Something interesting we can learn from the effects that emancipation had on the Jewish people was the number of responses the Jewish mind devised to address the problem. One of those responses was the Musar movement, which means «moral conduct with discipline.»

The Musar movement sought to develop ethical conduct based on the values ​​of the Torah. It was founded in Lithuania by Rabbi Israel Salanter (1810-1883), who taught that ethical conduct based on the commandments of the Torah was one of the fundamental goals of the Jewish people. His work focused especially on teaching Jewish ethics in business. He said that just as we verify that a food item is kosher, in the same way one should verify with equal care that the money one earns was made kosher, that is, ethically.

Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz tells us in “Shaar Haotiyot”: “The mezuzah we have placed on the doorpost of our house is connected to the things we bring into and take out of our homes. We gather in our homes the wealth that God has bestowed upon us, and it must have been obtained honestly and in good faith, as befits a house where God’s law is inscribed on its doorpost. This is the secret to conducting our business ethically. In other words, what one brings into the house, the livelihood one earns, must be obtained ethically, and what we take out, how we spend our money, must also be ethical.”

The word “kosher” or “kashrut” comes from the Hebrew root “kaf-shin-reish,” which means proper, permitted, or correct. There are over 100 commandments in the Torah related to the kashrut of our money, many more than those related to the kashrut of food. For example, our sages teach us that the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal,” not only refers to the act of stealing a material good from someone, but also extends its meaning to the prohibition of acting falsely or fraudulently in matters of commerce and business.

In Leviticus, there are several verses that regulate ethical conduct in business: 19:35-36 says: “You shall not do unfairly in judgments, in measuring the measure of length, weight, or capacity. You shall have just balances, just weights, and just measures.” 25:14 says: “And whether you sell to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not defraud your brother.” 25:17 says, «Let no man deceive his neighbor,» and 19:14 says, «You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind,» which we interpret as not abusing someone who is in a disadvantaged position compared to us.

The Musar movement brought new life to traditional Judaism, combining the intellectual study of the Lithuanian yeshivot with the spirituality of the Hasidim. It served as a bond between the two groups in the face of emancipation. Its ethical message remains relevant to this day, not only in business but also in daily life. So, how kosher is your business?

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: The Jewish Religion by Louis Jacobs, Encyclopaedia Judaica, and other sources.