the responsibility of mental health professionals. It is a social, educational, communal, and spiritual responsibility as well.


A Combined Approach


Addressing suicide in the Charedi world requires a holistic and multi-system strategy. No single institution can shoulder the task. Success depends on deep, coordinated collaboration between the health system, the welfare system, the education system, and rabbinic and communal leadership. The discourse must be delicately balanced: open, honest, transparent, and responsible on the one hand; and on the other, profoundly attuned to the cultural codes, values, and fears embedded within Charedi life. Such an approach demands that emotional pain not be framed as spiritual failure or shame, but as part of the human condition—requiring care and support. Without this foundational shift, all other solutions remain superficial patches.


Intra-Communal Education and Awareness


From my work in the field, I have learned that the most basic need of Charedi families is the willingness to speak—and that willingness must emerge from within. To cultivate it, awareness campaigns must be culturally tailored. External messaging, however well-meaning, rarely breaches the walls of defense and shame. Effective education must enlist rabbis, teachers, and counselors from within the community—people fluent in halacha, in communal sensitivities, in the dread of stigma and the fear of harm to family standing. They must bring the issue to light through Torah sources, moral language, and spiritual framing, emphasizing that Torah itself recognizes pain, struggle, and the duty to care for the soul no less—perhaps even more—than for the body.


Training Rabbinic and Educational Leadership


One conclusion emerges with stark clarity: in Charedi society, change begins and ends with spiritual and educational leadership. When a rabbi, rosh yeshiva, school principal, or other figure of authority gives permission to speak of pain, depression, and struggle, many barriers fall away. Professional training for rabbis and educators is not a luxury—it is a necessity. Such training should cover basic concepts in mental health, warning signs of suicidal risk, initial responses, and referral pathways. When these messages come clothed in the voice of Torah, the willingness to hear and to act rises dramatically.


Culturally Adapted Treatment


For a Charedi individual, entering psychotherapy can be accompanied by immense fear: What will people say? What will they think? Will it ruin my children’s shidduchim? Will it be seen as spiritual weakness? Effective treatment must therefore be not only professional but culturally congruent: therapists from within the community, clinics that respect religious norms, opportunities for anonymous and discreet help-seeking, and therapeutic content that does not clash with faith but integrates naturally with it. Again and again I have seen how, when such adaptation is present, willingness to seek help rises sharply and stigma weakens. This is not professional compromise. It is professional wisdom.


Granting Legitimacy to Speak of Pain


Perhaps above all, the central tool is legitimacy: the permission to speak of struggle. The Torah is not a Torah of silence. It is filled with stories of anguish, of trial, of despair and of desperate cries—and equally, of hope, consolation, and mutual responsibility. One need only read the verse “A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” to understand: the Torah does not demand repression, but deep listening to the soul. Precisely by engaging with the sources of our tradition that encourage honesty about suffering and the search for help, we can begin to dismantle the wall between the spiritual world and the world of mental health. And we can affirm that mental well-being is not less than a halachic obligation.


 


A Doorway of Hope

I write these lines in the hope—deep, genuine, and prayerful—that they may serve as a small anchor for anyone standing on the edge, feeling the ground slip beneath their feet, searching for meaning in pain that seems beyond bearing. May these words be a signpost of hope. If even one person feels a little less alone, one family feels more understood, one community leader dares to open his eyes and say aloud: “This exists here, among us, and we will no longer be silent”—then these words will not have been written in vain.


I do not write only as a researcher, a professional, or a public servant. I write also as a human being, as a friend, as a child of this community, as someone who has looked pain in the eyes. Suicide is not an abstract phenomenon, not a matter of cold statistics. It is names and faces. It is friends and classmates. It is families who gave their very hearts to their children, who loved them, prayed for them, fought for them—and yet lost them. The grief does not fade. Even years later it remains, a wound carried in every conversation, every lecture, every encounter with a family in crisis, with a teenager struggling, with a parent terrified for their child’s life.


I, too, carry such a name. In my prayers, I once raised the name of a beloved childhood friend—Israel ben T.K.—with all my strength, begging that he would find the spark of hope to hold him here, with us. He did not find it. He left us. His absence remains with me always. And in his absence, I hear the charge to speak, to act, to refuse silence.


To break the silence is not to dishonor our community but to redeem it—to allow the sanctity of life, kedushat ha-chayim, to shine even in the darkest places


And so, out of that very brokenness, I want to send a call—to parents, to families, to communities: remember your loved ones, honor their memory, hold their names in your hearts. And then, live. Live fully. Invest your love in those who remain beside you. Give life to life. I believe with all my being that those who left us do not want us to drown in their pain. They want us to carry them with us, yes—but to build, to believe, to hope, to embrace the gift of life with even greater intensity.


Our tradition teaches: “A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” The task before us is not to erase or repress the pain, but to transform it into responsibility, into care, into solidarity. To break the silence is not to dishonor our community but to redeem it—to allow the sanctity of life, kedushat ha-chayim, to shine even in the darkest places.


If we can do this—if we can make space for the cry, for the conversation, for the listening—then perhaps we will open not only a doorway of hope for the afflicted, but also a doorway of renewal for all of us.


Sources

Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 18a.


Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murder and Preservation of Life, Chapter 2.


Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah, Section 345.


Mushkowitz, A. (2024). I Wanted to Die – Until I Went to a Rabbi. Midaos, 105, 16–23.


Zelznik, D. (n.d.). Issues in Suicide and Suicide Assessment in the Charedi Community in Israel. Hebrew Psychology. Retrieved from: https://www.hebpsy.net/articles.asp?id=3255


Mann, J. J., Michel, C. A., & Auerbach, R. P. (2021). Improving suicide prevention through evidence-based strategies: A systematic review. American Journal of Psychiatry, 178(7), 611–624.


Zalsman, G., Hawton, K., Wasserman, D., van Heeringen, K., Arensman, E., Sarchiapone, M., Carli, V., Höschl, C., Barzilay, R., Balazs, J., Purebl, G., Kahn, J. P., Sáiz, P. A., Lipsicas, C. B., Bobes, J., Cozman, D., Hegerl, U., & Zohar, J. (2016). Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(7), 646–659.


Kikar HaShabbat (19.09.16). “One Who Studies Torah Has No Suicidal Thoughts.” Retrieved from: https://www.kikar.co.il/haredim-news/210486


Kikar HaShabbat (19.03.25). “People End Their Lives in Ways Beyond Comprehension” | The Letter that Shook the U.S. Retrieved from: https://www.kikar.co.il/haredim-news/haredi-rabbi-suicide-crisis

Dimyon

I just heard Rabbi X, who apparently believes that the biggest mitzva in the Torah is to serve in the army and if you don't do so you are not part of Klal Yisrael עפ"ל, say that the boy who allegedly committed suicide at the Atzeres Tefillah did so because his Rabbeim didn't let him go to the army. 

What did he base this specious claim on??

One thing.

Imagination. דמיונות!! He just imagined it. I mean why else would he commit suicide?? There is no good reason to take your own life other than being prevented from fulfilling the greatest mitzva in the Torah. So it must be that he wanted to go to the army, his rabbeim didn't let him, so he went to the Atzeres Tefilla and jumped to his death. Then Rabbi X said it on the Internet and hundreds will hear it and might even believe him. He literally made it up. The boy wrote a note and no mention of this was made. 

