God’s Level of Morality, Not Man’s

For more than 1,300 years, the banner of jihad or “holy war” has been used to justify an unbroken trail of bloodshed. The Sunni–Shia feud that started in the first generation after Muhammad evolved into a centuries-long cycle of massacres, reprisals, and “holy” score-settling.  

The same script played out in Lebanon and Syria, where entire cities were dragged into wars fought less for God and more for power dressed in “holy” clothing. 

On October 7, that same ideology tore through our own communities, transforming homes and families into targets.  

And in Iran, tens of thousands of men and women—people who dared to push for something as simple as human freedom—were eliminated under the pious marketing slogan of “religious duty.” Thousands more face the death penalty after being branded “enemies of god” for wanting their own taste of what Judeo-Christian values label “God-given freedoms.” 

A religion made to validate and even accommodate their darkest impulses. 

Although Christianity is far less egregious in its blanket permissions for evil such as murder, it still falls far short of pushing mankind to the highest levels of morality, honesty, and refined behavior. 

A Covenant That Elevates Rather Than Accommodates 

Judaism, on the other hand, demands as the basis of Jewish law or halacha the highest, exacting standards of honesty and morality. Even jealousy, which is a normal human emotion in a particular set of circumstances – is banned – as one of the Ten Commandments! Jewish law demands 10% of income be tithed to the poor, demands honest weights and measures and honesty in business, demands lost items be returned and not taken as “finders keepers,” and so much more. There is no “well, I’m not evil so I’m good” in Judaism. Goodness, honesty, and morality are demanded as the most basic level of keeping Jewish law! 

An excellent example of this requirement not just to be OK, but to be moral and honest to the highest degree, is found in the story of the young rabbi who bought a desk, and discovered $98,000 cash that had been hidden by the owner, and the recipient of his inheritance didn’t know was there. He asked his rabbi who confirmed that the money had to be returned since the owner didn’t intend to include it in the sale of the desk. The Los Angeles Times titled the article on this story “The Most Honest Man in America?”¹ The answer is that any Jew who follows Jewish law would have done the exact same thing, because this is the standard of honesty and morality that G-d demands and Judaism does not water it down for the desires of humans! 

This is what makes the covenant, or Brit, between Hashem and the Jewish People so extraordinary. It isn’t shaped to suit our whims or comforts. Instead, God invites us to rise, to grow, to refine ourselves so we can live in alignment with Him. 

It begins on the eighth day of life, with a moment that signals something profound: our journey toward discipline, holiness, and purpose. It extends by controlling the desires attached to the organ we circumcise.  

What the ancient Romans dismissed as strange, and what later cultures would never dare attempt, becomes for us a declaration of devotion. It is not an act against others, but an act of commitment — a reminder that our path starts with transforming ourselves. 

God doesn’t shape His Torah to match our impulses. He gives us the Torah as a blueprint for reshaping who we are. He asks us to mold our lives, our desires, and our choices toward Him — not the other way around. 

The Brit is a lifelong pledge to elevate our instincts, to channel the strongest human drives toward something higher, something sacred. From the eighth day onward, we carry a sign that our bodies, our passions, and our purpose are meant to serve something far greater than ourselves. 

It is the beginning of a life lived with intention, direction, and holiness — a covenant that lifts us toward God every single day. 

Walking the Straight Path to God Under Fire 

We stand in the days of Shovevim — our season of intensity, commitment, and spiritual fire.  

This is the time when we’re called to go all-in, to awaken every ounce of discipline, drive, and conviction inside us. Not to unleash violence on the world, but to unleash force on ourselves — on the impulses that pull us away from God. 

What are our Jewish fantasies? 

To wage war on our own yetzer hara with the same relentless determination that empires used on their enemies. To confront our desires head-on and overpower them with the ferocity of a soldier who refuses to surrender his ground. 

Loyalty to Hashem means guarding every doorway into the soul — from the phone, the screen, the bar, the office, the street — and shutting down temptation the way an IDF defender shuts down a Hamas terrorist. 

🔥This is our battlefield. 
🔥This is our mission. 

Every victory is carved inside the heart long before it appears in the world. 

The name “Israel” means Yashar Kel — the straight path to God. Walking that path demands that we move toward Him, not toward comfort or indulgence. It means choosing His will over our wants, His discipline over our impulses, His direction over our distractions. 

🔥This is our war — the only war that matters. 
 
Every act of resistance against the pull away from the path God commands us is a step closer to His mercy, His compassion, and His wrath against those trying to destroy us. 

God is great.  

He calls us to greatness.

Editor’s Note:

¹ Los Angeles Times, November 12, 2013

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