Ethical Teachings of the Torah

The Challanges of Money: Acquiring and Spending Wealth - Part 4

Charity and legislation aimed at curbing greed and egoism may be sufficient to keep our financial and business lives ethical, yet cannot achieve the aims set by Torah. These aims are based on the dictum, “sanctify yourselves by that which is permitted to you” and that requires the ability to give up ownership of some of the property and money which we have earned morally and which legally belong to us. To voluntarily waive our rights so that other people have a benefit from them is so against human nature that it is the mark of a godly person. “One who says, “what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours” [that is the mark of] a godly man, chasid” (Avot 5:10). Unlike the am ha’aretz, here there is no mutual abolishment of private property but the one-sided renunciation of some property for the benefit of others; a renunciation that is within the spiritual and religious ability of all men and women. It flows from an ability to say, “I have enough”,  and that distinguishes the godly man from the rasha, while saying, “mine is yours” separates him from the people of S’dom.

The Torah begins with an act of chesed: “And the HaShem Elokim made garments of skin for Adam and Chava” (B’reishit 3:21). The Torah concludes with an act of chesed: “He [G-d] buried Moshe in the valley in the land of Moav” (D’varim 34:6). This is the source of the godly man’s behaviour. He is prepared to give up claims against others even though he is not legally obliged to do so and his business dealings are beyond the letter of the law, lifnim mishurat hadin. “The Beit Hamikdash was destroyed because the people of that generation insisted on exerting the full measure of their legal rights” (Bava Metzia 30b).

Like in all avenues of life, lifnim mishurat hadin is not left to the individual’s moral sense or kindness but is entrenched in halacha. The most distinctive halachic expression of this moral stance is “zeh nehneh v’zeh lo chaseir” -  one benefits and the other does not lose [in the transaction] (Bava Kama 20a). This dictum permits one to benefit from another’s property provided the owner does not suffer any loss thereby. So we find the abrogation of normally accepted property rights that we take for granted, allowing trespass and limiting the free market competition. “One of the ten decrees that Am Yisrael agreed to before they crossed the Yarden into the Land was that anyone could fish in the Kinneret even though it belonged to the tribe of Naftali. The people from other tribes were limited to fishing with a line and hook; no fishing boats or nets were allowed. Thereby they benefited while the owners did not suffer any loss) “Nizkei Mammon 5:1). These decrees substantially limited the owner’s rights of trespass, providing that the loss was minimal or non-existent. A similar limit on the private property rights is the halacha of “bar metzra” According to this, the neighbour has to be given the right of first refusal where one is considering selling land or one’s house (Hilkhot Sh’cheinim 12:5,13,14). The neighbour gains by having adjacent space or building, and since the sale has to be at market price, the seller suffers no loss, except the spiritual one of having other people having a benefit from our wealth.

“Reuven has been operating a liquor store for many years and now Shimon wishes to open a similar business. There is no legal reason for denying this to Shimon. However, Reuven is poor and has many children while Shimon is wealthy, has other businesses and has no dependents, so lifnim mishurat hadin Shimon is enjoined from opening his competing store” (Tzemach Tzedek, Chosen Mishpat 23).

But the godly man goes even beyond these legal requirements: “The commerce of the talmid chacham has to be in faith and truth. He forces himself to be exact in calculations when discharging his obligations but is willing to be lenient with his debtors. He keeps his obligations even where the law allows him to retract; but if others have obligations to him he deals mercifully, forgiving and extending credit. One who does all these things is the one referred to by Yeshayahu when he says, “You are G-d’s servant, Israel, with whom I exalt” (Rambam, Hilkhot De’ot 5:13).

• Other Ethical Teachings of the Torah
• Today is the Birthday of the World, whether as Children or as Servants [2] by Dr. Meir Tamari
• Funding Social Costs - Taxation [2]
• THE CHALLENGE OF MONEY - Funding Social Costs - Taxation [1]