Anyway - we are giving shiurim there days on the power of דמיון, listen here and here

A Banana Republic

The Prime Minister of Israel who has the hardest and most pressured job on the planet, as he is responsible for a country who is under an existential threat 24/7 and surrounded by enemies who would love to carry this threat out to fruition and many are busy planning our destruction right now [!!], gets paid about 65 thousand shekels a month. 

The President of Israel [don't confuse the term "President" with that of the US which is a real job] whose main job is to get Kavod [and enjoy all that money he gets every month] but has no political power or clout and [seemingly] no pressure, who doesn't have to make important decisions that will affect the entire country, the entire Middle East and the entire world, gets paid .... 75K - 10K more [!!!!!!!!!]. [To do what exactly??? And by golly - what does he do with all that cash???]  

The Prime Minister was chosen by the people. 

The President was NOT chosen by the people - just the 120 Knesset members.

So now the democratically elected PM has to beg the undemocratically elected President to grant him clemency so that instead of being constantly busy trying to keep himself out of trouble he can focus on doing his job which is ensuring the security and economic vitality and so much more for this country. This whole trial is really bad for the country. A PM needs to be focused on his job. If he is a criminal then wait till he gets out of office to prosecute him. [Unless of course he is not fit to serve. It is seems clear that whether one likes his politics or not - he is fit to serve. Is he a little corrupt? - Who isn't in secular politics?? It is all about Kavod, power, prestige, media attention etc. etc. If he took bribes in the past - keep a thousand eyes on him to make sure he doesn't in the future and let him do his job. Or get another PM in office and then prosecute]. 

The common denominator between the two of them is that both had grandfathers who were rabbonim [Rav Kook was Maspid BN's grandfather Rav Nosson Milikovsky (it is published and we have blogged it in the past) and Herzog's grandfather was a Gaon Olam and Tzadik Yesod Olam - ירידת הדורות on steroids] and both of their grandfathers are no doubt looking down from שמים with צער at their errant-deviant-recalcitrant-wayward grandsons who are not only עמי הארץ but quite religiously far from what their grandfathers wanted in their descendants. In שמים they are not impressed with titles - even fancy ones like נשיא or ראש ממשלה. What counts up there is Torah, Mitzvos and Yiras Shomayim. 

Another common denominator is that according to the Rambam - both of them are disqualified from their jobs [and not b/c of expensive cigars or the like - See Hil Melachim 1-7]. 

As one Gadol put it - it is not דינא דמלכותא but דינא דליצנותא. 

And of course we thank the רבונו של עולם that we are not under Arab rule, British rule, Russian rule, Nazi rule, or democrat [as in American blue] rule:-). This Banana Republic is much better than MOST alternatives. We also thank Hashem that we can live in Eretz Yisrael and freely keep His mitzvos!!!:-)!!!😊😘

WE WANT MOSHIACH NOW!!!


The Center Of Existence We Call Mom And Dad

“If you build a society in which children honor their parents, your society will long survive. And the corollary is: A society in which children do not honor their parents is doomed to self-destruction.”

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The center, the focal point, of the universe is Israel [as per many many sources]. [That is why the world is obssesed with her:-) without them knowing all the Jewish sources]. 

The center of Israel is Yerushalayim. 

The center of Yerushalayim is the Beis Hamikdash. 

The center of the Beis Hamikdash is the Kodesh Hakodashim.

The centerpiece of the Kodesh Kodashim are the Luchos with the Aseres Hadibros.

The center point of the Luchos is ... the mitzva to honor your parents. כבד את אביך ואת אמך. Number FIVE!!:-) Highhhhhhh five!

So it emerges that the center of existence is the mitzva to honor one's parents.

That makes is a PRETTY SERIOUS mitzva!! 

I don't know any frum Jews who eat ham and cheese. 

I don't know any frum Jews married to Gentiles. 

I don't know any frum Jews who eat on Yom Kippur. 

I don't know any frum Jewish who have a christmas tree. 

There are plenty of otherwise frum Jews who don't properly honor their parents.

This is a huge error! Like - you almost can't do worse. 

There is almost nothing more vile than a person who doesn't appreciate that he owes his very existence, his eternal reality, which is worth more to him than anything else, to his parents and treats them with less than the respect they deserve. 

That is besides everything they did for you after they created you. Because it is also evil not to appreciate ANY kindness one did for you. Certainly for all your parents have done from the second you were conceived. Like, thanks Mom for eating [and not smoking or snorting crack-:)!!] when I was in utero!! Saved my life!! 

It is not always easy to be a good child but the more one thinks about it, the easier it becomes. 

That is even if they messed you up [most of of our parents did to a certain extent b/c they just transfered their emotional issues to us w/o even being aware. Then we pass the favor forward and do the same to our children:-)]. As Mitch Albom wrote in The Five People You Meet In Heaven "All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair." And still. They are your parents.

The Western world often despises authority [exemplified by the political left - being progressive means that the people before you were regressive and thus deserving of more scorn than respect] and has a very "I do what I feel like attitude" so if I want to kill a baby b/c that is what I feel like doing, I am going to do that and even go to the Supreme Court to assert that *right* [even though I am *left*]. It's all about ME! That leaves little room for an *obligation* to honor parents.  

Someone who doesn't honor his parents properly is a completely אפגעפרעגטע מענטש, אדם מופרך לגמרי, מתחת לכל ביקורת אפשרית. He is IMMORAL!

If one does stumble in this area [we all do, אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא] then he MUST immediately acknowledge his sin and beg forgiveness.       

Part of the Tumah, the evil, the abomination, the noxiousness, of Christianity and Islam, is that they are both rooted in Judaism. Yet, instead of appreciating that they owe their spiritual lives and meaning [and there is nothing a human being craves for more than meaning] to us - they [generally but not always] hate us. 

Mussar Haskel: Appreciate your Source. G-d and parents. 

Sad: Man Who Missed Black Friday Forced To Buy TV For Same Price But Without Giant 'BLACK FRIDAY SALE' Tag

RENO, NV — After missing out on Black Friday shopping, local man Chris Rogers was forced to purchase a new television for the exact same price but without a "BLACK FRIDAY SALE" tag.

A dejected Rogers somberly carried his new 65-inch Samsung television to the checkout counter, yearning for the thrill of peeling off the sale tag.

"I missed out," sighed Rogers. "This television costs $799, but it doesn't have the sticker on it that says 'Regularly $1299, Save: $500' with the $1299 crossed out. It just says the price is $799. Where's the joy in that? It's so disappointing and dull."

Rogers strongly considered waiting until next year so he could get a television for the same price but with a "SALE" tag affixed to it. "I really wanted that tag," said Rogers. "Our television broke, and I waited for a month just so I could go on Black Friday. Then my daughter got sick, which ruined everything. Now I have to spend the same amount on a television, but I don't get a 'BLACK FRIDAY SALE' tag. This is the worst."


Spiritual Satisfaction

Do practitioners of other religions find spiritual satisfaction in their religions? If they do - is that a challenge to our faith?? 

The short answers are *yes* and *no*.

