יחזקאל, פרק י״ח, פסוק ו׳

True righteousness is often measured by a person's ability to withstand powerful temptations and stay away from major moral failures. A pure character is defined by the severe wrongs a person carefully avoids. According to [רד״ק], a truly righteous individual distances themselves from two specific areas of severe and common sin. The first is idolatry, a rebellion against God that is considered equal in weight to all other sins combined. The second is sexual immorality, an area where human nature is naturally drawn by physical desire, contrasting with other crimes that most people instinctively reject. The primary approach among commentators is that these represent the ultimate evils from which a good person must guard themselves.

In the realm of idolatry, the righteous person avoids partaking in feasts held on high mountains, which were the typical locations for placing statues and altars [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This refers not to ordinary meals, but specifically to the consumption of sacrifices and offerings dedicated to false gods at these elevated places [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Furthermore, they do not merely avoid the physical act of worship. They refuse to even lift their eyes to look at or desire these idols [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. These false gods were not distant concepts, but the very idols that were popular and widely accepted among the Israelites at the time, such as the Baal worship in Samaria or the golden calves set up in Bethel and Dan [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Beyond matters of faith, the righteous person maintains strict boundaries regarding family purity and forbidden relationships. They protect the sanctity of marriage by completely avoiding adultery and any inappropriate contact with another person's wife [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This commitment to purity extends into their own home as well, as they completely refrain from physical intimacy with a menstruating woman, even when it is their own wife [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].