Ethical Appeals or Ethical Goals
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

March 15, 2026, Israel

Anyone who has seriously studied the period of the years 67 - 74 in Judea (Israel) must be familiar with the classic three volume series "The Rise and Fall of the Judean State" by Solomon (Schneur Zalman) Zeitlin. שְׁניאור זלמן צײטלין  But first a word about this great scholar. Born in Chashniki (Russia, or Belarus) in 1886, this great man became a scholar, a rabbi, and expert in history, Talmud, Bible, and language. He spoke 11 languges fluently including ancient Greek, Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew.  Once when discussing a certain point of history, he quoted a source in Babylonian Aramaic and when his counterpart did not understand the languge, he dismissed him with "Then why are we even having this discussion?"

Modern society experiences a great deal of violence, and there are those who advocate changing the behavior of the attackers. i.e. Let us not bother preparing women for violent sexual assaults, let's focus on "raising boys to respect women". Hogwash! I have always insisted that of course all children should be raised "right", and parents and teachers and the community have the responsibility and obligation to raise children to be good caring decent individuals, but this is not enough. Hoping that this will solve the problem is the same as waiting for the Messiah, it is hoping and dreaming of Utopia. But until the awaited Messiah arrives, until Utopian society is achieved, we need to get training and teaching Krav Maga self-defense. If and when the messianic era arrives, we will all look for new jobs and hobbies, or turn our Krav Maga into a martial art like the other prevalent styles that no longer are related to self-defense in any real way. Until then, we must train for self-defense while also trying to raise a generation of good decent moral people. 

Now this is not a modern problem, it is an age-old problem. And as always, some use religion as a way to address this problem. My solutions, my ideas, have nothing to do with belief, or lack of belief in a Divine Being, but rather just practical concerns. Thus, it was of interest to me when our dear professor, who taught and guided students for over 60 years, addressed this very issue in volume Two of his book. 

Referring to various messianic figures in the first century Judea, and there were several, he discusses different approaches used, just as we do. Do we look to society? or do we look to the individual? Do we try to change people's behavior by moral instruction, or do we try and control behavior by law and order, and punishment?

He writes regarding a certain preacher, "He disregarded state and society in his preaching, and addressed himself to the individual and his needs. He made ethical appeals, seeking the reconstruction of innate human nature. The Pharisees, on the other hand, sought ethical goals by means of the social controls provided by the law and its interpretation." (Pg 327) In other words it is a question of Ethical Appeals vs. Ethical Goals.

Let us analyze this. Ethical Appeals basically means trying to teach people to be nice, to change. I was told years ago that when beginning a new relationship, the key is not to try and change the other person, for that will never work. Now if you are a teacher and you have long-term students, of course you wish to have a positive impact upon them, no doubt. I know that my approach to life has been greatly influenced by these positive teachers and role models in my life. However, you can never expect to achieve the results you want on the basis of hoping to change other people. It is less likely than winning the lottery. Ethical appeals are essentially trying to solve the problem by changing the nature of people, in our case, teach the street thug to be a gentleman. Not Going to Happen!

On the other hand, the Pharisees, or the early Jewish lawmakers, had a different approach; while they taught ethics and educated to kindness, as that is the entire purpose of the Talmud and the Bible, they did not set out directly to change society by changing individuals. Instead, they focused on changing the laws, the regulatory controls and thereby protecting society. The law prevented people from acting incorrectly, the social controls kept people inline before the ethical change took place within them. Perhaps we can say Action comes before Change. How so?

Years ago, a rabbi told me a story. A good man wanted to "feel" kindness and compassion, but he simply did not. He would daily pass by beggars on the streets of Jerusalem but felt no compassion, and yet he knew that as a Jew he was obligated to feel compassion and help the needy. The rabbi told him the following. "Every day, when you see a beggar, give him five cents, that's it, not more. Don't think about it, just do it, give a little to everyone. Eventually the compassion will come."

And it did. Action, the act of giving, the act of caring led to the feeling.  Ethical Appeals are lofty, lovely, praiseworthy but ultimately useless. But our goal must be the results, and the best way to achive the results are not flowery new age Hippy talk about peace, love, and understanding, but to take action. The Pharisees wanted a better society, now, not in the Utopian Messianic future, and for this objective Ethical Appeals were insufficient, what we needed was the bottom line of Peace, cutting down on violence, i.e. the focus was on Ethical Goals.

You have a prison riot, you can speak to the inmates and explain to them that this sort of violence is bad and counterproductive and ultimately not in their best interests, or you can institute stricter restrains, better controls, more guards to achieve Ethical Goals, i.e. a less violent prison environment. 

With Krav Maga our goal must be better protection for all, a safer society. We would like all people to change and become good nonviolent citizens. But until that is achieved, we must work on Ethical Results, Ethical Goals, this we can achieve by better training. 

MosheKatz2024

Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.

Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz

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