The slightly longer answer is:

כל האמונות כולן, הן מפרנסות את הנשמות של החיים בהן, והמקושרים בהן במעמקי לב. אמנם הסיגול הזה של המזון הרוחני, דומה הוא ממש להסיגול של המזון הגשמי. מתפרנסים השרצים והרמשים ממזונותיהם המעופשים, וטועמים בהם טעם יפה, לפי שהם לפי מזגם וסיגולם. מתענג הוא החתול על העכבר שטורף, כי הוא מיוחד לו. מתענגים העופות על התולעים שברפש, מתענג החזיר על מזונו המיוחד, הגמל על קוציו ודרדריו, ומתענג האדם על לחמו הנקי, על עסיס רמונו, על יין רקחו ועל ראשית שמניו. לכו לחמו בלחמי ושתו ביין מסכתי. ואנשי קודש תהיון לי ובשר בשדה טרפה לא תאכלו, לכלב תשליכון אותו. לגר אשר בשעריך תתננה ואכלה או מכור לנכרי, כי עם קדוש אתה לד' אלהיך. 

All beliefs, without exception, nourish the souls of those who live in them, and those connected to them in the depths of the heart. Indeed, this assimilation of spiritual food is very similar to the assimilation of physical food. Insects and vermin feed on their moldy foods and find them tasty, according to their nature and disposition. The cat delights in the mouse it hunts, for it is suited to it. Birds enjoy the worms in the dirt, the pig enjoys its special food, the camel its thorns and thistles, and man enjoys his clean bread, the juice of his pomegranate, his prepared wine, and the finest of his oils. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart. And you shall be holy people to Me; do not eat flesh torn in the field, throw it to the dogs. Give the foreigner in your gates to eat it or sell it to a stranger, for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.

This psukim are alluding to the fact that our פסולת/waste is given to the non-Jews and less. We suffice with nothing less that the Real Thing.  


The Root Cause

What is the common denominator of the various problems in the frum community: Drinking, gambling, drugs, obesity, excessive gashmiyus, machlokes, shalom bayis problems, children off the derech and a lot more??

Emotional issues. That is the ROOT of everything. 

Among the numerous problems with our upbringing and our educational system is that we are not taught to be in constant touch with our feelings. We should be constantly asking ourselves how we feel - fear, joy, sadness, anxious etc. etc. etc. All day long we are feeling and we are rarely self aware anough to be in touch with our feelings. If we know how we feel when things happens then we have a guide what are needs are and we can go about filling those needs. We also know what hurts us, what makes us anxious etc. etc. and we can try to discover why to learn more about ourselves. It starts with us and then we expand to focusing on the feelings of others. 

When someone asks "how are you feeling?" it is almost always a question about your body and not your soul and psyche [unless it is your therapist...]. People are very comfortable sharing their physical issues but not their emotional ones. When you go to shul in the morning, EVERY SINGLE PERSON is dealing with emotional issues and you don't know about any of them [unless they are obvious, like when a person walks into shul and starts throwing chairs and tables and screaming like a maniac - he has anger management issues...].

Our whole culture is focused on what is OUTSIDE [that darn phone again!!:-)] of us but not what really matters - what is inside. If we would be focused on fixing what is inside and be focused on fulfilling the emotional needs of ourselves and others - many of our problems would be solved.  

I promise. The solution to society's problems - begins with the individual. 

Meaning - you. 

Today. 

Tikkun Ha-achila

The basic component of Shabbos meals is the bread, and its special name is 'challah'. The bread's name, 'Challah,' refers to the creation of the first Erev Shabbos: "Adam HaRishon... the Challah of the world", and from this comes the special care required by the mitzvah of separating Challah by a woman, and the reference to the serpent's deed.

Hence also the custom of baking challah for Shabbos on Erev Shabbos, which is mentioned in the Rema, and according to the early authorities it is alluded to in the Babylonian Talmud; however, in the Jerusalem Talmud, the baking on Friday evening is explicitly stated:

 Ezra decreed for Israel... that they should bake bread on Erev Shabbos.

 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread."

The Chida writes: "שלחן" with the letters reversed –  "לנחש"  . And from here to the first time bread is mentioned in the Torah – as a punishment for the sin of Adam and Eve, which was caused by the serpent:

 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread".

 The tikkun for this came in the Abrahamic War:

 And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,

 And then the bread rises on the table of the angels:

 "And I will take a morsel of bread and refresh your hearts".

 In essence, the bread-making process involves selection and refinement. This is 'by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread', from the thorn and thistle to find food. The selection continues through the very act of eating, and this is the essence of the work of 'raising the sparks'.

 Bread and Selectivity in the Bible

 A similar process can be seen in the seven mentions of bread in the Book of Genesis. We mentioned the first three times: 'By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread', 'He brought out bread and wine', and 'And I took a piece of bread'. The fourth time is when Avraham sends Yishmael away:

 "And Avraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar".

 Here too, there is a process of clarification, Yitzchak being chosen from the pair: Yishmael and Yitzchak, in the manner stated regarding the sons of the concubines: "And Avraham gave gifts and sent them away".

 This process continues in our parsha – in the struggle for the birthright. Jacob and Esav are the sons of the same parents, twins, and here Jacob gives to Esav:

 "Bread" and lentil stew.

And with this, he buys the birthright from him and becomes the chosen one. And indeed, this is the fifth time bread is mentioned in the Bible – and again, it is through a selective sorting of food from waste.

And make me delicacies.

Indeed, in our parsha, eating plays a central role – in Yitzchak's blessing. Yitzchak Avinu asks Esav for delicacies:

"Prepare me delicacies, that I love, and bring them to me, and eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die" [12].

Yitzchak's request for food raises understandable difficulty, and the author of 'Shem MiShmuel' addressed this, seeing the request for the hunt as a desire to elevate the sparks:

And make me delicacies as I love... And it is known from the matter of holy sparks that fell during the breaking of the vessels and need to be clarified and raised from inanimate, plant, animal to speaker [man], and with the proper kavana of eating, they are returned to holiness. And while they are in the "breaking", they are like captives and hunted, and when they are returned to holiness, it is as if one hunts and captures the captive... [13].

In another year, the 'Shem MiShmuel' explains it from a different angle – Yitzchak's request for delicacies was so that the Holy Spirit would rest upon him:

Regarding what Yitzchak wanted in the delicacies, God forbid, to say that he was eager for the lust of eating... It seems that in the Midrash on the verse "And there was a bitter spirit" Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said that it caused them to lose the Holy Spirit... And it can be said that Yitzchak attributed it to his eyes being dimmed, and the Holy Spirit only dwells in joy, and since a blind person is considered dead, he lacked joy. Therefore, he sought things to gladden his heart, like Elisha, about whom it is written, "And now bring me a musician... so that the Holy Spirit may rest upon him."

The Tikkun of The Tree of Knowledge 

Although Yitzchak asked for delicacies, Rivka added the bread, and this is the sixth time bread appears in the Bible:

And she gave him the delicacies and the bread which she had made with her hand for Yaakov her son.

