Judaism also teaches that it is necessary to have an occupation. It views idleness as harmful to the person and society in general, and it is also important for people to feel they are productive, in the eyes of a Jew. Judaism teaches that people have to serve God by being active in the world, therefore work is necessary for Jews to fulfil God’s will. All the Rabbis of the Talmud and Midrash had as occupation. This shows that Jews are encouraged to work, and to earn money.
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Genesis 3:19
“Great is work. God's presence only rested upon the Jewish people when they began occupying themselves with useful work.”
Maimonides
It is complacency and greed which is a sin, believing that your wealth is yours, and yours alone, and that poverty is a curse for which you have no part in. It is also thought that wealth could cause you to forget about God. However, there are also ways that Judaism views as sinful ways of earning your money. These occupations are classified as any which may bring harm to people physically (drug selling) or morally (selling pornographic literature).
Another part of the Jewish religion which is regarded as very important is their views about business ethics. It insists that relations between buyers and sellers, employers and employees, and borrowers and lenders should be regulated to prevent the weak from being exploited by the strong.
"You shall not falsify measures of length, weight, or volume…. You must pay [a labourer] his wages on the same day, before the sun sets…. You shall not deduct interest from loans to your countrymen…." The Torah
Judaism teaches that God knows what a person’s intentions really are, meaning God can see through someone if they are trying to exploit another person. For example is a salesperson purposely overprices something, because the buyer is not very well informed about the particular product being sold. The sale is viewed as invalid, and the maximum amount which a seller can charge a customer is estimated as 1/6 over the estimated market value of any goods. A sale is also viewed as invalid if a salesperson measures something wrongly, of if a sale occurs where inferior products have been mixed with or have replaced better ones. The buyer in an invalid sale is entitled to a refund.
Judaism basically teaches that wealth does not belong to any individual, and people who are custodians of money should use it to help others who are less wealthy than them. It teaches that having an occupation is vital, but everything must be carried out honestly and genuinely, without any exploitation occurring.
Explain How Jews Might Try To Help Those Who Are Poor & Suffering:
In Judaism, it is important how you give to charity. Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, more commonly known as Maimonides, was a philosopher, Talmud-scholar and physician who lived in the 12th century. He wrote the Mishneh Torah, a code of Jewish law that to this day remains influential in Jewish thinking. He described eight levels of Tzedakah (giving to charity):
- Gives to help a person become self sufficient
- The giver does not know the receiver and vice versa
- The giver knows the receiver, but the receiver does not know who gave
- The giver does not know the receiver but the receiver knows who gave
- Gives directly to a person in need, before being asked
- Gives directly to a person in need, after being asked
- Gives directly to a person in need, cheerfully, but should give more
- Gives a small amount reluctantly with a scowl
It is also important who you give to. There is a traditional order of priorities who you give money to help and support. Firstly among your close relatives, then in your extended family, in your city and then finally in other cities and countries. Jews are also expected to help those of other religions or cultures. There are major charities set up in the name of Judaism, which Jews could also donate to. For example, World Jewish Relief was set up to save Jewish lives. It began in 1933 when it brought 10,000 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. The organisation has rescued, supported and saved lives of Jews all over the world since then, and today it cares for tens of thousands of needy Jews in the former Soviet Union, Bulgaria and former Yugoslavia. By donating to World Jewish Relief, Jews are giving the highest degree of charity. WJR works to make Jews able to support themselves, and the giver does not know the receiver and the receiver does not know who gave. As well as helping abroad, World Jewish relief also helps at home in Britain. It offers counselling, advice and practical support for Jewish refugees living in Britain.
Another major Jewish charity is Tzedek. It was founded in 1990 and was inspired by the idea that Jews should be a ‘light to the world’ and should work to make the world a better place. It works with some of the world’s poorest people, regardless of their race or religion and aims to help them become self sufficient. Tzedek aims to relieve and eliminate poverty in the developing world by providing direct support for sustainable self-help programmes and by educating the Jewish community about the causes and effects of poverty and the Jewish obligation to respond. Once again, this is the highest degree of giving to charity as you are giving to help make others self sufficient.
The main factor in giving to charity in Judaism is to always give to anybody less wealthy, and to give willingly, and to aim to help people become self sufficient.
“A job is a job – it does not matter how people earn their money” Do you agree?
I think that many people would disagree with this statement, because there are ways which you can earn money which are harmful to others. This is the case in Jewish teachings as it states that any occupation is acceptable unless it may cause harm to people morally or physically. For example, you could consider being a burglar as a job, if you are earning money from it and you have no other occupation, but is this acceptable? Jobs such as drug dealing can cause serious harm to others, which is viewed by most as sinful.
However, there are people in the world who are in completely different situations to most. They are desperate, and unable to get a job, and may have a family to support and feed. In these kinds of cases, they may be forced into going into something like prostitution or drug selling. It is very hard for people who have not been in such a position to understand the pressure on some people, but I still believe it is wrong.
I definitely disagree with this statement. I believe that money should be earned fairly and honestly, and without causing harm in any way to any other people around us. There are many sinful and morally wrong jobs in the world, but there are also more than enough honest and clean jobs where people can earn their money. In very extreme cases of pressure and the need to earn money, there are many charities which are there to help people in these kinds of situations. Nobody should be exploited, cheated, morally or physically harmed by anybody else’s job.
