Bibliography: Worker Rights and Jewish Law & Tradition
Reader response from Arieh Lebowitz

Dear Colleagues, shalom:

I have recently seen your most interesting discussion of trade unions and worker rights from halachic perspectives. May I please add to the discussion. Our organization, the Jewish Labor Committee, published a brief (13 pp.) booklet entitled LABOR RIGHTS IN THE JEWISH TRADITION, by Michael S. Perry, then Executive Director of our organization. (The booklet was published approximately five years ago.) It examines a number of "traditional" worker rights and how these are treated within halachic texts and frameworks. I would be glad to share copies of this with you if you would like. There are a number of additional sources that you might wish to consider - and your students might consider - when pursuing this subject, which has sadly been underexplored in recent times. I would also ask that you consider including them in your web page's bibliography. You may also wish to share this bibliography with colleagues and students in Israel as well as in Diaspora communities ... please distribute the list as you think appropriate. {I've taken the liberty of appending them below.}
Sincerely, Arieh Lebowitz /
Director of Public Information Jewish Labor Committee
25 East 21st Street
New York, NY 10010

anon., "Labor," ENCYCLOPEDIA JUDAICA Vol. 10, Keter Publishing House (Jerusalem, Israel 1972)

Ayali, Meir, "Labor and Work in the Talmud and Midrash," [Hebrew] Yad La-Talmud (Ramat Gan, 1984)

Baron, Salo, "Economics and Social Justice," in "THE ECONOMIC VIEWS OF MAIMONIDES" in ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL JEWISH HISTORY, ed. Arthur Hertzberg & Leon A. Feldman, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, 1972)

------- "Free Labor," op. cit. , pp. 248-260. Bazak, J., comp. JEWISH LAW AND JEWISH LIFE: SELECTED RABBINICAL RESPONSA (pp. 75, 80), Union of American Hebrew Congregations (New York, NY 1979)

Bleich, J. David, "Organized Labor;" "Tenure," in CONTEMPORARY HALAKHIC PROBLEMS (Vol. 1), KTAV Publishing House, Inc. / Yeshiva University Press (New York, NY 1977)

----"Severance Pay;" "Teachers' Unions," in CONTEMPORARY HALAKHIC PROBLEMS (Vol. 2), KTAV Publishing House, Inc. / Yeshiva University Press (New York, NY 1983)

----"Organized Labor - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 13, no. 1 (New York, NY 1972)

---- "Physicians' Fees - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 19, no. 4 (New York, NY 1981)

---- "Physicians' Strikes - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 21, no. 3 (New York, NY 1984)

---- "Rabbinic Contracts - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 11, no. 3 (New York, NY 1970)

---- "Severance Pay: Hired Servant or Independent Contractor - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 17, no. 3 (New York, NY 1978)

---- "Severance Pay," in Jewish Law Annual 3 (1980)

---- "Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature [particularly p. 126, Tenure on p. 129, and Employment During the Post-Nuptual Week on p. 136]," in Tradition 14, no. 4 (New York, NY 1974)

---- "Teachers' Unions - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 19, no. 3 (New York, NY 1984)

---- "Teachers' Unions," in Jewish Law Annual (1987)

---- "Tenure: A Review of a Rabbinical Court Judgment," in Jewish Law Annual 1 (1978)

Blumenfield, Samuel M., LABOR IN THE BIBLE, Dissertation Hebrew Union College (Cincinnati 1930)

Cronbach, Abraham, "Labor," UNIVERSAL JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA (New York, NY 1939-1943)

-----------------------,

"Social Thinking in the Sefer Hasidim," in Hebrew Union College Annual 22 (1949)

Elon, Menachem, "Ha'anakah (Severance Pay)," in ENCYCLOPEDIA JUDAICA Vol. 7, Keter Publishing (Jerusalem, Israel 1972)

Fasman, Oscar Z., "The Attitude of the Hafetz Hayyim toward Labor," in ISRAEL OF TOMORROW, ed. by Leo Jung, Herald Square Press, Inc. (New York, NY 1946), pp. 117-184

Federbush, Simon, THE JEWISH CONCEPT OF LABOR, Torah Culture Department, Jewish Agency and HaPoel haMizrachi of America (New York, NY 1956)

Fendel, Zechariah, "Employer-Employee Relations [p. 77];" "The Abusive Employer [p. p. 80]," in THE HALACHA AND BEYOND: PROVIDING AN INSIGHT INTO THE FISCAL ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TORAH JEW, AS WELL AS AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF THE BITACHON CONCEPT, Hashkafah Publications (New York, NY 1983)

Heinemann, Joseph H., "The Status of the Laborer in Jewish Law and Society in the Tannaitic Period," in Hebrew Union College Annual 25 (1954)

Hirsch, Richard G., "Labor - Rights and Responsibilities," in THE WAY OF THE UPRIGHT: A JEWISH VIEW OF ECONOMIC JUSTICE [pp. 36-62], Union of American Hebrew Congregations (New York, NY 1973)

Horowitz, George, "Hired Workers/Further Rules Favorable to the Worker," in THE SPIRIT OF JEWISH LAW, Central Book Company (New York, NY 1963)

