DEUT1291 See [[EXOD696]] Exodus 22:24 interest TAMARI 180-1

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DEUT1292 See [[EXOD699]] Exodus 22:24 interest TAMARI 181-2

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DEUT1454 Unlike other forms of theft, errors made with weights and measures have no minimal level, nor a “statute of limitations” restricting the time period within which redress can be sought. Claims which are of insignificant value are usually considered by the rabbis to be waived in the usual course of business; This is not so, however, in the case of weights and measures errors, since they involve a moral and religious infringement, which the parties to the transaction do not have the power to overlook, even if they so desire. Indeed, the above-mentioned portion of Deuteronomy instructs (25:13-15): “You shall not keep in your pocket [both] a large weight and a small one; neither shall you keep in your house [both] a small measure and a small one, [but rather,] one perfect and just weight shall you have; one perfect and just measure shall you have”-- the emphasis here being on the crime of even possessing such faulty measures, let alone using them.

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DEUT1474 See [[LEV814]] Leviticus 19:36 honest TAMARI 44

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DEUT1482 The import of the Jubilee and sabbatical years, however, goes even beyond ownership of the land by the Deity. For these observances signify a reaffirmation by the Jew that the Deity is the primary factor in any economic success. A long list of mitzvot can be presented to demonstrate this idea, but perhaps the most interesting ones are those of the First Fruits (bikurim). Deuteronomy 26:1-11. To the farmer, the first fruits are very special, as they represent the beginning of a successful venture. Yet, the Torah obligated the Jew to take these first fruits to Jerusalem each year and present them to the priest. In itself, this presentation may not sufficiently demonstrate the concept of thankfulness. What does underscore it is the confession that accompanied the bringing of these first fruits. Every Jew was required to recite a confession at the Temple in which he described how an insignificant little family went down to Egypt, grew rapidly, but was enslaved and persecuted. It was only God’s love, and His power over the forces of nature and man, that redeemed this family (that is, Israel) from their slavery, carried them through the dangers of the desert, and brought them into the Land of Israel. The thankfulness expressed in the confession was for the God-given land, its fertility, its crops, and its first fruits, all granted simply through the grace of God. Nothing could be more indicative of Judaism’s teaching of man's utter dependence upon God for his economic welfare then this confession.

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DEUT1493 The Spiritual Challenge of Economic Wealth. Judaism acknowledges the legitimate satisfaction of man's basic needs, provided that these needs are fulfilled within the framework of morality and justice set up by religious law. Man's economic desires are treated by Judaism in exactly the same way as all other basic human needs: as legitimate, permissible, and beneficial, but restricted, educated, and sanctified by observance of God’s commandments. Both in the blessing given to Adam and in that later repeated to Noah, the Lord gave man dominion over the world and all its creatures-- such dominion to be used for man's material well-being. Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden “to work and guard it.” Judaism envisages a partnership between God and man in which man continues the settlement of the world commenced by the Divine creation and God bestows upon him the Divine blessings. Man's earning of a livelihood and his creation of economic and material assets are seen as reflections of Divine pleasure. Leafing through the pages of the Bible, one is immediately struck by the fact that the observance of God’s commandments leads to an abundance of material goods rather than to some ethereal, otherworldly reward. For example, the Land of Israel, which is the Divinely destined geographic area for the Jews to live in and create a nation of priests, is not a bleak desert area, but a land flowing with milk and honey. A God-fearing man is characterized as one whose flocks and orchards bear their fruit in season and produce a bounty of goods. Indeed, the daily prayers of the Jewish liturgy request, along with Divine forgiveness, peace, and the healing of the sick, a satisfactory livelihood earned through honest and moral means. Contrariwise, in its portrayal of divine anger and punishment, the Bible (in all of its books) depict starvation, poverty, and drought as the just deserts of sinners, whoever they may be. Leviticus ch. 26; Deut. Chs. 27-8. Finally, on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, when the books of judgment are opened in which all people are inscribed and sealed, there is also a book of parnasah-- of economic and material welfare. After completing the atonement service, perhaps the pinnacle of Jewish religious life, the high priest offered a special prayer in the Temple, a major component of which is the request for a year of bounty, a year in which Jews will not have to be dependent on others for their livelihood. Obviously, economic wealth and prosperity were regarded as a desirable state-- in contrast to the glorification of poverty an asceticism in other faiths and creeds.

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DEUT1673 [Continued from [[DEUT918]] Deuteronomy 18:1 portion TAMARI 30-1] Although it is necessary and legitimate for man to devote himself to the accumulation of material goods, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavich taught, “Even with the greatest efforts a man cannot increase his wealth above that which the Almighty has allocated to him. A man has to do what is necessary for his livelihood but has to understand that these efforts are only marginal and that the real source of his wealth is God’s blessings.” Hayom Yom-Lubavitch (Kfar Chabad, 1972), entry for 4th of Av. It was quite obvious to the rabbis that excessive concern for material goods distorted man's spiritual priorities, and often in subtle and ingenious ways. Consider Rashi’s commentary on the biblical story of the request by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh for an inheritance in Transjordan. “The tribes of Gad and Reuben, because of their vast wealth and cattle, separated themselves from the tribes of Israel and settled outside of the Promised Land [the lands in Transjordan being better suited to large-scale ranching than the Land of Israel]. Therefore, they were exiled before all the other tribes [as they opted out, as it were, of their Divine inheritance]. They made the primary concern [their children] a marginal one and the secondary consideration [their wealth] of major importance. They said to Moses, ‘we will build stables for our flocks and cities for our children.’ (Rashi on Deut. 32:6) As will be shown in the following section, both the achievement of economic wealth and the use thereof are very strictly limited and channeled by Judaism over and above the restraint imposed by the study of the Torah. These limitations do not flow from an exalted view of poverty, however, or from an “otherworldly” philosophy. Rather, all of man's actions, including those involved in the accumulation of material goods, are to be subjected to the ethical, moral, and religious demands of the Torah, so that the individual and society can attain a state of sanctity even while carrying out the most mundane acts.

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DEUT1734 Fundamentally, the provision of welfare is seen in Judaism as an act of Imitatio Dei -- the imitation of God's ways-- and as such is the mark of the Jew, who is obligated to walk in God's paths. In a Talmudic discussion, a rabbi asked how one can compare oneself to God and be so presumptuous as to assume that one can walk in His footsteps. After all, He is eternal, He is all-consuming fire, He has neither shape nor form, etc. To this, the rejoinder was that just as God is all-merciful, so man should be merciful; just as God is kind and righteous, so man should be kind and righteous; just as God is careful to look after all the creatures in His world, so should man be. Rabbi Simlai taught, the Torah begins with an act of chesed (loving-kindness) and ends with an act of chesed. As it is written at the beginning of the Torah, “and the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them” [Genesis 3:21]; And at the conclusion of the Torah, “he [God] buried him [Moses] in the valley in the land of Moab” [Deuteronomy 34:6]. Talmud Bavli, Sotah 14a This view of acts of welfare as an imitation of God's greatness was extended to every aspect of the welfare spectrum, not just the giving of gifts to the poor. So we find Shimon Hatsadik writing in the 4th century B.C.E.: “There are three things on which the world stands: on the Torah, on Divine service, and on acts of lovingkindness [chesed].” Mishnah, Avot, chapter 1, mishnah 2. The three are equally important in Judaism and equally essential for the construction of a religious and Godly nation. Acts of chesed were, therefore, considered to be characteristic of the Jewish people, both as individuals and as a nation.

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