BLUTTON SUN,SC,
SUN CITY SUN, SC
JANUARY 2011:
BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL
JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC
Shalom and Peace:
In our continuing discussing of Jewish Ethics, and what is called Derek Eretz, how we are to ethically deal with one another, I invite you to learn business ethics.
Rabbinic Judaism has always maintained that one must go beyond the letter of the law in dealing in business relations. The Talmud teaches in the Tractate about the many ritual laws regarding the Sabbath, that when one stands in front of the Heaven Court for entrance upon death, one will not be asked if they obeyed the rules of Sabbath or even the dietary rules of kosher. They will be asked if they '' had honest scales '' in their business.
The story is told in one of the three Tractates dealing with business law, of Rabbi Shimon who bought a donkey, with a saddle pack, from an Arab. Jewish law states that it one buys a pack, one now owns the contents of the pack. When R' Shimon got home and looked in the saddle pack, he found a valuable jewel. R' Shimon going beyond the letter of the law, returned the expensive gem to the Arab. The Arab was so impressed he blessed the ''God of the Jews.''
When we sell an object, we cannot ''spruce it up'' to make it look better than it is. As an example, we cannot take a used car with deep scratches, wax it to cover them, and then sell it, unless we fully disclose that the car has these defects.
Jewish ethics teaches we are not in business to sell '' widgets,'' but to foster good relations with others: to sanctify God's name. What we sell is secondary to the relationship with the client.
Judaism's derek eretz teaches that being a con-artist is the worst kind of thief. The rabbis call this '' theft of the mind.'' When one has his wallet stolen, one may feel anger to the thief . But the rabbis posit when one is conned, one looses his general trusting of everyone, as well as his trust in himself for his ability to discern. Hence one who is conned, can be affected psychologically and spiritually, valued much more than the money that is lost.
Judaism also has ethics placed upon the client. One of these laws is called the ''shopkeeper's law.'' A person cannot go into a camera shop, for example, and spend time with the salesperson, learning about the camera, and pricing it, only to go home and buy it online for 20% less. Not only is the client stealing the salesperson's time, but he can actually cause the shopkeeper to think his fee is too high, (as a sale wasn't made), and lower his fees, which he may not be able to afford. Hence money indirectly is stolen from the shopkeeper. Now if the potential client is honest with the salesperson, and says he is shopping for price, and the salesperson wishes to spend that time, this is allowed behavior.
All of our transactions with others, are to promote peace and harmony. Something may be legal to do, but not ethical. We must love our fellow as ourselves. What is hateful to us, we do not do to another.
Rabbi Arthur Segal, teacher, author, international lecturer, can be reached at RabbiSegal@JewishSpiritualRenewal.net and www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org
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