Regarding this, the "Shem Shmuel" explained that their intention was to rectify the sin of the Tree of Knowledge:

"And make me savory food, etc." It seems that Yitzchak only said "savory food," while Rivka added bread... It seems that in the Midrash, regarding "and make me savory food," Rabbi Eliezer, quoting Rabbi Yose bar Zamra, said three things were said about it [the Tree of Knowledge]... And similarly, Yitzchak said, "and make me savory food, etc."... It seems that the Midrash came to hint that the entire purpose of the savory food that Isaac requested was to rectify the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge... And Yitzchak did not think to rectify anything other than the damage to the physical aspect... But Rivka, who knew through prophesy that Yaakov would receive the blessings and Esav would descend greatly, "wisdom of women builds her house" and added the bread, which is a rectification of the intellectual aspect.

This tikkun must come specifically through Rivka's efforts, who rectifies the sin of Chava:

 The fact that the blessings needed to come to Yaakov through Rivkas's efforts is explained according to the words of the esteemed father of our Rebbe, may his memory be blessed, that Yaakov and Esav, who were born twins in the same womb, were a likeness of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, which were intertwined at the same root. And it is known that the mothers rectified the sin of Chava... and Rivka rectified the sin of Chava by feeding Adam from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This means that since Esav is a model of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the delicacies he prepared were a model of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that is, to connect good with evil. And the delicacies of Jacob were a model of the fruit of the Tree of Life. Therefore, Rivka, who tried to prevent Yitzchak from eating Esav's delicacies and instead had him taste Yaakov's delicacies, thereby rectified the sin of Eve who fed Adam from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

 Now it is clear why Yitzchak did not taste Esav's delicacies:

 And according to what is stated, the reason why Yitzchak did not taste any of Esav's delicacies will be understood. It was simple for him to taste some of them to appease Esav, and also so that the blessing he ultimately gave would come to pass, because he recognized and knew what was before him, that they were the fruit of Esav.

 After Jacob gave Esav bread with lentil stew, the bread he gave Yitzchak was pure, and from it came joy to Yitzchak, and the Holy Spirit rested upon him.

 The joy of corrected eating

 Regarding the joy of proper eating, Rabbi Kook wrote:

That which simple appetite accomplishes for all creatures and for average human beings, stimulating the individual to eat in order to strengthen his life and his faculties, so too in a rarefied way, with elevated power, in people with great awareness, righteous people, the foundations of the world, it awakens the desire to unite with all of the holy sparks concealed in each food, corresponding to which the soulful joy awakens in the person who eats in their presence, receiving them into his soul, increasing, because of them, light and vast joy. And the sparks themselves add might and joy at that movement, even before the eating. 

When we eat for the sake of our material appetite, our sadness intensifies, as in the hidden meaning of the verse, “those who eat the bread of sadness” (Psalms 127:2). 

That is because the spiritual sparks in the food, which were capable of rising, descend. And when they are sad at their having descended, the person eating feels their sadness as a result of the interchange of a number of ways of feeling and transpositions of spiritual letters, until the sad feeling is recognized in a psychological disclosure within himself. 

The food of the Land of Israel sanctifies from within and is not material except in its outward appearance, but one must be careful with the foods of the Diaspora. The anticipation of Eretz Yisrael elevates the food outside the Land.

And this is the secret of remembering Jerusalem, whether by the rivers of Babylon or in the Song of Ascents, which is repeated at every meal. The hoping for the Land of Israel, which comes right after eating, refines the food from abroad and makes it close to the elevation of the Land of Israel. 

Translated from a sicha of Rav Hadari

Weight Loss Drugs/ Holy Eating

A new study analyzed how often people develop severe side effects after taking semaglutide

The report claims the trendy drug contributed to nearly 25,000 emergency room visits between 2022 and 2023

Most reported hospital visits were due to gastrointestinal complications

Trendy weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have sent a shocking number of people to the hospital, according to claims made in a new study.

The study — published April 8 in Annals of Internal Medicine — analyzed how often people develop severe side effects that send them to the emergency department or hospital after taking semaglutide, an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes and chronic obesity.

A spokesperson for Ozempic’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, said in a statement, "The safety and efficacy profile of Ozempic has been evaluated in clinical studies. The most commonly reported side effects were gastrointestinal, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach (abdominal) pain, and constipation. The known risks associated with use of Ozempic are reflected in the FDA-approved product labeling."

Semaglutide — known by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy — works in the brain to impact satiety.  Over the past two years, the popularity of weekly injections for weight loss has soared. As of 2024, one in eight adults in the United States has taken a GLP-1 medication (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) like Ozempic. 

Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied national surveillance data collected at dozens of hospitals. They found that semaglutide contributed to nearly 25,000 emergency room visits between 2022 and 2023, with more than 82% occurring in 2023.

The visits were typically due to gastrointestinal complications. Patients experienced nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. 

Additionally, some hospital visits were also reported for low blood sugar, allergic reactions, pancreatitis, and bile duct disease — all less common incidences.

“We found that it’s very infrequent that semaglutide leads to very serious adverse events that would land a patient in the hospital, but that they do occur,” Dr. Pieter Cohen, study author and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Health.

“The adverse events presented [in this study] are not new,” added Dr. Mahyar Etminan, associate professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia.

Although researchers noted that most drugs have some side effects, and most reported in the study were already known, they stress that these findings should not be minimized, and that doctors should do more to mitigate those that require hospitalization.

“Clinicians could counsel patients when initiating semaglutide about the potential for severe gastrointestinal adverse effects and adjust co-prescribed antidiabetic medications to decrease hypoglycemia risk,” the authors wrote.

The impacts of semaglutide and similar medications on the digestive system have been investigated; In June 2024, the drugs were linked to severe gastroparesis, also known as stomach paralysis, which the Mayo Clinic says “[prevents] your stomach from emptying properly.”

In September 2024, the FDA issued a warning that Ozempic can lead to a life-threatening condition known as ileus — a type of bowel obstruction where either sections or the entirety of the intestines become obstructed. This blockage can restrict blood flow to organs, resulting in tissue necrosis.

 "We stand behind the safety and efficacy of Ozempic® when used as indicated," the company said in its statement.

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Despite semaglutide’s popularity for weight loss, experts are sounding the alarm on its major shortcomings—limited long-term success, serious side effects, and rapid weight regain after stopping the drug.

While millions of Americans qualify for semaglutide, research reveals that most users remain overweight or obese even after years of treatment.

Semaglutide: Effectiveness and Limitations

A popular weight loss drug, semaglutide, is making headlines—but not just for its widespread use. New concerns are being raised about its long-term effectiveness, safety, and what happens when people stop taking it.

In a letter published in JAMA Cardiology, Dr. Vanita Rahman of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine warns that semaglutide may not be the weight loss solution many are hoping for. Her response comes after new research found that more than half of U.S. adults, an estimated 137 million people, are now eligible to use the drug for weight management.

Semaglutide is a prescription medication originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, now widely known for its use in weight loss under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. It works by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which helps regulate appetite and blood sugar levels.

“This research found that half the U.S. adults are eligible for semaglutide for weight loss, and while the authors correctly cite access and cost as important barriers, there are other significant limitations and risks,” says letter author Vanita Rahman, MD, DipABLM, internal medicine and lifestyle medicine doctor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a public health advocacy nonprofit.

