Doing what is right and proper

This week's Torah reading comes from the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), verse 6:18 of which will resonate with every Pirkei Avot enthusiast. To remind readers, this verse reads:

וְעָשִׂ֛יתָ הַיָּשָׁ֥ר וְהַטּ֖וֹב בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה לְמַ֨עַן֙ יִ֣יטַב לָ֔ךְ וּבָ֗אתָ וְיָֽרַשְׁתָּ֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥ע יְהֹוָ֖ה לַֽאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ

This comes out in English as:

And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord, in order that it will be well with you, and that you may come and possess the good land which the Lord swore to your forefathers.

The second chapter of Avot opens with the famous question of Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi: "Which is the right path that a man should choose for himself?" Answering his own question, he continues: "Every one which enables him to experience self-respect and to earn the respect and admiration of other people". A similar but different question is asked by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai in the 13th mishnah: "Go out and take a look: which is the good path that a man should stick to?" His five top disciples offer their various answers in return.

Much is made of the fact that one rabbi is focused on the right path, while the other is looking for the good one. Are they different ways of looking for the same thing? If not, what precisely is the difference?  

Decisions are easier when
there's only one way to go

The quote from Devarim, above, should make it plain that the right path and the good path are not synonymous, since "right" and "good" are different things. Imagine two paths, one of which leads in the direction of service to God and one's fellow human, while the other leads to self-indulgence, excess and moral decay: it is easy to define one as the good path and the other as the bad one. However, one may face the choice of two or more paths which lead to the same good destination: as a matter of definition one is not choosing between the good and the bad, but rather a matter of picking the path that is right for the individual making the decision.  For example, you can help others by giving charity, by providing company, by offering sage advice or by sharing their burdens. Each is good, but we all have different talents and capabilities; we must pick the one that is right for us.

Curiously, the traditional Torah commentators seem to treat "right" and "good" as the same thing -- at least in the context of Moses' farewell speech in Devarim.  Rashi treats the two words as a single unit, meaning "lifnim mishurat hadin" (essentially, going that little bit further than you have to). As for the two main Targumim, what Onkelos translates as "right" is rendered as "good" by Yonatan, and vice versa.