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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review June 12, 2006 / 16 Sivan, 5766

The Corporation and the Divine

By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir


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Where does the Almighty fit into your corporation's mission statement?


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: Lately many business corporations have tried to define their mission in relation to G-d's will. Does Judaism support this trend?


A: There does seem to be an awakening of interest in the proper role of G-d in our business dealings. A book titled G-d is my CEO has become a national bestseller, while major corporations have introduced mention of the Creator in their corporate communications. For example, the mission statement of food producer Tyson foods states that the "We strive to honor G-d," while ServiceMaster states that its objective is "Honor G-d in all we do."


Of course Judaism believes that consciousness of the Divine must permeate all of our everyday activities. This is precisely the significance of the many commandments the Torah specifies. Most commandments do not tell us to engage in other-worldly activities. Instead, they provide limits on how we engage in mundane affairs like eating (laws of kosher food and making blessings), family life (laws of family purity), and of course business.


This in turn elevates and sanctifies all aspects of human experience.


This is of course the main purpose of my column: To explain to readers how G-d's Torah can guide us in our workplace and marketplace dealings and make them conform to His will.


Beyond the simple assertion that business can, even must, be an arena for carrying out G-d's will and plan, it is worth examining exactly how we should describe His role. The CEO paradigm suggests an active, interventionist role for religious consciousness, one in which G-d's will is communicated at the level of specific policies and directions for the firm. A contrasting but widely publicized paradigm is that of "stewardship". A steward is left in charge of property which is not his; he is charged with using his judgment to preserve and exploit them for the benefit of a largely absent owner.


While we can find echoes of these approaches in Jewish sources as well, I think that the best characterization of the Jewish view is the "partner paradigm". When it comes to everyday activities requiring human judgment and initiative, G-d is not so much above us as (like a CEO) as beside us; he is not absent (like the master of the steward) but present.


The idea of G-d as a partner is found in many places in our tradition. The Talmud tells us "There are three partners in the creation of a person: G-d, and his father, and his mother." (1). Another expression of this idea is the Talmudic statement that the ultimate way to introduce holiness into our lives is to emulate G-d, to learn from His example. The Torah tells us to "go after G-d". (Deuteronomy 13:5.) The Talmud asks, can a person really "follow" the divine presence? Rather, we should follow His ways, and engage in acts of kindness. (2)

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But in practice, the most outstanding example of viewing the G-d as a partner is in fact in the sphere of business. The rabbis took the idea of G-d as a business partner beyond an instructive metaphor and viewed it as a practical and legal paradigm. The custom of giving a tenth of one's income to charity was formalized in a responsum of the 16th century authority Yair Bachrach as an actual business partnership. The responsum concludes that the calculation of "income" for purposes of this tithe is according to the usual rules of figuring business expenses. (3)


This approach echoes an earlier responsum of Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the authoritative Code of Jewish Law. The Talmud learns from a Scriptural verse that a person is allowed to give charity with the expectation of an earthly reward. The Torah says, "Surely tithe"; the rabbis infer that tithing surely leads to wealth. (4) The proof is in the verse from the prophet Malachi (3:10): "Bring Me all the tithe to the treasury, and there will be provision in My house; test Me with this, says the Lord of hosts, if I don't open for you the channels of the heavens, and I will pour out endless blessing."


Rabbi Karo writes that this is true only if he makes a precise accounting of ten percent of his net income which is given to charity. (5). This makes sense if we view this accounting as a way of making G-d an explicit partner in the business; then He is sure to contribute the unique "capital" of divine blessing and so a person has a legitimate expectation of making a profit.


Our business dealings need to be conducted with a consciousness of G-d's concern. Since we are not prophets, we can't rely on Him for everyday guidance in the mundane aspects of running a business, as if He were a senior manager. The idea of a salaried "steward" is also not quite accurate; G-d permits and encourages us to take an active ownership interest in our worldly activities, and to enjoy their fruits in appropriate moderation. Rather, His delegation of everyday responsibility, His constant presence, and His insistence on the ground rules of Torah make the relationship most like that of a silent partner who provides the essential wherewithal to make a business successful and then leaves the active day to day management to the active partner, subject to the basic conditions of partnership.


More than our CEO or our master, G-d is our partner in running effective and ethical business enterprises. SOURCES: (1) Kiddushin 30b (2) Sota 14 (3) Responsa Chavos Yair 224 (4) Taanis 9a. The actual inference is from the repetition of the Hebrew words 'aser t'aser; the inference is tithe ('aser) in order to become wealthy (tisasher, where the s and the sh are written with the same Hebrew letter.) (5) Responsum Avkas Rochel 3.

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JWR contributor Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration, is Research Director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, Jerusalem College of Technology. To comment or pose a question, please click here.


Previously:

Does an expert witness have to be impartial?
Should I give recognition to a modest man who did a great deed?
In representing my firm, can I tell a white lie?
Defrauding insurance to save a life
Can top level management unilaterally give away money to corporate dollars to charity?
Loans to Family Members
How much worker supervision is too much?
Should I turn in a colleague for inappropriate acts?
Priority in charitable giving
Trolls and ogres
How many hours of work is too many?
Can I promote my product by having it unobtrusively written into a story?
He's not heavy he's my brother
All's fair in war?, II
All's fair in war?
Girth vs. worth
Is it proper to tax bequests?
Ethics of Being Overweight
Penalized for working swiftly
When is it a bluff?
'Rate and switch'
My paycheck is late!
Should schools cater to an elite?
All's fair in love?
Comfort and Competition
Do I need the caller's permission to put a call on the speakerphone?
Overtime for lost time
Is it unethical to play suppliers against each other to get the lowest bid possible?
Do family members have precedence in charity allotments?
What the world of business can teach us about our annual process of repentance and renewal
Are religious leaders subject to criticism?
Vindictive Vendor: How can I punish an abusive competitor?
Blogging Ethics: Is the blogger responsible for defamatory posts?







© 2005, The Jewish Ethicist is produced by the JCT Center for Business Ethics