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Jewish World Review
May 30, 2006
/ 3 Sivan, 5766
Where credit is due
By
Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir
Should I give recognition to a modest man who did a great deed?
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Q: A man in our town went to great lengths to mobilize his own resources and
those of others in the community to help a distressed and needy person. Is it
proper to publicize his acts by reporting them to the news media?
A: In general, Judaism looks favorably on giving recognition and honor to
those who perform good deeds. Most simply, this is an appropriate way of
showing our gratitude and admiration. Beyond this, most people value
recognition, so providing it serves as an incentive for people to devote their
energies to acts of generosity.
The great Medieval sage Rabbi Shlomo Adret (known as Rashba) writes that
it is appropriate to record a donor's name on a synagogue. "And this is the
way of the sages and elders, in order to provide a reward for those who do a
mitzvah [religious duty]. And this is the way of the Torah [Bible], which records and publicizes
mitzvah doers." (1) Rabbi Adret is pointing out that Scripture itself records
the deeds of our great forebears. While the Torah writes that Moses was the
meekest of all people on the face of the earth, (Numbers 12:3), the Torah's
own account insured that Moses is also one of the most famous people who
ever lived on the face of the earth!
Continuing with the theme of incentives, Rabbi Adret cites a Midrash, which
states: "If Reuben would have known that the Torah would write 'And
Reuben heard and saved [Joseph] from their hand' (Genesis 37:21), he
would have carried him on his shoulders! And if Aaron had known that the
Torah would write 'Behold, he is coming forth to meet you [Moses], and
when he sees you his heart will be glad,' (Exodus 4:14) he would have come
forth to greet him with dances and tambourines! (2) Note that the Midrash
doesn't hint that people are motivated to help others because they seek
recognition; but it does tell us that people act with much greater enthusiasm
when they know their efforts will be appreciated and acknowledged.
Yet at times people have good reasons for doing good deeds in secret. This
could be out of modesty or shame, or perhaps because they have personal or
even professional reasons to shun publicity. Perhaps they are afraid to be
seen as publicity seekers. After all, you will know that this man never sought
media attention, but others may think that he himself notified the newspapers,
or asked you to do so; they may even think that he only did a good deed in
order to get publicity. The result would be shame, rather than honor.
Recognizing this potential for a boomerang effect, the Talmud tells a story of
the Jewish leader and scholar, Rabbi Yehudah the Prince, who publicly
complimented a student on his beautiful manuscript of a sacred text. The
student demurred that the writing was not his, but rather that of another
scribe. Rabbi Yehudah told him "Decease from slander!" (3)
Overall, I think there is little likelihood that harm would come as a result of
your turning to the news media. The acts were not done in true secrecy, so
the person is not totally shying away from attention, and in any case chances
are that if the hero declines to cooperate with reporters that they would in
any case drop the story.
A good approach would be to start with people close to the hero, such as his
wife, and ask if they think he would be averse to publicizing his story. Or
raise the topic with him in an oblique way. (If you ask him outright if he wants
media attention he will almost certainly say no.) If you do decide to go
forward, insist that the reporter commit himself to going forward with the
story only if the subject is in agreement. I don't believe that it is wise to rely
on commitments like these from reporters in the case of important and
controversial stories like whistle-blowing cases, but in a feel-good story like
this I don't think you need to worry that a reporter would insist on publishing
the story without good will from all sides.
SOURCES: (1) Responsa Rashba I:581. (2) Leviticus Rabbah on
Leviticus 25:35 (3) Babylonian Talmud, Bava Basra 164b
IMPORTANT NOTE:
There were many fascinating responses to the recent article on cheating the
insurance company to obtain a life-saving medication. A number of readers
wrote that drug companies often give substantial discounts to patients needing
life-saving treatment not covered by insurance and beyond their means.
Therefore, they strongly recommend that someone in this tragic situation
should turn first to the manufacturer of the drug to see if some compromise
can be arranged.
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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.
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Previously:
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
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