“The moment that a person’s interpretation of Torah would evoke the deep disgust of the average civilized person is the moment when the Torah’s intended story about itself has been lost”

The story the Torah tells us about itself is that the way of life it prescribes for the Jewish people is meant to be the envy of the world. People are meant to encounter an observant Jew and to say, “This seems like the most fantastic and wise way of living one’s life that I can imagine.” The moment that a person’s interpretation of Torah would evoke the deep disgust of the average civilized person is the moment when the Torah’s intended story about itself has been lost.

Rabbi Ethan Tucker, “Ethical Norms as the Foundation of Torah”, Mechon Hadar Center for Jewish Law and Values (Av 5776) [http://mechonhadar.s3.amazonaws.com/mh_torah_source_sheets/CJLVEthicalNorms.pdf]