THE CHALLENGE OF WEALTH:

Jewish Business Ethics

Meir Tamari

Abstract: Jewish business ethics in Israel addresses two major sources of

economic immoralityunbounded desire and fear of economic uncertaintythrough enforcement and spiritual education. Business is seen
as a path to sanctity, when time is set apart for religious study, wealth is
seen as originating from God, the vulnerable are protected against
fraud and theft, charity is seen as an obligation, and mercy towards
debtors is tempered by justice.
Introduction

he Jewish perspective on business ethics deals with the two major sources of economic immorality^unbounded desire and the fear of economic uncertainty. The
evil inherent in greed is obvious, however, without desire no human economic activity would be possible. Judaism comes therefore to train or educate the unbounded
desire (Yetzer Harah) for wealth, so that market activities and patterns of consumption operate within a God given morality. In our fear of uncertainty regarding market
trends, political changes, our personal health, etc., we seek justifiably to protect ourselves through insurance, investment and savings. Moreover, this same fear of never
having enough to face the future, also leads to seeking protection through theft, fraud,
white collar crime and exploitation. These immoral forms of achieving economic
security are countered by Judaism's concept of the economics of enough.

A. Conceptual

Framework

In Judaism, as in all socio-religious movements, economic activities give rise to

basic religious and moral problems which have to be solved in some fashion. Broadly
speaking, these problems fall into two major categories which come to define both the
scope of economic activity and the moral legitimacy of such activity:
1. The problem of allocation of time between economic and religious acts. The status of business activities vr* a vis the demands of Judaism, which require individuals to
spend time in prayer, study and in performing meritorious deeds, instead of in business
or economic activity (it's the only religion that uses these as fundamental categories).
2. The problem of controlling desire and preventing economic evil. The creation
of economic goods, their accumulation and their distribution, are essential for the
existence of mankind. However, because the search for wealth is fostered by greed
and envy, it often results in injustice, theft and even bloodshed.
1997. Business Ethics Quarterly, Volume 7. Issue 1. ISSN 1052-150X.

pp. 45-56

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BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY

Both of these factors, unbounded desire, and the fear of economic uncertainty, are
dealt with within the Jewish legal system and are affected by the spiritual development that flows from the study of biblical commentary, rabbinical literature and the
lives of both scholars and ordinary people throughout the ages.
B. A Brief Overview of Source Materials from a Traditional Jewish Perspective
Traditionally, the legal system and the homiletical literature are based on the
Divine Revelation of the Mosaic Code and on the equally authoritative Oral Law.
This Oral Law is not a commentary on the written Torah, but an application of that
Law. The first written form of the Oral Law was the Mishnah, a codex written in the
Land of Israel in about 250 C.E. These opinions, together with the continued discussion, were later incorporated in the Babylonian Talmud and in the Jerusalem Talmud,
sealed some 200-225 years later.
Rabbinic rulings, and continued study in all the countries of the Jewish Diaspora,
created a ramified legal and spiritual literature codified as binding first by
Maimonides (Egypt, Uth century), later by Yechiel ben Asher (Spain, 13th century)
and lastly in the Shulch^ Anikh of Josef Karo (Safed, 16th century). The Shulchan
Arukh together with the gloss written by Moshe Isserless (Poland, 17th century) to
present the decision of the rabbis of Ashkenaz (Europe) became the accepted codex
throughout the Jewish world. In more modem times three similar codices were produced in order to include later decisions: Shulchan Arukh of Ba'al HaTanya, by the
founder of Lubavitch Chassidism; Arukh HaShulchan and the Mishnah B'rurah.
This traditionally authoritative literature is of vital importance to the discussion of
a Jewish perspective to business ethics as indeed it is to all aspects of life, since the
behavior both of the individual and of Jewish communities is not simply left to private choices or to individual standards of morality or to the influences of the
pervading ethical mores.
There is a widespread conception that the framework provided by Judaism is
excessively legalistic. However, in reality, what is presented is a consistent balance
betw^n justice and mercy and between spirituality and materialism. Without this
balance there would be soulless legalism that could either create an unjust society or
altematively a rarefied spiritualism without practical everyday implications.
C. Jewish Law and Business
In this paper I bave tried to limit myself to the traditional Jewish system which
relies upon the sources outlined above.
At the outset, therefore, we have to consider Judaism's answer to the two problems
posed by economic activity. It should be noted that Jews have lived under various
economic systems. What is involved in the Jewish answer is not a specific economic system but a spiritual and moral framework for business.
1. Allocation of time between religious and economic needs
Since time is a limited resource, one has to ration the time available between satisfying economic needs and religious ones. The most obvious constraints in Judaism on
the time available for economic activity, are those periods in the year when such activity is not permissible under religious law. The Jewish calendar is replete with days

