The Jewish Ethics of Wealth and Poverty: What are our Obligations to the Poor and the World?

By Rabbi Dr. Richard Freund, Maurice Greenberg Professor of Jewish History and Director, the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford

 

I was surprised to read recently about the existence of "biblical money codes." The idea of biblical codes are well known to Jews, Christians and even Muslims who have been told by pseudo-statisticians for decades that God has somehow embedded "secret" codes into the Hebrew text of the Bible which have only recently been unraveled by computers.

 

Focus: Wealth and Poverty

by Steven A. Stier

 

In this issue of Beth Elearning, we explore the topic of "Wealth and Poverty." We are privileged to offer an original article by congregant, Rabbi Dr. Richard Freund. In addition, we've selected a number of articles from the Internet for your consideration.

Mollie Griminger, now 14 years old, wrote this article a year ago about how her Jewish upbringing shapes her views of wealth and poverty. Mollie, a talented young writer, was born in Hartford, and was previously a member of Beth El Temple with her family. She, and parents Ann Doberman and Joe Griminger, now reside in Maryland.

(huffingtonpost.com, originally posted on KidSpiritonline.com)

This essay, which was originally published by Rabbi Noah Weinberg on Aish.com, frames the issue of wealth and Jews' responsibility to others within the context of our post 9/11 world.  

Written by Rabbi Berel Wein, this terrific piece talks about the relative nature of money and wealth, Jewish innovation in early economies, and why poverty is not seen as a virtue by Jews.