Savior Teaches "Love Your Enemies" in the Beatitudes: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do
not even the publicans the same?" (Matthew 5:43-46)
Jewish Thought on "Free Will:" The following thoughts on personal righteousness, involvement and influence in the world may also be of interest: "Most Jewish philosophers
considered the idea of free will essential to moral responsibility." "The most common argument brought to support the idea of free will was expressed by Maimonides: every person may choose to be
good or evil. God does not determine in advance whether a particular man will be righteous or wicked."
(Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Prayer Alone is Not Enough, Needs to be Connected with Works: "Prayer begins when we sense the beauty and mystery of the world and when we yearn to be close to its Creator.
Communal prayer opens the worshiper to the needs of others, it "takes the mind out of the narrowness of self interest." "Prayer is a way to master what is inferior in us . . . it helps us
discover our true aspirations . . . Prayer teaches us what to aspire to . . ." "However, prayer is no substitute for action." Through prayer we deepen our commitment to righteous living."
(Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Jewish Tradition of a Special Society of Righteous People: "The rabbis of the Talmud described the righteous as individuals whose behavior went beyond merely fulfilling the
letter of the law, and as those who were scrupulous in monetary matters. They praised the righteousness of zaddikim as being greater than that of the ministering angels and attributed the
continued existence of the world to them. According to an aggadah
in the Babylonian Talmud, in each generation there are
exactly 36 righteous men -- Lamed Vav Zaddikim -- who received the Divine Presence and whose righteousness sustains the world. In the folklore of the Kabbalah and later that of Hasidism, the
idea of these lamedvavniks, as they were commonly called, assumed great significance. They were believed to be anonymous saints
who remained unnoticed by other men because of their humble nature and vocations." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Name of Priesthood, Name of God: The Hebrew word "Zaddik" is reflected in one of the names of the Lord, "Melech Zaddik," which means King of Righteousness. That is said,
Melchizedek, today.