Jewish ethics is the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics, Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues, and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. Literature Biblical and rabbinic Ethical traditions can be found throughout the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinic Oral Torah that both interpreted the Hebrew Bible and engaged in novel topics. Ethics is a key aspect of legal rabbinic literature, the literature of halakhah, found in the Mishnah, Talmud and other texts. Ethics is also a key aspect of non-legal rabbinic literature, the literature of aggadah. The best-known text in Rabbinic Judaism associated with ethics is the non-legal Mishnah tractate of Avot (“forefathers”), commonly translated as “Ethics of the Fathers". Medieval In the medieval period, direct Jewish responses to Greek ethics may be seen in major rabbinic writings. Notably, Maimonides offers a Jewish interpretation of Aristotle (e.g., Nicomachean Ethics), who enters into Jewish discourse through Islamic writings. Maimonides, in turn, influences Thomas Aquinas, a dominant figure in Christian ethics and the natural law tradition of moral theology. The relevance of natural law to medieval Jewish philosophy is a matter of dispute among scholars. Medieval and early modern rabbis also created a pietistic tradition of Jewish ethics. This ethical tradition was given expression through musar literature, which presents virtues and vices in a didactic, methodical way. The Hebrew term musar, while literally derived from a word meaning "discipline" or "correction," is usually translated as ethics or morals. ArtScroll translates the word as censure in Psalms 50:17.<ref>"For you hate censure - ואתה שנאת מוסר</ref> Examples of medieval Musar literature include: Chovot ha-Levavot ('Duties of the Heart') by Bahya ibn Paquda. Ma'alot ha-Middot by Yehiel ben Yekutiel Anav of Rome. Orchot Tzaddikim (The Ways of the Righteous) by an anonymous author. Kad ha-Kemah by Bahya ben Asher. Halakhic (legal) writings of the Middle Ages are also important texts for Jewish ethics. Important sources of Jewish ethical law include Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (12th century) and Joseph Karo and Moses Isserles's Shulkhan Arukh (16th century), especially the section of that code titled "Choshen Mishpat." A wide array of topics on ethics are also discussed in medieval responsa literature. Modern In the modern period, Jewish ethics sprouted many offshoots, partly due to developments in modern ethics and partly due to the formation of