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Common Morality In a Unique Religion

(א) אסור ליראת שמים שתדחק את המוסר הטבעי של האדם, כי אז אינה עוד יראת שמים טהורה.

(1) A person may not allow [one’s] fear of heaven to override his natural morality. Were his fear of heaven [to do so], it would no longer be pure.

THE SOURCE

(טז) לֹא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י ה'׃

(16) Do not deal basely with members of your people. Do not stand by the blood of your fellow: I am ה'.

(ב) לא תעמד על דם רעך. לִרְאוֹת בְּמִיתָתוֹ וְאַתָּה יָכוֹל לְהַצִּילוֹ, כְּגוֹן טוֹבֵעַ בַּנָּהָר וְחַיָּה אוֹ לִיסְטִים בָּאִים עָלָיו (סנהדרין ע"ג):

(2) לא תעמד על דם רעך NEITHER SHALT THOU STAND AGAINST THE BLOOD OF THY FELLOW — witnessing his death, you being able to rescue him: if, for instance, he is drowning in the river or if a wild beast or a robber is attacking him (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 4 8; Sanhedrin 73a).
THE TORAH IN REALITY
There are multiple implications of this pasuk:
The Verbal Report: - From the juxtaposition of the pasuk
Gray Matter II, Family Matters, Revealing Flaws of a Potential Marriage Partner 28
The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 426:1) cites this passage from the Rambam almost verbatim. Consequently, as we shall discuss, one must balance the prohibitions of rechilut and standing by idly, by not revealing insignificant flaws while also not remaining silent about major flaws. The Netziv (Ha’ameik Davar, Vayikra 19:16) explains that God placed the prohibitions of rechilut and standing by idly in the same verse in order to clarify when one should not speak rechilut. Their juxtaposition indicates that despite the prohibition to gossip, one nevertheless may not remain silent about information that can save another person from danger.
The Physical Rescue: - From the latter half of the pasuk
Gray Matter II, Family Matters, Revealing Flaws of a Potential Marriage Partner 27
Whoever can save another individual [from an assailant] and fails to do so violates the Torah’s prohibition, “Do not stand idly by while your brother’s blood is being shed” (“Lo ta’amod al dam rei’echa;” Vayikra 19:16). Similarly, if one sees someone drowning in the sea or sees that robbers are attacking him or a wild animal is pouncing on him, and one can save him... but fails to do so... one violates the prohibition of lo ta’amod al dam rei’echa.
It should now be clear that a Torah commandment exists not to remain passive while another person is in danger. One must either save them by their own actions or report the situation to someone else.
WHO

שלא לעמד על דם רעים - שלא נמנע מלהציל נפש מישראל כשנראהו בסכנת המיתה והאבדה ויהיה לנו יכלת להצילו בשום צד, שנאמר (ויקרא יט טז) לא תעמד על דם רעך...

To not stand over the blood of neighbors: That we not refrain from saving the soul of an Israelite when we see him in danger of death and destruction and we have the ability to save him from any side, as it is stated (Leviticus 19:16), "you shall not stand over the blood of your neighbor."...

Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
The Jew is commanded to respect all human beings. The Torah prohibits any negative behavior toward a non-Jew, so long as he is not an enemy. He is instructed, however, not to become too close a companion to him. Thus the above verse, veahavta l’reyacha kamocha, “You shall love your neighbor as your self”, does not imply a universal neighbor. To be honest with the text, the parenthetical “a fellow Jew” must appear.

(ד) גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁ֥ב אָנֹכִ֖י עִמָּכֶ֑ם תְּנ֨וּ לִ֤י אֲחֻזַּת־קֶ֙בֶר֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה מֵתִ֖י מִלְּפָנָֽי׃

(4)I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.”