THE CHALLENGE OF WEALTH

47

when complete abstinence from labor, commerce or aay other economic activity is
mandatory as a major form of observance.
There is, however, a far more basic and far-reaching limitation on the time
involved in economic activity that is peculiar to Judaism. This is the obligation of
religious study. This obligation binds everyone, not only priests, rabbis and scholars.
Every individual, irrespective of age, knowledge, or economic status, is required to
devote time to learning, so that one is obligated to study day and night until one's
dying day. All other activities, economic or leisure that detract from the amount of
time devoted to learning, are considered wasteful and a sign of a serious religious
misconduct and need to be minimized.
God, according to this view, would provide the necessities of life and the male Jew
would devote his life to study, i However, the majority opinion of Jewish thinkers
rejected this oversimplified view and so Maimonides ruled that a man should divide
his time equally into three sections, one devoted to the study of Torah, one devoted to
earning a living and the third for eating and sleeping, etc.2 It is clear, therefore, that
devoting time to study is an essential tenet of Judaism even if it is a limitation on economic activity.
This obligation has led, in Jewish history, to the search for such occupations as
would allow men to devote time to study either because they did not require much
time, or because they could be followed in areas where there were concentrations of
Jews which made such study feasible. Maimonides recommends, for example, that a
man should go into commerce, rather than fanning, because commerce allows far
more time for the study of Torah.3 This, however, should not be construed as rabbinic
preference for certain types of business organization or economic activities, over and
beyond their implications for time available for Torah study. Basically, Judaism is
neutral to such questions as to whether one should be self employed or an employee,
establish large national or even multi-national corporations or partnerships, or enter
into professions and services as opposed to trading or manufacturing or farming. It is
not, however, neutral to the religious and spiritual problems involved, so that all of
these enterprises are subject to halakhic (Jewish legal) and spiritual restraints. In all
of them, the individual has to consider which is the optimum for Torah study.
Actually this is simply a specific example of Judaism's insistence that more economic goods and activity are not always better than less, this makes it possible for the Jew
to divert time to study despite the "loss" involved.
2. Economic activity-^ path to greed or a path to sanctity?
The Divine blueprint for the world is such that economic wants and needs are satisfied through human endeavor in normal non-miraculous ways. So economic wants
or desires are treated by Judaism in exactly the same way as all the other basic
human tendencies. They are not something which can or have to be destroyed, but
rather tendencies that people can and must sanctify, and themselves be sanctified
thereby. This attitude is a reflection of a human partnership with the Deity, a continuation of the process of Creation. In such a partnership, the holy sparks which
reside in us can transform the ordinary everyday acts into communion with God.4
Therefore, earning and keeping of economic assets is considered by Judaism as legitimate, permissible and beneficial, yet restricted and sanctified by the observance of
God's revealed Commandments

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The observance of God's Commandments in Judaism leads not to some ethereal

other world, but to an abundance of material goods.5 Starvation, poverty and drought
are primarily depicted as divine punishments and the effects of a divine anger.^ A
God-fearing person is characterized as one whose flocks and orchards bear their fruit
in season and produce a bounty of goods.'' The Land of Israel, the divinely defined
geographic area for the Jews to live in and create a nation of priests, is not a bleaJ^
desert, but a land flowing with milk and honey. The Bible does not exhort against
engaging in economic activities nor in the accumulation of material goods. There are
no accusing fingers pointed at those engaged in normal economic activities for the
earning of material goods. There are no echoes of asceticism nor ofthe cleansing and
spiritual effects of poverty. It is fitting therefore, that the founders of Judaism, the
Patriarchs Avraham, Isaac and Jacob, were all wealthy men.
Despite the legitimacy of economic activity and enjoyment of material goods,
Judaism does not allow the unregulated accumulation of such goods nor the unrestricted use thereof. Both are very strictly limited and channeled by Judaism, both on
an individual and group basis.
The desire for wealth is the most powerful of all human needs and desires; there is
never enough and nobody gets too old or weak to free themselves firom it. The rabbis put it succinctly. Referring to sex, they taught the less one has, the less one wants,
the more one has, the more is needed. Money, however^the less one has, the more
one wants, but the more one has, the more one also wants. This makes the sphere of
economic activity a possible major vehicle for achieving sanctity; the greatest moral
challenge yet also the greatest opportunity. Well over a hundred of the 613
Commandments mentioned in the Torah as obligatory, are related to educating and
making economic activity follow moral regulations. The Sages of the Talmud said,
"Those who are desirous of achieving sainthood, let them live according to the tractates of the Talmud dealing with commerce and finance.''^ The Sages called the
Mishnaic tractates dealing with civil, business and criminal law, "the Book of
Redemption."
3. "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. "^
Both limiting desire and providing security against uncertainty depend on an individual's or on a society's view of the source and purpose of wealth. The most important
premise behind the whole Jewish economic framework is that all wealth originates
from God alone. God in His infinite mercy makes sufficient economic resources
available to humanity. Hence all human ownership is temporary. Holders of wealth
are not possessors but stewards. Since Judaism is a communal, rather than an individual-oriented religion, society at all levels is a partner in fact, even if not legally so,
in this wealth. Perhaps two biblical institutions can exemplify this triumvirate of
God, individual owner and society.
a. The Sabbatical Year:
In the Sabbatical Year, the land is to lie fallow and man is to eat only of the natural
produce of the ground. There is to be no ploughing, sowing, etc., and having to rely
only on the natural increase of untilled ground, not only in the seventh year, but in the
eighth as well. Over and above this, it required to renounce legitimate legal ownership over private land in favor of society. Anyone may take what grows on the land.
Thus, one is periodically reminded that God is the real source and owner of all wealth.

THE CHALLENGE OF WEALTH

49

The sabbatical year provides an outer limit to the acquisitive impulse; one cannot
become richer than God wills. Since all wealth is given by the Deity, it therefore has
to be used according to the Divine Will.io Immoral and unethical economic behavior
is precluded. Furthermore, the belief that God is the source of all wealth justifies taxation for social goods. Wealth is meant to provide for the needs of the poor, the weak,
the addicted, the aged as well as satisfying the needs of the person who amassed it.
Coercion to provide for this exists in Judaism alongside philanthropy.
2. First Fruits:
All human beings feel the specialness of a farmer's crop, one's first business deal,
one's first profit, one's first asset and even less tangible achievements. In ancient
Judaism before eating new crops, men and women were obligated to present the first
fruits of each year, to the priest, offering God a share in recognition of what God had
provided. An account of this ceremony is still read on the festival of shavout. The
confession that accompanied this offering recounted how God redeemed the people
from slavery, brought them into a land of their own. and bestowed upon them fertility, crops and the first fruits. The farmer or the entrepreneur, was in the final analysis
almost irrelevant to the creation of the wealth."
Our dependence on the grace of God for our economic welfare and the obligations
resulting from that grace are translated in Judaism into legal forms and binding daily
practices enforceable by rabbinic courts, which not only punish perpetrators or prevent economic immorality but also enforce communal economic policy. Religious
definitions have been created as to what is permissible and what is forbidden in the
marketplace. Regulations were promulgated governing how and when and where the
permitted acts might be done.
D. Limiting

Greed and Minimizing

Insecurity

1. Protecting the Vulnerable:

"And thou shall do that which is righteous and just in the sight of the Lord..."^Theft or Fraud

No society or economy can persist long without rules which limit theft and fraud.
It is easy, therefore, to understand the numerous Jewish injunctions against economic
crime and dishonest means of earning a living, as a matter of accepted human wisdom, i^ Mainly, however, Judaism has viewed these concepts not merely as social
wisdom but as part of a God-given moral, social order. 14 Halakhic regulations consider honesty in economics an absolute rule; not only beneficial, but obligatory, even
when disadvantageous to transactors. Theft goes far beyond the damage done to the
injured party, or to the relative economic status of the parties concemed. Even an
item of economic insignificance may not be stolen. i5 In the final analysis theft is
proscribed because of the spiritual damage done to the perpetrator: there are no victimless crimes.
Theft is complexly defined: it is prohibited to put good fruit on top of bad fruit in
a store or brush an animal in order to make him look better than he really is.ie There
is an extensive code for the repair and maintenance of scales and cleaning thereof.

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BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY

developed so that the misrepresentation should not defraud the customer, i^ One is not
allowed to "steal" another's opinion by creating a false impression regarding goods or
services. Parties in the market may be made aware of prices, quality and availability
of goods and services. Further, goods may be presented to the best advantage.
However, even if there is no intent to defraud misrepresentation is forbidden and is
cause for a legal cancellation of the trmisaction. Full disclosure of physical defects or
financial obligations is mandatory.'* For example, halakha would forbid advertising
that suggests status, sexuality or romance, which in reality have no relationship to the
goods or services being sold.

Protection of the Weak

Weak and powerless members of society have to be protected in their economic
activities. They might not have a full knowledge of the law, they might not have the
funds or the knowledge necessary to obtain their rights, and they might be afraid of
pushing for such rights, even where these are known. So the widow and the stranger,
the poor and the orphan are singled out for protection by Jewish law. This protection
is not an issue of sexism or racism or any stigma. It is simply a recognition that generally speaking these people are easily exploited and justice demands preventing or
rectifying such exploitation. One is not permitted to oppress them, to defraud them
either in words or deeds, or permitted to deal harshly with them in a way that exploits
their vulnerable status, i^
All consumers are entitled to some protection. The rabbinic sages use the biblical
injunction, "Thou shall not put a stumbling block in the path of the blind,"20 to forbid
giving advice which did not disclose the interest of the adviser. For example: "You
shall not tell another to sell a donkey and buy a field when you wish to buy a donkey
and sell a field." This also precludes providing through legal transactions, articles or
services physically or morally detrimental to the buyer.21 Professions such as counseling, brokering, accounting, advertising, etc., as well as the legal trading in
weapons, cigarettes, drugs or pornographic literature, would find severe restraints
placed upon them by the acceptance of the rabbinic law which flow from this concept
of protecting the weak. For example, weapons may not be sold to Jews or non-Jews,
wherever there is cause to believe that the weapons will be used for aggression or
oppression rather than self-defense. People are not permitted to harm their own bodies or health, so that the selling of cigarettes would be forbidden. Jewish Law does
not accept the Roman concept of, "Let the buyer beware," neither does it accept the
assumption of free and full flow of infonnation in the marketplace. Instead it places
the onus for preventing misrepresentation, damage and loss solely on the party possessing full knowledge. As an example, a vendor is assumed to guarantee the goods
he sells, even without an explicit statement to that effect, and the injured party can
claim redress for fraud, irrespective of the time that has elapsed or of the value of the
transaction.22 This role applies not only to physical goods, but also to services and
financial reporting. Furthermore, the obligation of full disclosure is placed both on
buyer and seller. Not only is one forbidden to cover defects, one is obligated to disclose them.