Weight Loss Plateaus and Persistent Obesity

For many people taking semaglutide, weight loss slows over time and often stalls completely. Even after four years of use in the SELECT trial, only 12% of participants reached a healthy body weight. Most people remained either overweight or obese.

And the progress doesn’t always last. When participants in the STEP-1 extension study stopped taking semaglutide, they quickly regained the weight they had lost.

Severe Side Effects and Unknown Long-Term Safety

Semaglutide is associated with a high prevalence of adverse events, and its long-term safety is unknown. In an observational study, semaglutide was associated with a more than fourfold and sevenfold risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in people taking semaglutide for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, respectively.

Plant-based dietary interventions, on the other hand, have led to significant weight loss along with improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors. In the BROAD study, a low-fat plant-based diet led to an average weight loss of 12.1 kg at 6 months compared with an average weight loss of 1.6 kg in the standard-care group. The plant-based group also experienced larger reductions in total cholesterol.

The Broader Health Impact of Weight Loss

Dr. Rahman adds, “Obesity and overweight are highly prevalent conditions associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, and successful weight loss interventions can lead to important reductions in cardiometabolic risk.”

Though semaglutide can lead to meaningful weight loss in some individuals, it comes with important risks and limitations. On the other hand, plant-based diets are a safe, low-cost treatment option with research-proven benefits.

Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice

Half of U.S. adults say they know eating a plant-based diet can improve their health and help prevent chronic diseases, according to a recent Physicians Committee/Morning Consult survey. Yet just 1 in 5 primary care practitioners discuss this lifesaving message with patients.


“This provides us as health care professionals with an opportunity to support and guide our patients toward nutrition interventions that work and reduce the risk of chronic diseases that affect millions,” Dr. Rahman says.


Reference: “The Limitations and Risks Associated With Semaglutide Treatment” by Vanita Rahman, 14 May 2025, JAMA Cardiology.

DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2025.1095


כשאוכלים לשם תאוה חמרית מתגבר העצבון בסוד אוכלי לחם העצבים. 

When we eat for the sake of our material appetite, our sadness intensifies, as in the hidden meaning of the verse, “those who eat the bread of sadness” (Psalms 127:2). 

כי הניצוצות, שהיו ראויים לעלות, יורדים, ובהיותם מתעצבים על ירידתם, מרגיש האוכל את עצבם, על ידי חילוף של כמה דרכי ההרגשה, ותמורות אותיות, עד שההרגשה העצבנית נכרת בגילוי נפשי בקרבו. 

That is because the spiritual sparks in the food, which were capable of rising, descend. And when they are sad at their having descended, the person eating feels their sadness as a result of the interchange of a number of ways of feeling and transpositions of spiritual letters, until the sad feeling is recognized in a psychological disclosure within himself. 

ועל ידי אכילה בקדושה, והגברת המגמה העליונה של טהרת הנשמה ובהירותה, מתוספת צהלת הרוח ושמחה באוכל, על ידי שמחתם של הניצוצות שנתעלו. 

But when one eats in holiness and intensifies the supernal goal of attaining purity and clarity of the soul, the happy spirit and joy of the person eating is enhanced as a result of the joy of the spiritual sparks that have risen. 

ובשמחתם מאירה גם כן הנשמה, המעלה אותם ושמחה עמהם, והלב מרגיש על ידי כמה שבילים וצינורות שונים, וחדות ד' מתגברת עליו. 

With their joy, his soul that raises them and rejoices with them shines as well. And his heart feels this via a number of pathways and various conduits, and the gladness of Hashem overtakes him. 

והיינו ויאכל בעז וישת וייטב לבו, מאי וייטב לבו בדברי תורה, שחוץ ממה שנטיית הלב להגברת הרוחניות של העלאת החיים הכמוסים במאכלים מביאה לחשק רוחני, שמתמלא באהבת התורה ולימודה, עוד התוכן המקודש של אכילה קדושה זו היא בעצמה דברי תורה, וזה השולחן אשר לפני ד'. 

And so “Boaz ate and he drank, and his heart was glad” (Ruth 3:7). “What is the meaning of ‘and his heart was glad’? In words of Torah” (Yalkut Shimoni, Ruth 604). That is because, besides the fact that the propensity of the heart to intensify the spirituality associated with raising the vitality hidden in foods leads a person to spiritual desire, which is fulfilled with the love for the Torah and learning it, in addition the sanctified content of this holy eating is itself words of Torah. “This is the table that is before Hashem” (Ezekiel 41:22; Pirkei Avot 3:3). 


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מה שהתיאבון הפשוט של האכילה עושה אצל בעלי חיים כולם, ואצל בני אדם בינונים, להמשיך את האדם לאכול להחזיק את חייו וכחותיו, פועל בצורה אצילית וכח נשגב אצל גדולי הדעה, צדיקים יסודי עולם, החפץ להתאחד עם כל ניצוצי הקודש הטמונים בתוך המאכלים, שהשמחה הנשמתית מתעוררת מהאדם האוכל לעומתם, לקבלם אל תוך נשמתו, להוסיף בהם אור ומדות עולמים, והם בעצמם מוסיפים עז ושמחה בתנועה, גם לפני האכילה.  

That which simple appetite accomplishes for all creatures and for average human beings, stimulating the individual to eat in order to strengthen his life and his faculties, so too in a rarefied way, with elevated power, in people with great awareness, righteous people, the foundations of the world, it awakens the desire to unite with all of the holy sparks concealed in each food, corresponding to which the soulful joy awakens in the person who eats in their presence, receiving them into his soul, increasing, because of them, light and vast joy. And the sparks themselves add might and joy at that movement, even before the eating. 

בעת האוכל כבר השמחה מתנוצצת במעמקים, ובאכילה עצמה היא עולה במעלה יותר עליונה, ויאכל בעז וישת וייטב לבו, וייטב לבו בדברי תורה, שהן הן האכילה והשתיה עצמן, לבאי בסוד ד', דידעי מאי דמחוי להו במחוג. 

At the time of eating, joy blazes in the depths. And with the eating itself, it rises to a higher level. “Boaz ate and drank, and his heart was glad” (Ruth 3:7): “his heart was glad in the words of Torah” (Yalkut Shimoni, end of 604). Those are the eating and drinking themselves for those who enter the secret of Hashem, for those “who know the meaning of what they are shown in every gesture” (Chagigah 5b).


Can There Be Morality Without G-d?/ Maimonidean Vs. Aristotelean Ethics

Aristotle dedicated an entire book to the topic of ethics, a book that was named "Nicomachean Ethics"[1]. In the first chapter of his book, he addresses the question of motivation to engage with these topics, meaning what the goal of human behavior should be according to ethical principles. After presenting Aristotle's answer to this question here, we will turn to what Maimonides wrote on the matter – given the not insignificant influence of Aristotle's writings on Maimonides' views – and we will attempt to distinguish between what Maimonides adopted from Aristotle and the topics from which he diverges and even disagrees.

Ethics in Ancient Greek Thought Before Aristotle

The origin of ethics in Western thought, like other branches of philosophy, lies in Greek thought.

