DEUT853 More than a slogan, "Justice, justice you shall pursue" [this verse] is the overall guiding principle for Jewish ethics. On an individual level we are charged to go beyond simply being just; we must also be compassionate, going lifnim meshurat hadin, beyond the strict "letter of the law." An example is given in the Talmud of workers who broke a barrel of wine. Even though by halakhah the workers could have had their wages docked, they complained: "We are poor, and if you withhold our wages, we cannot eat." When the business owner consulted his rabbi, he was told, "Go and pay them [their full wages]. The owner asked, "Is that the law?" "It is indeed," the rabbi continued "[for we are enjoined to] Keep the path of the righteous." (B. Bava Batra 83a. The biblical verse is cited in Proverbs 2:20). The Jewish tradition thus envisions a world where in business as in all other areas of life, we act lifnim meshurat hadin, beyond the strict letter of the law, to create a world of peace, harmony, and compassion. (By Barry J. Leff, "Jewish Business Ethics")