THE CHALLENGE OF WEALTH

51

Environmental Protection
A person is not pemiitted to use property in a way which will cause harm or do
damage to another person's body or property.23 In addition one is obligated to prevent damage. So it is not permitted to cause damage intending to then pay for it, in
those cases where prevention would he more expensive than compensation. Certain
industries and professions through the pollution, noise and human traffic associated
with them steal another's quiet, health, peace and fresh air, and therefore, are forbidden or restricted to certain areas.
When zoning laws or environmental restrictions conflict with economic development, the issue goes beyond mere protection of the property rights of others. It is
necessary to adjudicate between the benefits society enjoys from the employment and
increased wealth resulting from economic growth and the environmental damage suffered. It is this conflict which is in reality the environmental problem facing all
societies. Judaism views human economic development as positive, and nature is
subservient to this. However, within the legitimate but restricted framework for economic activity described above, the growth will be of necessity limited. The needs of
future generations will have to be considered; after all humankind are the guardians
of God's world. Waste of natural resources, whether privately owned or nationally
owned is forbidden. The rabbis compared it to idolatry, since it rejected the Divine
origin of those resources. Nobody is allowed to place themselves in danger and we
are commanded to take great care to avoid physical and medical danger. So industries
which cause health problems must either perfect technologies to prevent the problem
or may not be operable in a Jewish system. One solution to the environmental issue
Traditional Judaism cannot accept, is population control in order to limit the pressure
on economic resources. It is interesting to note that two thousand years ago the rabbis taught that the people of the generation of the flood sought out birth control, and
non-procreative forms of sex to protect themselves against environmental damage.
2. Charity:
"And thy brother shall live with thee..."2i
Not only is wealth to be earned in a moral way, but society^both collectively and as
individualshas rights with regard to private property. Judaism not only accepts the
idea of private property rights, but teaches that any system rejecting it, is contrary to
human nature. A system without property rights is either not viable or gives rise to
corruption. At the same time, Judaism cannot accept the concept that people are the
sole masters of their property. The rabbis of the Talmud, reflecting the thought
process which was already hundreds of years old, claimed that the sin of Sodom was
its inability to share its wealth with strangers, the weak and the poor.25 Society has
by right a stake or share in the property of the "haves," since it was given to them partially for the purpose of assisting others. It is the fulfillment of the stewardship
concept of wealth discussed previously. Paying for charitable and social purposes is
an obligation enforceable by rabbinic courts and a fiscal obligation which society
cannot evade. It is no coincidence that the Hebrew word of "charity" flows from the
same root as that of "justice." What is given to the poor is not an act of mercy or
righteousness, nor is it an entitlement, but an act of justice, devolving on the posses-

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BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY

sor of wealth. Since the community has an obligation to provide food, shelter and
basic economic goods for the needy, it has a moral right and duty to tax its members
for this purpose. In line with this duty, it may have to regulate markets, prices and
competition, to protect the interest of its weakest members. Judaism does not distinguish between deserving and non-deserving poor. Its protection extends even to those
suffering through their own faults.
This sharing requirement includes non-monetary acts as well, since not all human
problems and suffering can be solved economically. Recipients of charity may not be
treated callously or insulted, so the Jewish charitable system nurtures respect and consideration. For example, the biblical gift of Pe'ah, the comer of the field left
unharvested for gleaners, was made available at different times of the day for the convenience of early risers, the women with children, and the elderly who usually only
arrived later in the day. Charity in Judaism is not given but done, involving more than
the mere transfer of wealth. So too, one is not allowed to verbally oppress the convert, the widow, the orphan or the stranger by reminding them of their special
situation. A creditor is not allowed to intrude on the privacy of the debtor even when
he is collecting his debts. Neither is he allowed to take as security items essential for
the sustenance of the debtor or for the earning of a livelihood.^* Furthermore, the
halakhah produced the concept of "beyond the boundary," obliging us to waive, wherever possible, our legal rights. This concept educates and trains Jews to forego,
voluntarily, economic gains which are legally theirs, in order to allow weak or lesser
members of society to maintain themselves. For example, many famous rabbinic personalities closed their stores after a few hours of trading so as to prevent gross unfair
competition against their less learned competitors. So too, trespassing that benefits
people, yet which does not harm the owner of the property, is quite legal.
The duties and obligations imposed by the code towards one's neighbors go
beyond the scope of charity to include acts of righteousness, acts understood in
Jewish thought to be given to those who are undeserving of them.
There is, an additional injunction to grant interest-free loans; separate from the
obligation to give charity. It is an act of righteousness, granted both to the rich person who is temporarily in financial straits and to the poor person trying to improve his
or her economic situation.^?
Another example of such acts of righteousness is the law that a person whose land
and property adjoins that of another person, automatically has the right of first refusal
should it be offered for sale (concept of "Bar-Metzrah"). Since the purchase is to be
at the market price, the seller suffers no loss. Yet at the same time, the buyer gains,
since the enlargement of his property is often an economic consideration. This principle of "one loses nothing and the other gains,"28 dictates that where one may do so at
no loss to oneself one is obligated to consider the benefit and convenience of others.
So a system is built introducing the demands of charity and welfare in its widest
sense into the Jewish economic philosophy. These demands often lead to a deliberate
distortion of the market mechanism^s by the introduction of price control, by
restraints on competition which are to the detriment of society and by limitations on
consumption in order to achieve modesty in standards of living. In many communities these limitations on consumption were linked to the status of each individual as a
tax payer.

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53

3. The legal system as codified ethics

It seems to be more correct to talk about permitted and forbidden actions in
Judaism than ethics. Since Jewish law derives from Divine Revelation, this law must
be moral and just. Indeed, a cardinal tenet of Judaism is the centrality of justice as an
attribute of God. His justice is displayed in His conduct of the world and its active
pursuit is enjoined on mankind. The establishment of a legal system and courts of law
is one of the Seven Noachide Laws seen in Judaism as binding on all peoples; the
Jewish system being an extended system obligatory only on Jews. Most authorities
rule that all the laws of monetary matters apply to Jews and non-Jews alike.3o This
divine justice knows no class difference, favoring neither rich or powerful, nor distorting itself for the poor or the weak. So judges are not allowed to fear the wealthy
nor favor the poor or succumb to bribery in all its varied and ingenious forms.
The centrality of justice provides the stable legal system which is an essential prerequisite for any economic activity. There is, however, far more than just such a legal
framework contained in the Jewish concept of justice in the economic world. This
justice is perfectly reciprocal. Creditors have an obligation to lend interest-free
money; but the debtor has an obligation to repay the debt and not to waste the loans
given to him. Employees have the right to receive prompt payment of their wages,
they also have an obligation from the same source, to perform their work properly.^i
There is, however, a clear demarcation between justice, on the one hand, and mercy
and charity, on the other, which has important implications for the modern welfare
state. This demarcation would propose charity with all its negative connotations of
shame or means tests, providing only essential and minimalist assistance. There is no
provision of any sort of "average" standard of living. This demarcation militates
against the creation of a welfare mentality and reduces fraud. The demarcation would
also work against taxation as a means of achieving an egalitarian society. The ethical
issues in bankruptcy can perhaps best serve to illustrate this demarcation.
Consider the case of a debtor who cannot repay his interest-free loan. One could
argue that since the lender is presumably wealthier, he should forego his claim as a creditor. This would be an act of charity and so would seem to be the desired way to act.
Such charity, however, distorts justice. It ignores the obligations of the debtor and
foists onto the creditor, society's moral and social obligation, simply because he committed a praiseworthy act by making the interest-free loan in the first place. As a result
of this, the moral basis of the debtor and creditor alike are distorted. The borrower on
the one hand could tend to make his investments casually and "wastefully," knowing
that he could simply be reinforcing the uneconomic behavior of the borrower. This is
a pattern often found not only in welfare states but also in economies where subsidized
public sector funds are made available to entrepreneurs in order to achieve socio-political aims. The main creditor, the State, is often prepared to waive its debts or assume
the debts of the defaulting corporations. This leads to uneconomic investments and
their perpetuation and also to a willful and immoral management of public funds.
Protection of the debtor at the expense of the creditors is also the philosophy behind
Chapter 11 in the USA and the leniency introduced in bankruptcy law in England.
The halakhic view is that the debtor has to meet his obhgation through the sale by
the rabbinic courts of his property.^^ Now the debtor has become poor. Sometimes
other people, such as employees, suffer when the firm becomes insolvent, and some-

