A problem that concerns every sensible Jew is the existence of Jews who observe many mitzvoth but are, nevertheless, unethical people.

To think that being religious automatically makes a person ethical is a mistake, for a Jew cannot be considered religious if he or she does not also observe the ethical commandments of the Torah.

The commandments between man and God, Bein Adam Lamakom, are only one part of Judaism and if correctly fulfilled, have very profound ethical implications. A large number of commandments and much of the rabbinic literature is concerned exclusively with those mitzvoth that involve actions between one individual and another, “Bein Adam Lechaveroh” and are as important as the laws of Kashrut, putting on tefillin or praying. “To love your neighbor as yourself” is the most well-known example, but there are many others, such as the laws on charity, speaking ill of others, proper conduct in business, and more.

Judaism is so concerned with this point that it considers a person who has not studied these mitzvoth and “is ignorant, cannot be considered a righteous person” and therefore is not really an observant Jew. A Chassid is one who is an upright Jew and who practices good deeds. The sages consider that God rejects those who observe only the mitzvoth Bein Adam Lamakom and do not fulfill the mitzvoth Bein Adam Lechaveroh.

People who are unethical and unkind to their neighbors, but who pretend to be religious, are equated by the rabbis with one who commits the sin of Chillul Hashem, profaning the name of God. It is written in the Talmud, Yoma 86a: “….if someone studies the Tanach, (the Bible) and the Mishnah….but is dishonest in his business dealings and discourteous in his dealings with people, what do they say about him? Woe to the person who studied Torah, woe to his father who taught that person Torah; woe to his teacher who taught that person Torah; This person who studied Torah: see how corrupt his deeds are, how ugly his ways are;”

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: “The nine questions people ask about Judaism” by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin.