What are Jewish people's views on moral issues?

Answer 1

Just like every other group of people, Jewish views on moral and other issues depends more upon the individual's outlook than on their ethnic or religious background.

However, American and European Jews have traditionally tended to take a fairly liberal point of view on most subjects. Even the ultra-Orthodox Jews such as the Charedim tend to be very liberal in their opinions of others and other people's lifestyles, even though they are often highly conservative in their own ways.

Reform, Liberal and Progressive Jews are very permissive - female rabbis have been around for many years now, and I know of at least one instance in which a female rabbi officiated at the wedding of her assistant rabbi - another woman - and the assistant's female partner. In Britain, the two most famous rabbis after the Chief Rabbi Jonathon Sacks are Rabbi Dame Julia Neuberger, a woman and a member of the House of Lords and Rabbi Lionel Blue who is openly gay.

In the USA, a higher percentage of Jews vote Democrat than is found amongst the gentile (non-Jewish) population; and in the UK the Liberal Democrat party has always enjoyed much support from the Jewish community.

So all in all, even though many Jews choose to live somewhat conservative lifestyles themselves, many tend to take a liberal view on moral issues that apply to others, be they Jewish or not.

Answer 2

"Do not do to your fellow what what you dislike (being done to you)." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
The moral imperatives of justice, ethics and morality were taught in detail by the Torah and the Jewish prophets, so that they are religious ideals and obligations, rather than just good behavior. We are obligated to care for the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7-8), the widow, orphan and stranger (Exodus 22:20-21), the Levites (Deuteronomy 12:17-19) and the landless. We are also warned against corruption, bribery, misuse of power, and mistreatment of workers. The Torah specifies rights for women and other groups. The Torah teaches the ideal of justice for the benefit of society and the moral guidance of the individual.
Quote:
"I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation ... fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations" (John Adams, 2nd President of the United States).
"Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights, but we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both Divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person; of the individual conscience and of the collective conscience and social responsibility" (Paul Johnson, Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity).

See also the Related Links.

Link: Are non-Jews expected to keep these laws?

Link: Jewish ethics

Link: How do the Scriptures and Talmud teach the Jewish ideas of justice?

Link: Judaism's influence

Answer 3

These are based on the Talmud, the Torah and the code of Jewish law (Shulchan Aruch).