[i]righteous – adjective - characterized by uprightness or morality: a righteous observance of the Torah[/i]. (HaShem's instruction) From the Hebrew word "[i]Tsaddiyq[/i]" Defined as - [i]right, correct, lawful[/i]. Only HaShem can define "[i]Righteous[/i]." [b]Deuteronomy 4:8 - "Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Torah which I am setting before you today?"[/b] HaShem says nothing in the earth is a righteous as His Torah. He calls man's attempt at defining it and trying apart from Torah as clean as a used tampon. [b]Isaiah 64:6 - "And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment......And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away"[/b] Never is His Torah called "[i]filthy rag's[/i]", nor is the doing of it implied as such. Only our attempt at righteousness apart from His instruction is what is called filthy. Notice how in Isaiah 64:6 our righteous deeds are called (and placed on the same level as) "iniquities." [i]Iniquites = perversion[/i]. Our iniquities are our perversion of His Torah. What would an example of our attempt at righteousness be, then equated as iniquity? A righteousness apart from Torah like not honoring His Sabbath and calling that good, or eating an unclean animal and calling it clean and claiming it to be righteous. [b]Matthew 5:10 - "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of (Torah) righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heavens."[/b]