Values in Harmony - University of St Andrews

QUOTES FROM JEWISH SCRIPTURE AND TEACHINGS THAT PROMOTE “COMMUNITYVALUES”Do not judge another person until you have stood in his place.Hillel, Pirke Avot 2:5If I am not for myself, who is for me?And being only for myself, what am I?And if not now, when?Hillel, Pirke Avot 1:14When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corner of your field, norshall you gather the gleanings; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger.Deuteronomy 13:22For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.It is not in heaven that you should say “who shall go up to heaven to bring it to us?” … nor is itbeyond the sea that you should say “who shall go over the sea to bring it to us? It is very closeto you, in your mouth and in your heart so that you may do it.”Deuteronomy 30:11-14See, I have set before you this day life and death, the blessing and the curse; thereforechoose life, that you may live, you and your children; to love the Lrd your Gd, to listen to Hisvoice, and to cling to him.Deuteronomy 30:10I will say of Gd “He is my refuge and my fortress, my Gd, I will trust in Him.”Psalm 91We make a mistake when we think religion is only about believing. It’s also about belonging;and belonging is about community, that delicate yet powerful network of relationships wherewe learn moral literacy – by being there for other people when they need us, knowing thatthey’ll be there for us when we need them.Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “Thought for the Day”, 19-6-2000 (published in “From Optimismto Hope, pub: Continuum)Does prayer make a difference? I think it does. It may seem an absurdly fragile thing whenset against daisy-cutter bombs, laser-guided missiles and the whole complex technology ofmodern warfare. And yet I wonder whether it isn’t sometimes the strongest thing there is.Power grows from the barrel of a gun but peace is born in the human heart; and it makes allthe difference whether we believe the universe is blind, a place where power rules and onlythe strongest survive, or whether when we open our hearts, we hear the voice of the creatorsaying, “you are all My children, and even your enemies carry the trace of my presence, themark of my image”.Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “Thought for the Day”, 21-3-2003 (published in “From Optimismto Hope”, pub: Continuum)Those who survive a tragedy such as the Holocaust cannot keep silent, but must do everythingin their power to testify to the fact that life is the gift of Gd, and that it is sacred…Whereverthere is oppression or hunger or brutalisation, regardless of colour or creed, I consider it ismorally my territory and their cause is my cause. Bigots, racists and fanatics are my personal63