The Sophists [2] believed that there was no universal principle by which one could determine what is the appropriate action and what is the good deed. Any statement about good depends on conventions or the individual's subjective perception [3]. This relativism does not in principle deny the existence of a normative ethical system at a given time or in a given place, as the existence of such a system does not have to be above time and place.

The Hedonists [4] believed that there was a principle by which one could determine the appropriate action, and that was the pursuit of pleasure, which is considered the highest good. Pleasure is a matter of individual taste, and therefore a universal ethical system cannot exist.

The teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle grew out of opposition to the arguments of the Sophists and Hedonists, as they believed there was a universal standard for determining moral rules. According to Socrates, everyone is capable of discovering truth and virtue thru deep thinking. Virtues are already inherent in humans from birth, as stated by him: "People manage their affairs correctly and well only when guided by knowledge" [5]. According to Socrates, goodness and knowledge are interdependent: knowing the truth enables a person to know what good deeds are, and thus prevents them from doing bad deeds.

Plato developed and expanded the Socratic idea that no one knowingly does evil because it is evil. In his opinion, man does evil out of a mistake in the nature of evil, because he thinks of it as good. The right intention and the right action come from within, from a desire to know the essence of true good. For "no one does evil knowingly." And therefore, reason is the foundation of morality. 6]

However, it still needs to be determined what the cognitive contents are that lead to moral behavior.

What is "ethics" for Aristotle?

Essentially, Aristotle views ethics as part of political science, meaning as the science that determines the proper and desirable behavior of humans toward those around them, since "man is by nature a social animal" [7]. However, it is necessary to identify what should be the criterion for what is truly worthy and desirable, and therefore he opens the first chapter of his book with the following sentence:

Every art and every subject of research, as well as every action and occupation, is strong in its aspiration toward what is good; therefore, they rightly defined the good as that which everything aspires to [8].

However, this definition is lacking: what is this "good" that everyone strives for? Aristotle addresses this question and offers various explanations that will be detailed below. He first claims that the main goal to achieve is happiness: "It is nothing but happiness, and no one distinguishes at all between a happy life and a good and successful life" [9]. And what is happiness? Life will be desirable and nothing will be lacking. We attribute this characteristic to happiness... Therefore, we find that happiness is something perfect and sufficient in itself, and it is the purpose toward which all our actions are directed [10]. However, it remains to specify its content, and Aristotle answers this demand as follows: "pleasure or wealth or honor"[11].

 However, these things are dynamic and can change for each person according to their circumstances, as "the same person changes their mind, so that when they are sick, they identify happiness with health, and when they lose their wealth, with happiness" [12].

 At this point, Aristotle offers a new explanation for happiness. In his opinion: "Most people, and the simplest among them, identify good and happiness with pleasure" [13]. However, a problem arises here: the concept of "pleasure" is usually reserved for the satisfaction of physical needs, and then there is no certainty that we can call the behavior to obtain them appropriate, as Aristotle puts it:

And behold, the sons of the common people appear to us as those of base character, because they choose a way of life that is fitting for beasts; however, they have the means to justify this choice, since many of the powerful follow the ways of Sardanapalus [14]. 15]

Therefore, he proposes a different, more honorable goal: "Those scholars who are men of action are likely to identify happiness with honor, since honor is like the ultimate purpose of political life"[16].

We have learned that Aristotle requires every person to act in such a way that human society as a whole enjoys the greatest happiness, which can be expressed in various forms: pleasure, wealth, honor, health, etc., and even a life of contemplation, depending on the circumstances. Therefore, he should not act selfishly to fulfilll his own desires, but rather strive to achieve happiness among the greatest possible number of members of the community in which he resides. It follows that "morality is essentially the performance of certain actions not because we see them as inherently right, but because we see them as bringing us closer to 'the good for man'" [17].

Eudaimonia

If so, what is "the good for man"? This is what Aristotle calls eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία), which, according to a group of researchers, is:

Eudaimonia is often translated as "happiness," but the contemporary interpretation used in philosophy translates it as "flourishing" or "prosperity." Different interpretations of Aristotle's eudaimonia have been offered in modern philosophy. These interpretations share the idea that eudaimonia reflects virtues, excellence, and the realization of one's full potential. Rooted in its philosophical origins, eudaimonia represents an objective standard of good and is considered a worthy pursuit in life. 18]

In Aristotle's view, the essence of morality is therefore in performing certain actions that bring a person closer to εὐδαιμονία.

Criticism of Aristotle's approach to the purpose of morality

Aristotle does not doubt man's duty to act according to well-defined rules, but he struggles to find a single, clear, and universal purpose. The εὐδαιμονία, which is supposedly the goal to strive for for as many people as possible, also lacks a clear definition. After all, the feeling of happiness is subjective; it can differ from person to person and also change over generations. As Aristotle himself noted, this feeling depends on a person's state, so it can change over time even for the same individual.

Furthermore, even if it's understood that a healthy social life requires moral behavior from everyone toward all other people, there's no sufficient reason here for everyone to feel obligated to act according to moral rules! The self-conviction that there is an obligation to act according to certain rules must be based on a belief in a transcendent entity that imposes this behavior on the individual. Dostoevsky expressed this idea in his famous novel, "The Brothers Karamazov":

God... what if we don't exist? What if... this is an artificial idea of humanity? And then, if we are not, man is the master of the earth, the universe. Great! But how can he do good without God? Question! I'm constantly occupied with only this. For who will man love then? To whom will he give thanks, to whom will he sing a hymn? Rakitin laughs. Rakitin says that it is possible to love humanity even without God. Only a weakling can claim that, and I won't be able to understand it. Rakitin's life is easy. Today he told me, "You'd better worry about expanding human civil rights, or even about the price of meat not going up. In this way, you will discover love for humanity in a simpler and more intimate way than through philosophies. To this I retorted: "And you, I say, without God, will make meat more expensive, if you get the chance, and make a ruble on every kopeck." He got angry. For what is the good deed? Answer me, Alexey. In my eyes, this deed is good, and in the eyes of the Chinese, another deed is good – the matter is therefore relative. Isn't that right? Isn't it relative? This is a tricky question. You wouldn't laugh if I told you I haven't slept for two nights because of this question. Now I'm only surprised at how people live and don't think about it at all. Nonsense! Ivan has no God. He has an idea. Not on my scale. But he's silent... Once... I told him, "If so, everything is permitted, if that's the case." 19]

And more explicitly, Dostoevsky writes in a letter:

Now let's assume there is no God and no immortality of the soul. Now tell me, why should I live righteously and do good deeds if I'm going to die completely on earth? ...and if so, why shouldn't I go (as long as I can rely on my intelligence and agility to avoid getting caught by the law) to slaughter another person, to steal... [20]

 After all, it's possible that society would be happier if I behaved in a certain way, but what is the source of my obligation to care for that society?

If so, Jean-Paul Sartre is Aristotelian, when, following what Dostoevsky wrote, he claims:

Dostoevsky wrote: "If God does not exist, everything is permitted." This is the starting point of existentialism. Indeed, everything is permitted if God does not exist, and because of this, man is abandoned, as he finds no possibility of enduring either within himself or outside of himself. First of all, he doesn't make excuses. If, in fact, existence precedes essence, it will never be possible to explain it by referring to a given and fixed human nature; in other words, there is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom. 21]

If there is no God, not only is there no obligation to keep moral rules, but man must invent them.

