Tag: Jewish

The Jewish Ethicist: Educational Embargo

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The Jewish Ethicist: Educational Embargo

from aish.com

by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem

Q. A local retail chain treats the clerks inhumanely. Should we avoid buying there?

A. Previous columns have discussed two kinds of boycott: a boycott undertaken in order to counter price-gouging or avoiding a merchant because of his overall ethical behavior .

The first is perfectly legitimate because the customers are defending their own interest. The main ethical consideration is to adequately document that price-gouging is actually present; otherwise, the boycott baselessly deprives a merchant of his livelihood. Another relevant consideration is equity: if many merchants are equally culpable for a particular behavior, it’s not fair to arbitrarily single out one for action.

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The Jewish Ethicist: Upcoding

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The Jewish Ethicist: Upcoding

from aish.com

By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem

Q. Insurers insist that every procedure be reimbursed according to its code. But sometimes a procedure that usually takes five minutes takes an hour. Can’t I record a higher-level code in order to get fair recompense?

A. The practice you describe is often called “upcoding” – recording a code for a procedure more expensive than the one the patient needs. It is recognized as a form of insurance fraud, or if the insurer is the government as a form of defrauding the government.

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7 Biblical Secrets to Business Success

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7 Biblical Secrets to Business Success

from aish.com by Bob Diener

After graduating law school and practicing for two years, I launched an airline ticket business which was quickly profitable. I sold that business in 1991 and then launched Hotel Reservations Network which became hotels.com. I sold the balance of my interest in hotels.com in 2003 and after a five year non-compete launched getaroom.com. Recently during our weekly Friday night dinner discussion, I mentioned that getaroom.com is growing and profitable and reached some new milestones.

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The Jewish Ethicist – Discounts

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The Jewish Ethicist – Discounts

from aish.com by: Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem

Q. I have a standard price list, but I’m pretty liberal about giving discounts when I need to make a sale. Is this a problem?

A. Adam Smith noted that economic progress is dependent “a certain propensity in human nature,” namely “the propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another”. After all, Smith notes; “Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog.”

However, people nowadays seem to prefer facing predictable prices over having to haggle over every exchange, and so most sellers today have standard prices which apply equally to all customers.

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Jewish Business Ethics: Jewish Law and Copyright

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Jewish Business Ethics: Jewish Law and Copyright

from jewishvirtuallibrary.org by Rabbi Israel Schneider

In our highly advanced technological age, the duplication of original works of authorship has become almost effortless. While at one time, manuscripts or books had to be copied laboriously by hand, it is now possible within several minutes to produce high quality reproductions of entire works. Similarly, audio tapes, videos, and computer programs can all be reproduced quickly, effectively, and cheaply. The purpose of this essay is to explore the halachic implications of making or using unauthorized duplications and to inquire if there are precedents which could serve as grounds for the protection of an author’s or creator’s proprietary rights.

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The Jewish Ethicist: Complaints

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The Jewish Ethicist: Complaints

from aish.com by: Rabbi Dr. Asher Meier, Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem

Q. I have a worker who is always complaining. Maybe if he is so unhappy I should just let him go.

A. It is true that an unhappy worker can be bad for both the worker and the workplace. In one place the Talmud likens the matchmaking process to the splitting of the sea at the Exodus (1); in another place it likens making a living to the splitting of the sea. (2) Perhaps this is a hint that finding the suitable workplace is a little bit like finding a suitable spouse. If the worker is unhappy, maybe that means that his “workplace made in heaven” is really someplace else.

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Jewish Medical Ethics: The Role of a Physician in Jewish Law

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Jewish Medical Ethics: The Role of a Physician in Jewish Law

from jewishvirtuallibrary. org by Daniel Eiseneberg M.D.

The Torah states: “I am the L-rd that heals you!” (Exodus 15:26) This verse implies that G-d does not need man to cure the afflictions that He creates. If so, by what virtue does man attempt to “short circuit” His will and attempt his own meager cures? Does man have any right to heal at all, and if he does, are there any limitations on how it may be accomplished. Is every action done in the name of therapy justified, solely because a physician performs it? Because Judaism recognizes the enormity of these questions, it requires direct permission from G-d to permit the practice of medicine and carefully circumscribes the limits of medical practice. Fortunately, the duty to save one’s fellow man is well grounded in the Torah and the restrictions are discussed at length in our codes of Jewish law.

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King David Award and Jewish Heritage Month at the U.S. Capitol

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King David Award and Jewish Heritage Month at the U.S. Capitol
I have never been more proud to be part of the Aish family as I was on this past May 3rd. Aish International and the Jewish Heritage Commission held the annual King David Award ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. This event is part of Jewish Heritage month which was proclaimed by President George W. Bush in 2008 and reaffirmed by Presidents Barack Obama in 2014 and Donald J. Trump in April of this year.

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Get the Job Done

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Originally Published by Rabbi Boruch Rabinowitz on aish.com

I met Rav Noach in August of 1977 at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem. There were about 25 guys learning in the yeshiva back then. He told me, “Stay, stick around and I’ll teach you wisdom. Our Torah is beautiful.”

I said to him, “But Rabbi, I don’t want to be religious and I want to still enjoy my life!”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “If you like it too much here, we’ll kick you out. And about enjoying life — we’ll teach you how to really enjoy life.”

I was definitely intrigued and decided to stick around for a week. At least I could tell my friends that I visited a yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The first class I went to, Rav Noach asked us, “If the Jewish people were in danger, would you give up your life for the Jewish people?”

He then went on to say, “If you are willing to give up your life for the Jewish people then you should live for them, and if you live for the Jewish people you might as well enjoy it.”

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