By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — During our study of Shabbat, my Judaism 101 students read a selection from The Sabbath: Its Meaning for the Modern Man by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Rabbi Heschel, a social activist as well as scholar, was critical of the accumulation of material wealth. The Sabbath is, he wrote, “a day on which handling money is considered a desecration, on which man avows his independence of that which is the world’s chief idol.” In other words, he equated the pursuit of money with idolatry.
I find it interesting that Judaism has always found a nexus between holiness and earning a living. Judaism considers the way one conducts business to be an excellent measure of one’s respect, love, and appreciation not only of one’s fellow human being, but of God.
In parashat B’Shallach we read: “”If you will heed the Lord your God diligently, doing what is upright in His sight, giving ear to His commandments and keeping all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I the Lord am your healer.” (Ex. 15:26)
The Mechilta, the collection of midrashim on Exodus, teaches that the phrase “doing upright in His sight” specifically refers to business practices. The Ramban (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270) wrote, “people who are faithful, fair, and honest in their business practices, and thereby earn the respect and admiration of others, are considered as having fulfilled all of the mitzvot of the Torah.”
Honesty in business is so important that the Talmud says that the first question one is asked at the gate of heaven is: “Were you faithful in your business dealings?” (T.B. Shabbat)
Our tradition does not measure righteousness solely by the hours one spends davening in shul and eating Kosher food. Equally important are how we live our everyday lives and that we engage with our neighbors with honesty and integrity.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. Your comment may be posted in the space below or sent to leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com