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With All Your Possessions: Jewish Ethics and Economic Life

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Meir Tamari, also the author of _The Challenge of Wealth_ and _Al Chet: Sins in the Marketplace_, here provides an excellent overview of Jewish ethics and economic life. Dr. Tamari presents a solid case that Judaism regards economic activity as legitimate and honorable, and at the same time dispels common antisemitic myths about Jews and money.

Beginning with a broad discussion of the limitations Judaism places on economic activity, Dr. Tamari then provides a short survey of Jewish economic history and a selection of responsa on economic disputes. He then devotes several chapters to such topics as tzedakah and taxation, clearly and cogently summarizing what Halakha says about each. The resulting volume will be of great value to anyone who wants to know what Judaism says about economic practice.

It will, however, be less helpful to those who want to learn something about economics -- though it should be added at once that (a) teaching economic principles was not Dr. Tamari's purpose in this volume and (b) at any rate his "sins" in this regard are at least no worse than those of standard mainstream economics textbooks. Still, a sounder economic approach would surely have made the exposition clearer on other topics.

Dr. Tamari is probably just bending over backwards to keep his discussion of Judaism free from commitment to any particular view of economics, while acknowledging that Judaism tends to favor the free market. Unfortunately he therefore sometimes writes that a "society" is free to allocate "its" resources by whatever "market mechanism" it wishes, from the free market to central planning -- ignoring both the economic fact that central planning is not a "market mechanism" at all, and the ethical fact that a State-run economy cannot help but violate the very principles of justice and righteousness that Dr. Tamari otherwise presents so well. In fact, these principles themselves would rule out communism and socialism completely; the institution of private property, together with its corollary prohibitions on theft and fraud, should have committed Judaism to free-market economics, properly understood.

The underlying difficulty here seems lie with Dr. Tamari's conception of what a free market _is_. I say this because he is constantly remarking that Judaism allows certain "distortions" of the free market, when in fact most of the "distortions" he cites are not distortions at all -- or at least need not be, depending how they are encouraged or enforced. (If I am not mistaken, Dr. Tamari studied at the London School of Economics, not exactly a hotbed of free-market thought. The fact that he recognizes an important role for the free market _at all_ is therefore highly commendable.)

All of which means only that Dr. Tamari is one of many people who could profit from a closer reading of Ludwig von Mises and other economists of the Austrian school -- at least to get clear what does and does not constitute a "distortion" of the free market (and in particular to get clear that Jewish religious/ethical observances do not constitute such "distortions"). This fact does not in any way tell against his fine presentation of Judaism's "take" on economics, but it does occasionally distort his presentation of important economic principles.

Review by Murray Levine "Ethics in Everyday Life" The Jewish Spectator 1987

Judaism did not develop a specific economic theory or system. Instead, writes Meir Tamari, "It proposes a moral-religious framework within which the theory or system must operate." The framework is that there is a divine economy that posits that the earth is the Lord's and man has an allotted share. It follows that we have the obligation to conserve and preserve our share. "Halacha is the practical means of applying to daily life concepts of God's ownership of material goods, man's stewardship of these goods, and God's active participation in man's economic success."

It is seldom that one finds such a wealth of material simply written by a scholar utilizing authentic Jewish sources still relevant in a single volume. Tamari writes comprehensively and expertly on Judaism's economics in the Halacha and in Jewish life.

Dr. Tamari's book was an inspiring and illuminating read for me. My interests were both in (1)"jewish tradition and law", as relevant to question's of community economics and (2) in a better understanding of the traditional jewish view on social justice and ethics, as that interplays with economics. I was not looking for any sort of introduction to "economic theory" or even "jewish economic theory" (see the Ryan review).

As a practicing Jew I learned some additional historical and traditional detail of which I was unaware, relating to economic issues of Jews individually and as communities. I found the discussion of Jewish economics relevant to issues in my own modern life, issues with which I have been actively dealing.

I also learned (as was my original intention) relevant to my own professional interest in "social justice" (health care justice in particular, as it happens). I am sure this book will be valued by activists in environmental and social justice issues, who are for any reason interested in the basis in religious traditions for confronting such issues (or interested just in the jewish basis for some reason).

There must be a lot of people wondering today what the connections are between economic life (both national structure and in personal everyday economics) and a traditional ethical stance of any persuasion. They will find this book interesting.

Review by Michael Novak who holds the George Frederick Jewett Chair at the American Enterprise Institute. New York Times

"Since these intellectual foundations are now the inheritance of all of us, this hand book will be invaluable for teachers of business ethics today, of whatever religious or humanistic framework, for it serves as an intelligent guide to the longest sustained (and concrete) tradition in thinking about commercial activities in the Western world. Mr. Tamari helps us know ourselves a little better."