Michael L. Satlow

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Judaism and the Economy

Judaism and the Economy: A Sourcebook

 

 

Publishers Description

Judaism and the Economy is an edited collection of sixty-nine Jewish texts relating to economic issues such as wealth, poverty, inequality, charity, and the charging of interest. The passages cover the period from antiquity to the present, and represent many different genres. Primarily fresh translations, from their original languages, many appear here in English for the first time. Each is prefaced by an introduction and the volume as a whole is introduced by a synthetic essay.

These texts, read together and in different combinations, provide a new lens for thinking about the economy and make the case that religion and religious values have a place in our own economic thinking. Judaism and the Economy is a useful new resource for educators, students, and clergy alike.

Excerpts of Reviews

“Recent financial crises, rising income inequality, and the acceleration of economic globalization have posed some new moral questions, but they have also prompted renewed interest in longstanding concerns of economic ethics. When is property private? What is usury? What are the motivations and implications of charity? Michael L. Satlow, along with an international team of experts, has produced an indispensable resource for understanding different ways in which Jewish authors have attempted to answer such questions since antiquity. Through clear translations and helpful introductions, this volume enables readers to explore intersections of Judaism and economic thought across nearly three millennia.”

– G. Anthony Keddie, University of British Columbia, Canada

Table of Contents

List of Contributors

Introduction, Michael Satlow

Section A: Ancient Sources

Introduction to the Ancient Sources

  1. Responsibilities of the Bailee (Exodus 22:6-7)
  2. Lending to the Poor (Exodus 22:24-26)
  3. Sabbatical and Jubilee Years (Leviticus 25)
  4. Tithes (Deuteronomy 14:22-29)
  5. Sabbatical Year (Deuteronomy 15:1-11)
  6. Righteousness and Redemption (Proverbs 10:2, 19:7)
  7. Debt and Egalitarianism (Nehemiah 5)
  8. Advice on Dealing with Money (Ben Sira 29)
  9. Do Not Steal (Philo, On the Decalogue, 135-137)
  10. A Treasury in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-33)
  11. The Problem with Wealth (Matthew 19:23-26)
  12. Taxes and Religion (Matthew 22:15-22)
  13. God and the Poor (Matthew 25:31-46)
  14. Collecting for the Poor (2 Corinthians 9)
  15. Laws of Forgotten Sheaths (Mishnah Peah 6:5-7)
  16. Who is Poor? (Mishah Peah 8:8-9)
  17. Economic Speculation and the Sacred (Mishnah Sukkah 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 34b)
  18. Regulating the Market (Mishnah Baba Metzia 4:12)
  19. Avoiding the Cancellation of Loans (Mishnah Shevi’it, 10:3-4)
  20. Usury (Mishah Baba Metzia 5:1)
  21. Risk and Liability (Mishnah Baba Metzia 7:8)
  22. Market Intervention and the Common Good (Mishnah Keritot 1:7)
  23. Laws of Inheritance (Mishnah Baba Batra 8:5-7)
  24. The Economic Relationship between Spouses (Mishnah Ketubot 5:9)
  25. Receiving Charity (Tosefta Peah 4:10)
  26. Usury (Tosefta Baba Metzia 6:17)
  27. Usury and Poverty (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, on Exodus 22:24)
  28. Causes of Poverty (Sifre Zuta Deuteronomy 15:11)
  29. Wealth and Worthiness (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:1, 13b)
  30. Torah Study and Poverty (Jerusalem Talmud Peah 8:8, 21a-b)
  31. Wealth and the Divine (Jerusalem Talmud Peah 4:3, 18b)
  32. Market Intervention and the Common Good (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 30a)
  33. The Requirement to Give Charity (Babylonian Talmud Baba Batra 9a-b)
  34. Poverty and Punishment (Babylonian Talmud Baba Batra 10a)
  35. Wealth and Divine Favor (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 38a)
  36. Usury and the Poor (Exodus Rabbah 26); The text here is translated from MS Jerusalem, The National Library of Israel, 2º 4 5977, with emendations and corrections from other MSS.

 

Section B: Medieval

Introduction to the Medieval Sources

  1. Limitations on Property Ownership (Rashi on Leviticus 25)
  2. Lending to Non-Jews with Interest (Sefer Or Zarua Part III Bava Metzia § 208)
  3. Risk and Reward, Profit and Liability (Maimonides Mishneh Torah, Laws of Agents and Partners 2:2, 4; 5:1,
  4. Wealth and Prophecy (Maimonides, Guide to the Perplexed II:32)
  5. Charity and the Cosmos (Moses de León, Unnamed Composition)
  6. Almsgiving and the Kabbalah (Moses de León, selection from Sefer ha-Rimmon)
  7. In Praise of Poverty (Zohar III:223a Parashat Pinḥas, Ra’aya Meheimna)
  8. Obligations to the Poor and the Shekhina (Zohar III:273, Parashat Eqev, Ra’aya Meheimna)
  9. The Problem of Wealth (The Hebrew Writings of the Author of Tiqqunei Zohar and Ra’aya Mehemna)
  10. Poverty and Prayer (The Hebrew Writings of the Author of Tiqqunei Zohar and Ra’aya Mehemna)
  11. Principles of Almsgiving (Sefer ha-Hinnukh §. 449)
  12. Private Property in the Synagogue (R. Isaac bar Sheshet Perfet, Responsum 253)
  13. Almsgiving and the Public Order (R. Joseph Karo)

 

Section C: Modern Period

Introduction to the Modern Sources

  1. The Inevitability of Poverty (Keli Yakar on Exodus 22:24-26)
  2. “Workfare” (Keli Yakar on Exodus 23:5)
  3. A Plea for Jewish Toleration (Simone Luzzatto, Discourse on the Jews of Venice)
  4. A Plea for Jews’ Economic Integration into Britain (John Toland, Reasons for Naturalizing the Jews)
  5. A Limit on Charity Contributions? (Joseph Emden, Responsa I 3)
  6. An Obsession with Wealth (Rabbi Nachman from Breslov, “The Tale of the Master of Prayer”)
  7. Richness and Torah (Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Moharan 60)
  8. Charity and Salvation (Hayim David Hazan, Sermon in Izmir)
  9. Anti-Mammonism in Ante-Bellum America (Isaac Mayer Wise, “The Age and its Corruption”)
  10. Scholars and the Communal Tax (Eliyahu Bechor Hazan, Responsum)
  11. Slavery (Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Isaac Meir Dik. Di Shklaveray)
  12. Priority for the Distribution of Charity (Yechiel Michael Epstein, Aruk Ha-Shulchan)
  13. Poverty and Laziness (Mendele Mokher Sefarim (S. J. Abramowitz), Sefer HaKabzanim)
  14. Poverty and the Religious Life (Rav Zadok ha-Kohen of Lublin, Machashavot Charutz)
  15. The Poor Person and the Self (Hermann Cohen, selection from Begriffe der Religion)
  16. Democracy and Dues (President’s Message, Congregation Adath Israel)
  17. The Working Class (Michael Gold, “The East Side I Knew”)
  18. Middle Class in America (Rabbi Edgar Siskin, “Do You Live According to Your Means?”)
  19. Is Wealth Compatible with Spirituality? (Lucy Dawidowicz, “Middle Class Judaism”)
  20. A Bill to Allow Banking (Heter Isqa); Translated from http://online.pagi.co.il.

Bibliography

Index

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ISBN: 978-0815353218 (hardcover); 978-0815353232 (paper)

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