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times other creditors are unable to sustain the loss of the debtor firm and so also collapse. Who is to shoulder this new social responsibility? The halakhah places this
on the community as an obligation in which the creditor shares as a member.
It has been pointed out to the author, that in effect, the shifting of the obligation
from the creditors to society means that that obligation will be unfilled, resulting in
the human suffering and waste associated with bankruptcy and unemployment.
However, from a Jewish perspective, as has been pointed out, society has real economic rights in private property. Taxes and economic policy to assist the
unemployed, bankrupt or even the displaced business man, are not only permissible,
but even obligatory on the community. Entrepreneurs and corporations are required
as acts of charity to assist in the provision of interest-free loans for the establishment
of new enterprises by the unemployed or the bankrupt debtor, the provision of information regarding alternative job possibilities and retraining, etc. Beyond this charity,
however, the obligation of society remains.
It is important to note that the Jewish legal system keeps a clear demarcation
between crimes against property and capital crimes. In the legal institutions of
ancient Judaism, murder, adultery and idolatry were punishable by death, without any
possibility of a monetary settlement. On the other hand, no prisons existed for
debtors, and no jail sentences were imposed for theft of embezzlement; punishment
was limited to restitution and fines by the rabbinic court. Coital punishment, banishment or bodily mutilation for theft were never recognized. While private property
has rights, which must be equitably and strongly enforced, they were never considered sacred or holy. 3^
There are cases where economic damage cannot be compensated for through the
legal system, either for technical reasons or because of lack of evidence.
Nevertheless, a moral society still requires some protection against injustice. There
are, therefore, actions that halakhah forbids even though tbere is no legal redress.
There is a concept of "not liable, but forbidden." So, even if damage from nuclear
waste were to be suffered only a thousand years later, when courts could not levy a
punishment, such damage is still forbidden. Rabbinic courts have the right to prevent
such damage since they can force a Jew to desist from behavior forbidden by the
Torah. Almost all white-collar crime is conducted secretly and sometimes even within the loopholes of the law. However, God is all-seeing and all-knowing; there are,
therefore, no secret crimes. The same God, moreover, is siire to punish even that
which human courts cannot or will not.
Perhaps the best expression of this balance is the treatment of unfulfilled contracts.
In those cases where financial loss is incurred as a result of one party defaulting on a
contract, written or verbal, the rabbinic courts force the defaulter to make restitution
for the loss. There is, however, a spiritual dimension to such default in that one has
not kept one's word, considered in Judaism to be a lack of faith in God, who witnesses
all our actions and speech. This spiritual problem exists even where no financial loss
is incurred as a result of the default. Therefore, the rabbis instituted a ceremony in
the synagogue that clearly demonstrated public disapproval of non-fulfillment of contracts. In the presence of his family, the defaulter stood in the synagogue while the
court pronounced, "He, God who demanded payment for the sins from the Generation
of the Flood, from the Builders of the Tower of Babel and from the people of Sodom,

THE CHALLENGE OF WEALTH

55

will sure hold responsible one who does not keep his word." This ceremony was only
one of the ways in which public disapproval of economic immorality is expressed.
This disapproval was a major force in preventing unethical business behavior as it
demonstrates society's moral parameters.

