Forums Jews and Judaism Corporal Works of Mercy and Jewish tradition on Isaiah 58:6-7 (Mitzvaot)? Reply To: Corporal Works of Mercy and Jewish tradition on Isaiah 58:6-7 (Mitzvaot)?

geocon
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    The passage is a part of the liturgy for Yom Kippur, the yearly ritual observance when Jews fast. They are criticized by Isaiah for taking advantage of others who work on that day, and work for them. and so maybe even for a profit, while they themselves don’t work. This is the essence of the idea behind the sabbath.

    In this vein, you ask about something similar to the Catholic practice of conducting corporeal acts of mercy. This may be associated with the Jewish practices that stem from the ten commandments, honor thy parents, love thy God before any other, etc. As these two traditions continue to further refine the strands of their common origination, God, like two spiraling DNA cords – periodically intersecting and straying from each other – there are moments when one needs the positivity of the one to match up with the positivity of the other to bear fruit. I will continue to look for more explicit lists of mitzvahs, even as I expand my understanding of the Ten Commandments, which seems an essential list to start with. But another place is the practice of keeping the sabbath day, and even inviting the prophet Elijah with a physical empty chair, on the Passover seder, emphasizing another practice of inviting others to the table.