The source of the obligation to act according to moral rules according to Maimonides

For Maimonides, the foundation of morality is God's commandment, which appears at the beginning of the Laws of Opinions: "(a) to emulate His ways, (b) to cleave to those who know Him." In the first chapter of Hilchot De'ot, the Rambam explains the first commandment, how to "imitate the ways" of the Holy One. In the Book of Commandments, Maimonides brings three different verses from which the Sages learned "the commandment we were commanded to emulate Him, may He be blessed, to the best of our ability" [22]. All the verses are from the Book of Deuteronomy: "For if you carefully observe all this commandment... to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to cling to Him" (Deuteronomy 11:22); "You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him" (ibid. 13:5); "If you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways" (ibid. 28:9).

These verses were interpreted by the Sages [23], and they concluded from them that there is a general commandment in the Torah for moral behavior, in addition to the many commandments in the Torah whose purpose is to instill good character traits in specific cases (such as laws regarding orphans, widows, and slaves; the prohibition of interest; the prohibition of bribery, etc.). Unlike both classical and modern philosophical theories, in which ethics is one of its main fields and is entirely based on the dictates of conscience, reason, or accumulated experience, Jewish ethics is fundamentally transcendental, both in the very demand for moral behavior and in giving content to this commandment.

The Sages, in their attempt to give content to this commandment, determined that one should learn from God's ways, whether explicitly revealed or implicitly mentioned in the Torah. Moses asked God, "Please show me Your ways" (Exodus 33:13), and he was answered – at least partially – when God revealed to him what His thirteen attributes are: "The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, etc." (ibid. 34:6-7). From here they demanded, "Just as the place is called merciful and gracious, so too, be merciful and gracious yourself and give a free gift to all" [24]. Not only in this verse were the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed, but "just as the Holy One is called righteous, as it is said, 'The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His works' (Psalm 145:17), so too, you should be righteous... so too, you should be gracious" [25].

The Purpose of Morality According to Maimonides

However, according to Maimonides' system as well, the purpose of moral behavior is the benefit of society. 26] And he wrote: "The commandments... which we have enumerated in the laws of character, all have a simple and clear benefit, because they are all virtues by which the state of society among people is improved"[27]. Later, Maimonides adds that the purpose of these commandments is not -

But for the benefit of mankind... because if you assume that one person is alone and has no dealings with anyone, you will find that all his moral virtues are then null and void and have no purpose, and they do not bring any perfection to his personality at all. [28]

And yet, it turns out that according to Maimonides, the benefit of morality is not only that "the state of society between people will be improved." But in addition to this, "all these vises [bad traits] are partitions that separate a person from God, may He be blessed"[29]. It therefore follows that the acquisition of virtues has another purpose beside the betterment of society.

We have learned that moral behavior and the acquisition of virtues have purposes that are divided into two layers, one above the other. At the first level, there is a requirement to bring about the repair of society through behavior that aligns with the attributes of the Holy One. Middos at this level have only instrumental significance. In the second level, a religious and personal role is attributed to the virtues themselves: the purpose of man is to perceive God, and whoever strives to reach Him is required to internalize his virtues and, as far as possible, become like Him, until he is entirely "kindness, charity, and justice." Perceiving God is not merely an intellectual pursuit but a goal that demands active and complete personal identification and intervention. Just as this explanation applies to a private individual, so too does it apply to someone gifted with prophesy. A necessary condition for inspiring prophesy is the removal of the "barriers separating man from God, may He be blessed," by man reaching the level of perceiving God.

Basing moral principles on Greek philosophy

In explaining the details of the commandment, the Rambam uses many sources, including not only the words of the Sages, but – as is his way – also the philosophy of Aristotle, through the writings of Arab philosophers, and among them mainly the writings of Al-Farabi. 30] This is despite the fact that, according to Maimonides, moral behavior is a Divine commandment, while according to Aristotle, it is solely a commandment of reason.

 As mentioned, in Aristotle's view, the essence of morality is to achieve the good for humanity. Maimonides also believes that the purpose of man is to achieve perfection and that moral behavior is a means and instrument for attaining this goal. However, in his opinion, this perfection is a goal of a religious nature that leads to clinging to God, which is the ultimate purpose of all the commandments. Aristotle cannot accept this approach because in his world there are no transcendental commandments, and therefore perfection has only human meaning.

 In conclusion, Maimonides and Aristotle disagree, both in the starting point of the moral commandment and in its purpose. On the other hand, the influence of Aristotle's ethics is felt on the details of the commandment, as described by Maimonides. Essentially, the idea of the "golden mean" [31] is entirely based on the words of Aristotle.

 The question arises: how is it possible that Maimonides would rely on secular philosophical Torah, whose beginning and end are in human reason, to infuse content into a commandment whose beginning and end are holy? Some are trying to emphasize that the doctrine of the "middle way" is a doctrine taught by our sages and prophets, and from there it found an echo in the thought of the gentiles. According to this, the words and opinions of the Rambam are drawn from a blessed source, from the source of Israel, and the words of the philosophers serve him only as "a supporting teacher." 32]

 However, it seems this is not Maimonides' way. According to his view, it is permissible, and even desirable, to use the findings of science and philosophical theories as long as they do not contradict the core principles of religion, because, in his view, the findings of science and philosophy are not foreign to Judaism as he sees it. Maimonides essentially accepts Aristotle's scientific method and utilizes his organized teachings in places where such teachings are not found in our sources. Contrary to what was stated above, Maimonides derived the idea of the golden mean from the writings of Aristotle, not from verses in the Bible or from rabbinic interpretations. In the time of Maimonides, the prevailing opinion was that philosophy and the sciences were known and accepted in Israel even before they were revived by Greek philosophers, but that they were forgotten and lost when we were exiled from our land. Therefore, we must learn these sciences from the Gentiles in order to reintroduce them into our curriculum. And so Maimonides writes: "Know that the many sciences that existed in our nation regarding these truths were lost over time and due to the rule of foolish nations over us, etc." [33]. Therefore, in Maimonides' view, even Aristotle's philosophical writings are essentially of Jewish origin [34].

The Rambam's right as a philosophical thinker is essentially twofold: the Aristotelianization of Judaism and the Judaization of Aristotelianism. What does the Aristotelianization of Judaism mean? This does not mean that Maimonides was the first to introduce Aristotle's philosophy into Judaism, but rather that before him, this was not done with such systematic consistency as we find in this great thinker. For example, in Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud's book "Emunah Ramah," there is a tendency to reconcile the two Torahs [להבדיל בין קודש לחול ובין אור לחושך], that of Judaism and that of Greek philosophy. However, in this Jewish philosopher, who predated Maimonides, there is more of an aspiration for parallelism and compatibility between the different Torahs than for mutual sharpening. Not so with Maimonides; he first grasped the problems under discussion in all their clarity, without ignoring the contradictions between the Torah of Moses and the philosophy of Aristotle, and then sought the point of contact between the two, creating a new synthesis, a synthesis for generations. 35]

 So, despite a fundamental disagreement between Aristotle's approach and traditional Jewish thought, Maimonides managed to draw from Aristotle the necessary materials he needed.

