On occasion prominent figures have been found guilty of certain misdemeanours and have sought to protect themselves behind the institutions that they serve. The views of the commentators have shown unequivocally that to provide such protection would be profoundly un-Jewish. Not only does position offer no protection in the face of iniquity. Any protection that is offered to the guilty is an offence to society at large. Clergy cannot seek protection from scandal within their churches, politicians cannot seek whitewashes from within their governments and diplomats should not expect to be able to find immunity behind their missions.
Philosophy means the love of knowledge.
Its source is rooted in doubt, in basic questions relating to human existence. Judaism has its basis in the Revelation at Sinai, in the Written and Oral Law. Over the centuries Judaism has grappled with these questions by means of interpretation and exposition - found in the Talmud and Midrash and the like. Religious Jews believe that greater certainty attaches to what we have learned from G-d than to anything that we could learn from man alone. Philosophy attempts to find solutions by means of human reason.