E. Conclusion
The two main sources of economic immorality may be considered to be greed and
the fear of uncertainty. Traditional Judaism provides both a legal system and a spiritual education minimizing the immoral effects of both of these causes.
Economic activity is legitimate for it is essential for the existence of human beings.
This activity is limited both by the Sabbath and Festivals, but also by the obligation
to study Torah; all these leave less time for economic activity. Greed is limited by a
ramified and enforceable code of divinely revealed law, providing a normative economic morality. Such a morality depends for its spiritual underpinnings on the idea
that all wealth originates with God, who grants it to mankind as trustees, yet at the
same time provides for all their needs. Belief in this divine providence enables people to operate within conditions of morality while acknowledgment of the divine
source of wealth forbids unethical means of earning that wealth.
The existence of a divinely revealed law predicates a ramified network of forbiddenand permittedactions, rather than the concept of the ethical and unethical.
Such actions preclude fraud in all its forms and protects the ignorant, weak, poor or
disadvantaged. At the same time, there exists a spiritual dimension that prohibits certain acts and insists that God punishes even those actions that human courts are unable
or unwilling to punish.

References (no ital indicated on hard copy)

'Talmud Bavli, B'rachot 35b.
ZMishnah Torah, Hilchot De'ot Chapter 5; Hilchot Talmud Torah Chapter 1; Maimonides's
Letter to his son.
3Mishnah Torah, Hilchot De'ot.
tNachmanides's Commentary on the Torah, Leviticus Chapter 19; S. R. Hirsch, Horeb,
Section V, 480.
5Genesis 49:25-26; Leviticus 26:3-13; Deuteronomy 28:1-13.
^Deuteronomy 28:16-53.
Tsalms 128.
STalmud Bavli, Baba Bathra 175b.
^Psalms 24.
lOExodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:2-5; Commentary of Sepher HaChinuch and K'lei Yakar.
"Sepher HaChinuch, Mitzvah 506.
i^Deuteronomy 6:18.
i^Maimomdes, Sh'moneh P'rakim, Chapter 6.
i4Exodus 20; Commentary ofthe Malbim.l4
isshulchan Arukh Hilchot G'neivah, Section 348; also Mishnah Baba Bathra, Chapter 10,
Mishnah 9.
i^Shulchan Arukh Hilchot Ona'ah, Section 228.

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BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY

i7Mishnah Baba Bathra, Chapter 5, Mishnah 11; also Shulchan Arukh Hilchot Ona'ah 231.
Baba Metziah, Chapter 6, Mishnah 11; also Shulchan Arukh Hilchot Ona'ah 228.
3:4-9; Leviticus 19:9-10, 33-34; Leviticus 25:25; Exodus 22:20-21; Talmud Bavli,
Gitten 52a.
zoLeviticus 19:14.
2iCommentary of Rashi on above verse, also Mishnah, Avoda Zarah, Chapter 1, Mishnah 6.
22Talmud Bavli, Baba Metzia 14a.
Baba Kama, Chapter 2, Mishnah 6.
25:36.
25Malbim on Genesis 18:20; also Talmud Ketuboth 103a and Baba Bathra 12b.
^SExodus 22:25-27; Deuteronomy 24:10-14.
27Sepher HaChinuch, Mitzvah 66; Shulchan Arukh 97:1.
28Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Sh'cheinim, Chapter 12:4, 13,14.
. Tamari, "Competition, Prices and Profits," Bar Ilan University (Hebrew).
, Genesis 34:13.
Arukh, Hilchot Ona'ah, Section 227.
32Shulchan AruMi 97:23.
331. Herzog, "The Main Institutions of Jewish Law," Vol. 1, Law of Property.