ABSTRACT
Equality before the law, according to Judaism, was divinely ordained. By the same token Hebrew has many equivalents for "differentiate", and God Himself presumably ordained many of the differences—not only natural but also legal. Judaism, however, also derives human likeness from the fact that God had created only one man from whom all humanity is descended. Judaism is, therefore, less receptive to the idea of a natural hierarchy but accepts the legitimacy of functional inequalities. In Judaism, including the Kabbalah, the male is regarded as the active principle in the universe and the female as the passive principle. As among all national and ethnic groups there were forces other than the law that precipitated or retarded the movement toward maximum social, economic, and political equality. Judaism was committed to the general principle that all are equal in the eyes of the Law. The Law assured equality of status to all non-Jews who embraced the creed and practice of Judaism.
