One of the topics frequently addressed here is the
unfortunate circumstance of Chilul HaShem. This is an explicit command by God
to the Jewish people:
“And you shall not desecrate My Holy name; and I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you (Vayikra - 22:32)
We should instead be doing everything we can to sanctify
God’s name. That is not done only by following the letter of God’s law. As the
Ramban notes, we must go beyond the letter of the law. Or else we may end up
being a Naval B’Reshus HaTorah. An individual might find enough
loopholes in Halacha to be acting within the letter of it - and yet still be a disgusting person. Thereby
causing a Chilul HaShem.
Unfortunately there have been far too many cases where that
has been the case. There have been many
instances of Jews skirting the law with fraudulent practices that they believed were technically within the letter of Jewish law (a
questionable belief at best). Thankfully we live at a time and in a culture that
is generally not antisemstic. And we have not all been painted with a broad brush
as fraudsters. I’m not sure, however, that the generous spirit of the American people will
continue if these types of things keep
happening.
This brings me to a book published by Feldheim that is reviewed by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel
Bechhofer in the current issue of Jewish Action. It s entitled, Making It Work: A
Practical Guide to Halacha in the Workplace by Ari Wasserman. The book
addresses this issue as well as a number of other issues regarding a Jew in the
workplace. And it is a welcome addition to the collection of English language
Seforim published by the religiously right wing publishing houses. My only quibble
is that it has taken until now for them to come with a book like this.
True – better late than never. But I have to wonder how much
more Chilul HaShem we could have been spared if this attitude would have been
there from the start.
It took a high profile Chasidic Rebbe to be convicted of
money laundering and tax evasion for the Agudah to start dealing with this more
publicly. And I’m not sure they are anywhere near doing it enough.
What took them so long? Why did they wait until a major
Chilul HaShem like that occurred until they said anything publicly? Rabbi
Bechhofer gives us a glimpse into their past thinking on this issue with the
following anecdote:
Several years ago, I wanted to publish a piece on racism in the Orthodox community in a certain Orthodox Jewish publication. A member of the publication’s editorial board vetoed the idea. He explained that he himself categorically rejects and abhors any form of racism in our community. However, he does not believe that these attitudes can be eradicated by writing about them. He therefore preferred not to “wash our dirty linen in public” by raising the issue altogether.
He went on to say that for this reason he also discourages the publication of articles on honesty in matters of Choshen Mishpat. He reiterated that he categorically rejects manifestations of dishonesty and impropriety in our community. But, he continued, while any such conduct is utterly wrong, he understands its antecedents in the unjust financial policies imposed on the Jews by non-Jewish governments and institutions in pre-war Europe. Therefore, he opined, it is almost impossible to eradicate such failings, and in this area too, it is better to not wash our dirty linen in public.
This is a major fallacy. ‘Cover it up, lest people will think ill of us!’
What does it say about our values when the way we try to
convince the world of our high sense of ethics is by covering up wrongdoing instead
of condemning it? Which is what ‘not airing our dirty linen in public’ actually
means. That only makes the Chilul HaShem greater upon the inevitable discovery of the cover-up.
I’m happy that this problem is beginning to be dealt with more
publicly. But a speech at a convention here and there, and a book on the
subject is not enough. Yeshivos and day schools have to get more serious about
it.
Ethics ought to begin in the home. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be
enough of it transmitted by parents to their children. The schools therefore must pick up the slack.
They need to get as serious about teaching these kinds of ethics as they are about teaching Gemarah to boys and Tznius to girls.
Teachers must be trained to do so properly. And hammer it into the psyches of every single student.
And hope that it sticks! If we don’t do that yet another Chilul HaShem
is inevitable.
Education on this subject can begin by citing the following
Gemarah. This was done 25 years ago by
Rav Ahron Soloveichik in his book Logic
of the Heart Logic of the Mind (P 65-66).
This Gemarah is used
the same way by Ari Wasserman in his book. This is what every religious Jew should think
and the way they should act:
The Tanna Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach dealt in flax. Seeking to ease his workload, his students purchased a donkey for him from a non-Jew. When the donkey was delivered, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach discovered a very valuable pearl attached to its ear. The proceeds of its sale would have allowed him to give up the flax business altogether. From a halachic standpoint, he was not obligated to return the pearl to the donkey’s former owner, but he chose to give it back for one reason: the potential for a kiddush Hashem. The non-Jew gratefully accepted the pearl, saying, “Blessed is the God of the Jews!” Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach’s exceptional honesty was credited not only to himself, but, above all, to the “God of the Jews.