A Stranger and a Resident by Rav Soloveitchik
One is either a stranger, an alien, or one is a resident, a citizen. How could Abraham claim both identities for himself?
Abraham’s definition of his dual status, we believe, describes with profound accuracy the historical position of the Jew who resides in a predominantly non-Jewish society. He was a resident, like other inhabitants of Canaan, sharing with them a concern for the welfare of society, digging wells, and contributing to the progress of the country in loyalty to its government and institutions. Here, Abraham was clearly a fellow citizen, a patriot among compatriots, joining others in advancing the common welfare. However, there was another aspect, the spiritual, in which Abraham regarded himself as a stranger. His identification and solidarity with his fellow citizens in the secular realm did not imply his readiness to relinquish any aspects of his religious uniqueness. His was a different faith and he was governed by truths, and observances which set him apart from the larger faith community. In this regard, Abraham and his descendants would always remain “strangers.”
SEEING THE STRUGGLE
(א) לֹֽא־תִרְאֶה֩ אֶת־שׁ֨וֹר אָחִ֜יךָ א֤וֹ אֶת־שֵׂיוֹ֙ נִדָּחִ֔ים וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ֖ מֵהֶ֑ם הָשֵׁ֥ב תְּשִׁיבֵ֖ם לְאָחִֽיךָ׃ (ב) וְאִם־לֹ֨א קָר֥וֹב אָחִ֛יךָ אֵלֶ֖יךָ וְלֹ֣א יְדַעְתּ֑וֹ וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ֙ אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ בֵּיתֶ֔ךָ וְהָיָ֣ה עִמְּךָ֗ עַ֣ד דְּרֹ֤שׁ אָחִ֙יךָ֙ אֹת֔וֹ וַהֲשֵׁבֹת֖וֹ לֽוֹ׃ (ג) וְכֵ֧ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַחֲמֹר֗וֹ וְכֵ֣ן תַּעֲשֶׂה֮ לְשִׂמְלָתוֹ֒ וְכֵ֣ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֗ה לְכׇל־אֲבֵדַ֥ת אָחִ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁר־תֹּאבַ֥ד מִמֶּ֖נּוּ וּמְצָאתָ֑הּ לֹ֥א תוּכַ֖ל לְהִתְעַלֵּֽם׃ {ס} (ד) לֹא־תִרְאֶה֩ אֶת־חֲמ֨וֹר אָחִ֜יךָ א֤וֹ שׁוֹרוֹ֙ נֹפְלִ֣ים בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ֖ מֵהֶ֑ם הָקֵ֥ם תָּקִ֖ים עִמּֽוֹ׃ {ס}

(1) If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your peer. (2) If your fellow Israelite does not live near you or you do not know who [the owner] is, you shall bring it home and it shall remain with you until your peer claims it; then you shall give it back. (3) You shall do the same with that person’s donkey; you shall do the same with that person’s garment; and so too shall you do with anything that your fellow Israelite loses and you find: you must not remain indifferent. (4) If you see your fellow Israelite’s ass or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; you must raise it together.

From Empathy to Apathy: The Bystander Effect Revisited
Ruud Hortensius and Beatrice de Gelder
Ultimately, bystander apathy occurs as the consequence of an inhibitory response, leading people to try to avoid the situation, but this is not a conscious decision.
CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION
By His Light by HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein
Conflicts Between Religion and Morality
"THE DUNGHILL OF MORALITY"
Having addressed the phenomena of frumkeit devoid of goodness and of goodness devoid of frumkeit, I would like to move on to the next issue. I emphasized before that frumkeit and goodness are not synonymous; rather, goodness is ideally to be included within frumkeit. But if they are not to be regarded as synonymous, is there a possibility that frumkeit and goodness can sometimes be antonymous?
There is such a possibility, and we should confront it. At one level, there is a question as to whether the quest for morality somehow conflicts with one's religious commitment. Some would claim that the focus on developing one's character undercuts the central experience of one's religious being, namely, relating directly and submitting to God. This point of view was expressed in early Christianity, and it reared its headagain during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries within the Protestant world. In the controversy regarding salvation through faith or through works (i.e. deeds), those works which were rejected most sharply were the moral works. In this perspective, morality is regarded as an audacious human undertaking, a challenge to God, where one stakes out an independent moral area instead of gearing one's entire spiritual being to submitting to God. Puritan preachers used to describe works as "the dunghill of morality" and regarded them simply as a spiritual abomination. For them, being good was indeed antonymous to being frum, because via "morality" you set yourself up as an alternative to the eved Hashem (servant of God) in you.
This notion has a history in Christianity, but it surely has no place within our beit midrash. Our conception of religious life highlights man's free will and emphasizes our efforts to build ourselves spiritually. As I mentioned before, these certainly include an emphasis upon morality. Therefore, this kind of tension between morality and religion is not a significant factor for us.
A Stranger and a Resident, Rav Soloveitchik
Like other people, the Jew has more than one identity. He is a part of the larger family of mankind, but he also has a Jewish identity which separates him from others. Each identity imposes upon him particular responsibilities. As a citizen of a pluralistic society, the Jew assumes the social and political obligation to contribute to the general welfare and to combat such common dangers as famine, corruption, disease, and foreign enemies. Where the freedom, dignity, and security of human life are at stake, all people—irrespective of ethnic diversity—are expected to join as brothers in shouldering their responsibilities. These are concerns which transcend all boundaries of difference.
עיון נוסף
A third dimension: An idea from The Rebbe
The Spiritual Dimension: Today, we are painfully aware that many of our brethren are threatened with spiritual extinction, G-d forbid. We see them drowning in materiality, we see them being devoured by a society that has lost its G-d and its moral moorings. This awareness implies a duty and a responsibility: “Do not stand by the blood of your fellow” applies no less to spiritual dangers than to cases of physical jeopardy. It also carries a divine guarantee: the very fact that you have been made aware of your fellow’s plight means that you are capable of doing something about it.