Different approaches to the question of the relationship between religion and morality

Some say that there are three different approaches to the question of the relationship between religion and morality:

Some argued that religious assumptions are essential for moral activity, and that religion, in one way or another, is a condition for morality. A well-known thinker from this school is Kant. Although he emphasized the autonomous nature of morality, Kant believed that certain religious beliefs – the existence of God, the belief in reward and punishment – are essential for moral activity, and he called them: "postulates of practical reason."

There were thinkers – such as Aristotle, Plato, and their followers – who rejected this dependence, attempting to prove the autonomy of morality.

Other thinkers went even further, arguing that religion interferes with and is contrary to morality. An example of this type of thinker is Nietzsche, who believed that religion hinders and stifles human development. 

According to what was explained above, it is clear that Maimonides belongs to the first category. In his opinion, the source of morality – both the commandment and the giving of content – is God. However, Maimonides does not leave the laws of opinions as laws without an obvious reason. In the Laws of Opinions, he tries to follow Aristotle and base the demand for ethical behavior on logical arguments. Unlike Kant, who believed that religion – without feeling bound by it – is beneficial for ensuring moral behavior because the commandment and content are based on reason, Maimonides believed that morality is entirely a divine commandment that can be reconciled with human reason, which will decide in case of doubt.

Summary

In the dilemma posed by Socrates in the dialogue Euthyphro [37], the question discussed was: What is piety? At a certain point in the discussion, Euthyphron offers this definition: piety is what all the gods love, and conversely, what all the gods hate is sin.

 Socrates asks about this: Is piety loved because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved?

 In modern discussions, the dilemma is usually presented like this: Is an act moral because God willed it, or did God will it because it is moral?

 According to Aristotle, there is no doubt, as in his view, God does not give any commandments to man, and morality must be based solely on human thought. Apparently, according to Maimonides as well, this dilemma does not exist for him. He certainly believes that moral rules have autonomous and intellectual value, but there was never a moment when God adopted them. The way Rambam understands the unity of God – see Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 1:7 – leaves no room for any moral-ethical system outside of Him – He is morality and morality is He.

 [1] Although there is another book dedicated to the topic of ethics, called "Eudemian Ethics," Nicomachean Ethics is "more mature" (David William Ross, Hebrew Encyclopedia, entry on Aristotle, p. 846).

 [2] The Sophists were a respected group of private tutors in ancient Greece's Athens, whose main focus was teaching rhetoric. The evidence we currently have about them comes to us thru partial quotations from their teachings written by their opponents, particularly the writings of Plato. However, the importance of their teachings within the framework of Greek philosophy is significant, also because Socratic philosophy grew against the backdrop of Sophism.

 [3] An opinion shared even by modern skeptics.

 [4] Aristippus of Cyrene founded the school of hedonism in Greek philosophy. Following Socrates, who said that "happiness is one of the goals of moral activity," Aristippus believed that pleasure is the highest good. Epicurus made the same argument, but he placed spiritual pleasure above sensory pleasure, which is largely dependent on chance rather than will.

 [5] Plato, Meno, translated from Greek by Aryeh Simon, Jerusalem 1975, p. 76 (96e).

 [6] The Hebrew Encyclopedia, Yosef Klausner, E. Plato, p. 231.

 [7] Aristotle, Ethics, translated from Greek by Joseph G. Liebes, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 1985, p. 24.

 [8] Ibid., p. 15.

 [9] Ibid., pp. 17-18.

 [10] Ibid., p. 25.

 [11] Ibid., p. 18.

 [12] Ibid., p. 18.

 [13] Ibid., p. 19.

 [14] Sardanapalus is a fictional literary figure created by the Greek writer Ctesias. He is described as the last king of the Assyrian Empire and the one who brought about its downfall with his own hands. Sardanapalus is depicted as a decadent figure who squanders his life and the empire's resources and dies in an orgy of destruction. The legendary decadence of Sardanapalus later became a theme in literature and art, especially during the Romantic era.

[15] Ibid., p. 19.

[16] Ibid., p. 19.

[17] David William Ross, Hebrew Encyclopedia, entry "Aristotle," p. 847.

[18] Free translation of the following passage:

Nasir Abbas, Muhammad Ali Raza, Wajid Hussain, Kazim Abbas, Aristotle's eudemonia and its impact on human well-being in modern psychology: a critical analysis, in International Journal of Contemporary Social Science, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2024).


[19] Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Zvi Arad, Dvir Publishing House 1993, Part Four, Book 11, Chapter 4.


[20] Free translation from French (I couldn't find the exact reference):

 Maintenant supposons qu’il n’y a pas de Dieu ni immortalité de l’âme. Maintenant dites-moi, pourquoi devrais-je vivre avec droiture et faire de bonnes actions, si je vais mourir entièrement sur terre? … Et si c’est le cas, pourquoi ne devrais-je pas (tant que je peux compter sur mon intelligence et l’agilité pour éviter les être pris par la loi) couper la gorge d’un autre homme, voler.(https://la-philosophie.com/si-dieu-existe-pas-tout-est-permis-dostoievski).

[21] Free translation of the following passage:

Dostoievsky avait écrit: «Si Dieu n’existait pas, tout serait permis». C’est là le point de départ de l’existentialisme. En effet, tout est permis si Dieu n’existe pas, et par conséquent l’homme est délaissé, parce qu’il ne trouve ni en lui, ni hors de lui une possibilité de s’accrocher. Il ne trouve d’abord pas d’excuses. Si, en effet, l’existence précède l’essence, on ne pourra jamais expliquer par référence à une nature humaine donnée et figée ; autrement dit, il n’y a pas de déterminisme, l’homme est libre, l’homme est liberté” (Jean-Paul Sartre, L'Existentialisme est un Humanisme, Paris 1970, p. 36).

[22] The Book of Commandments, Eighth Commandment.


[23] Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 14a, Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 13b.


[24] Books of the Maccabees 11:22.


[25] There.


[26] See explicit statements in this spirit in the Guide for the Perplexed III, chapter 38 and 39, under the heading "And the third kind."


[27] Guide for the Perplexed, Part III, Chapter 8.


[28] Guide for the Perplexed, Part 3, Chapter 1.


[29] In the seventh chapter out of eight chapters.


[30] See for example: H. Davidson: Maimonides' Shemonah Peraqim and Alfarabi's Fusul al-Madani, Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, XXXI (1963), pp. 35-50


[31] Laws of Opinions 1:4.


[32] See the commentary of Rabbi M. D. Rabbinowitz, in eight chapters, within: Introductions to the Commentary on the Mishnah, Jerusalem 1994, Chapter Four, Note 9 at the beginning of the chapter.


[33] Guide for the Perplexed I a. In that regard, see also Guide for the Perplexed, Part II.


[34] However, it is possible that Maimonides did not truly believe in the truth of this legend, but rather that it served as a winning argument for him to draw information from foreign sources.


[35] Menachem Stein, Maimonides and Aristotelianism, The Israeli Writers Association near "Massada" Publishing House, 1970.


[36] Daniel Statman and Avraham Sagi, Religion and Morality, Jerusalem 1993, p. 9.

Translated from Prof. Alex Klein

[37] Euthyphro