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Al Chet: Sins in the Marketplace
Whether studied in anticipation of Yom Kippur or used as a guide for personal and professional life, the insights revealed here will be invaluable to all entrepreneurs, creditors, debtors, employers, employees, producers, and consumers. The viduy, or confessional, is the central prayer on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Recited both silently and by the cantor, the viduy is a confession of sins committed both individually and as a community. Each line of the prayer begins with al chet shechatanu, "for the sin which we have committed." A major theme of the viduy is social immorality and unethical behavior. In Al Sins in the Marketplace, Meir Tamari, a renowned authority in the field of Jewish business ethics, explores the viduy specifically as it relates to the business world.
Within Judaism's rich body of texts, there are discussions relevant to contemporary business issues, including insider trading, limited liability corporations, false advertising, and the pirating of computer software. Using the viduy as a guide, Tamari explores the sins resulting from business activities using textual material culled from the Bible, the Mishnah, and the Talmud, the homiletic literature and moralistic texts, as well as sayings and stories from some of the greatest rabbis in Jewish history.
Following a discussion of teshuvah, "repentance," and the necessity of confession to achieve it, thirteen specific sins are explained. Some, such as "bribery" and "usury and interest," are obvious in their relation to business ethics. Others are less clear but perhaps more important, such as "brazen arrogance," which can lead to the browbeating of competitors, employees, and debtors, and "callousness," which can result in ignoring the needs of the disadvantaged or the harassment of employees. Subconscious drives such as gluttony, envy, and jealousy are also explored as they relate to business. For example, the blurring of needs and wants that result in gluttony also play a role in the search for a constantly rising standa
Within Judaism's rich body of texts, there are discussions relevant to contemporary business issues, including insider trading, limited liability corporations, false advertising, and the pirating of computer software. Using the viduy as a guide, Tamari explores the sins resulting from business activities using textual material culled from the Bible, the Mishnah, and the Talmud, the homiletic literature and moralistic texts, as well as sayings and stories from some of the greatest rabbis in Jewish history.
Following a discussion of teshuvah, "repentance," and the necessity of confession to achieve it, thirteen specific sins are explained. Some, such as "bribery" and "usury and interest," are obvious in their relation to business ethics. Others are less clear but perhaps more important, such as "brazen arrogance," which can lead to the browbeating of competitors, employees, and debtors, and "callousness," which can result in ignoring the needs of the disadvantaged or the harassment of employees. Subconscious drives such as gluttony, envy, and jealousy are also explored as they relate to business. For example, the blurring of needs and wants that result in gluttony also play a role in the search for a constantly rising standa
240 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 1996
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December 5, 2014
This book is mostly comprised of quotes from various Jewish sacred texts (including the Torah, the Mishnah and the Talmud) as well as quotes from leading rabbis of the past millenium or so. By and large, Jewish financial ethics are common sense (don't lie, pay your bills etc) supplemented with more stringent practices based on the Torah (such as the Torah's restrictions on lending with interest).
Tamari supplements the quotes with occasional short bits of commentary. I sometimes found the commentaries hard to follow. For example, after discussing the halachic ban on interest Tamari writes that "Because of fluctuations in prices or in exchange rates, it is forbidden to borrow goods on the understanding that one will return them at a later date, the price increase is regraded as interest." Is Tamari saying that you can only borrow goods if you WON'T return them? That can't be right!
On the other hand, there are times when more commentary might be appropriate. For example, Tamari quotes the Chofetz Chaim (an early 20th-century rabbi) as stating that a worker must always "be paid at daybreak." Does this mean that the American custom of paying workers every couple of weeks violates halacha?
Tamari supplements the quotes with occasional short bits of commentary. I sometimes found the commentaries hard to follow. For example, after discussing the halachic ban on interest Tamari writes that "Because of fluctuations in prices or in exchange rates, it is forbidden to borrow goods on the understanding that one will return them at a later date, the price increase is regraded as interest." Is Tamari saying that you can only borrow goods if you WON'T return them? That can't be right!
On the other hand, there are times when more commentary might be appropriate. For example, Tamari quotes the Chofetz Chaim (an early 20th-century rabbi) as stating that a worker must always "be paid at daybreak." Does this mean that the American custom of paying workers every couple of weeks violates halacha?
Displaying 1 of 1 review