od.
To Judaism marriage and home life are regarded as the normal conditions of
human welfare and sane morality, while celibacy is considered
abnormal.(1583) Labor establishes the dignity of man,(1584) while wealth
is a source of blessing, a stewardship in the service of society.(1585) In
opposition to the practice fostered by the Essenes and afterwards adopted
by the early Church, of devoting one's whole fortune to charity, the
rabbis decreed that one should not give over one fifth of one's
possessions.(1586) As has well been said, Judaism teaches a "robust
morality."(1587) It regards life as a continual battle for God and right
against every sort of injustice,(1588) for truth against every kind of
falsehood. At the same time it fosters also the gentler virtues of
meekness,(1589) kindness to animals,(1590) peaceableness and
modesty.(1591)

12. Jewish ethics excels all other ethical systems, especially in its
insistence on purity and holiness. Not only is any unchaste look, thought,
or act condemned, exactly as in the Sermon on the Mount,(1592) as
approaching adultery,(1593) but all profanity of act or speech is declared
to be an unpardonable offense against the majesty of God.(1594) Modesty in
demeanor and dress was both preached and practiced by the Jews throughout
the Middle Ages, while in non-Jewish circles coarseness and lewdness
prevailed among high and low, in minstrel song and monastic life. "The
Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp ... therefore shall thy camp
be holy, that He see no unseemly thing in thee, and turn away from
thee."(1595) These Biblical words created among the Essenes (the _Zenuim_)
and later among the entire Jewish people a spirit of chastity and modesty
which made the Jewish home of old a model of purity and sanctity. The
great problem for modern Israel, amid our present allurements of luxury
and pleasure, is to restore the home to its pristine glory as a sanctuary
of God, a training school for virtue, so that its influence may extend
over the whole of life.

13. Thus Jewish ethics derives its sanction from the idea of a God of
holiness. But it never made life austere, depriving it of joy, or
begrudging man his cheerfulness and laughter. On the contrary, the Sabbath
and many of the holy days are seasons of joy, for gladness should bring
the spirit of God near to man.(1596) Moreover, the Talmud holds that we
should encourage every means of promoting cheer among men. This is
illustrat