The Sin of Wages?

[In January, I spoke about what Judaism has to say about politics. Not necessarily that Judaism says that one should belong to a particular American political party or vote in a particular way, but in as much as politics is the expression of our national will, we as Jews should be knowledgeable about and guided by the moral and ethical teachings of our Jewish heritage in making our political decisions. This month, we will examine the issues of fair wages and financial regulation. – Rabbi Abraham]

You shall not oppress your neighbor; you shall not rob him/her; you shall not keep with you the wages owed to your worker until the morning. Lev. 19:13

I received an e-mail from the National Council of Jewish Women on Tuesday, April 20 noting that it was Equal Pay Day – the date until which the average woman would have had to continue to work to make as much money as the average male – at the same job – would have made by December 31, 2009. The holiness code, quoted above, also states that you shall not incline judgment to the poor or to the rich – that everyone should be equal before the law. Yet despite this leaning toward social justice (what Glen Beck might call “communism”), Judaism also has a strongly practical side.

There is no prohibition in Judaism against making money, nor against keeping what you have earned. However, that money should be earned without taking it unfairly from others. “Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, but the one who gathers by labor increases it.” (Prov. 13:11) The book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about wealth – not only that it accrues to the righteous, but also that it is a comfort those who have managed to have it: “The rich person’s wealth is his/her fortress, but the ruin of the poor is their poverty.” (Prov. 10:15) Wealth can be something that protects you, but poverty itself is the ruin of the poor – not some condition or flaw that has brought them to it.

As we read this month, the Torah has a very communistic law regarding property. Every fifty years, in the jubilee year, all debts are cancelled, everyone goes back to their familial homes, and the land is reapportioned to everyone based on their tribe of birth. Obviously, this law was meant to favor those who had lost their property over those who had gained. The Torah spoke strongly on the side of the poor. Yet, centuries later (not quite 2,000 years ago), Rabbi Akiva – the populist Rabbi – helps create a legal document, the prosbul, that allows loans to remain in effect past the jubilee year. Imagine it as the mortgage derivative of the 1st century. But Akiva does this not to help the bankers keep their money, but because the poor had been unable to get loans in the 48th and 49th years, because no one would loan to them. The Torah prohibits lending at interest, yet by the time of the Rabbis, loaning at interest is permitted because without it, no one would offer loans.

Jewish law has an eminently practical side regarding money – it does no one good when it is not in circulation. People are allowed to make money with their money because otherwise, they will not extend credit. However, that is a far cry from permitting and licensing abuse. Proverbs also says, “Better is a little with righteousness, than great income with injustice.” (Prov. 16:8)

Some questions to ponder: How much is too much? Would a sensible moral rule such as the quote from Proverbs 16 keep us from the boom and bust cycle of financial bubbles? Where is the line where making money for ourselves comes at the expense of others? How responsible are we for the actions of those who handle our investments, of the instruments and companies we invest in?

Rabbi Joel N. Abraham