Jacobs, Louis, "Strikes," in WHAT DOES JUDAISM SAY ABOUT ...? [pp. 309 - 310], Keter Publishing (Jerusalem 1973)

Jakobovits, I., "The Right to Strike," in STUDIES IN TORAH JUDAISM: JEWISH LAW FACES MODERN PROBLEMS, Yeshiva University Dept. of Special Publications (New York, NY 1965)

---- "The Right to Strike - Review of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 5, no. 2 [p. 273] (1963)

---- "Strikes - Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 7, no. 4/8, no. 1 [p. 98] (1965/1966)

---- "Workmen's Compensation and Severance Pay - Review of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature," in Tradition 4, no. 2 [p. 260] (1962)

Jung, Leo, "The Workingman," in HUMAN RELATIONS IN JEWISH LAW, Jewish Education Press / Board of Jewish Education, Inc. (New York, NY 1967/1970) [Reprinted in BETWEEN MAN AND MAN, Jewish Education Press / Board of Jewish Education, Inc. (New York, NY 1976)]

-----. "Labor in Jewish Law," in BUSINESS ETHICS AND JEWISH LAW, Hebrew Publishing Company in conjunction with the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York (New York, NY 1987)

Katz, Mordechai, PROTECTION OF THE WEAK IN THE TALMUD, Columbia University Press (New York, NY 1925)

Klagsbrun, Francine, "Work, Wealth and Philanthropy," in VOICES OF WISDOM: JEWISH IDEAS AND ETHICS FOR EVERYDAY LIVING, Pantheon Books (New York, NY 1980)

Kogan, Michael S., "Liberty and Labor in the Jewish Tradition," in Ideas, A Journal of Contemporary Jewish Thought (Spring 1975)

Kohler, Kaufmann, "Labor," in Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 7, p. 590 (New York, NY 1901-1906)

Levine, Aaron, FREE ENTERPRISE AND JEWISH LAW: ASPECTS OF JEWISH BUSINESS ETHICS, KTAV (New York, NY 1980)

----, "Jewish Business Ethics in Contemporary Society," in BUSINESS ETHICS AND JEWISH LAW, by Leo Jung, Hebrew Publishing Company in conjunction with the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York (New York, NY 1987)

----, "Labor Mobility: A Halakhic View, in Gesher 5, no. 1 [pp. 88-105] (1976) Levinthal, Israel H., "The Attitude of Judaism Toward Labor," in JUDAISM: AN ANALYSIS AND AN INTERPRETATION, Funk and Wagnalls (New York & London, 1935)

----, "The Attitude of Judaism Toward the Laborer," in JUDAISM: AN ANALYSIS AND AN INTERPRETATION, Funk and Wagnalls (New York & London, 1935)

Neusner, Jacob, THE ECONOMICS OF THE MISHNAH, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL 1990)

Reines, Chaim W., "Labor in Rabbinical Responsa," in ISRAEL OF TOMORROW, ed. by Leo Jung, Herald Square Press, Inc. [p. 141] (New York, NY 1946)

----, "The Jewish Conception of Work," in Judaism, 8 [pp. 329-337] (1959) Riemer, Jack, "The Jewish view of work (Avodah), in Jewish Heritage (Summer 1962), p. 21-23

Sacks, Eliot, "Teachers and the right to strike," L'eylah (New Year 5746), p. 16-17 [London] Sacks, J[onathan?], "Halacha: Industrial Relations in Jewish Law," in Ha-Zvi 13 [p. 13] (Mizrahi Journal) (London Purim 5739)

Schnall, David J., BY THE SWEAT OF YOUR BROW: REFLECTIONS ON WORK AND THE WORKPLACE IN CLASSICAL JEWISH THOUGHT, KTAV (New York, NY 2001)

Shapira, Abraham, "Work," in CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RELIGIOUS THOUGHT, by Cohen, Arthur A. and Mendes-Flohr, Paul, The Free Press (New York, 1987)

Sicher, Gustav, "Concept of Work in the Jewish Faith," in JEWISH STUDIES: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF G. SICHER, ed. by R. Iltis, Council of Jewish Religious Communities [p. 5] (Prague 1955)

Silverman, William B., "The Dignity of Labor," in THE SAGES SPEAK, Jason Aronson, Inc. (Northvale, NJ and London, England 1989)

Sulzberger, Mayer, "The Status of Labor in Ancient Israel," in Jewish Quarterly Review 13 (1922-23), p. 245-302, 397-459; reprinted separately (Philadelphia PA 1923)

Tamari, Meir, IN THE MARKETPLACE: JEWISH BUSINESS ETHICS, Targum Press (Southfield, MI 1991)

-------, WITH ALL YOUR POSSESSIONS: JEWISH ETHICS AND ECONOMIC LIFE, The Free Press (New York, NY 1987)

Vorspan, ALbert, and Eugene J. Lipman, "Labor," in JUSTICE AND JUDAISM, Union of American Hebrew Congregations (New York, NY: 1956)

Warhaftig, Shillem, "Labor Law," in ENCYCLOPEDIA JUDAICA Vol. 10, Keter Publishing House (Jerusalem 1972)

Weisfeld, Israel H., "LABOR LEGISLATION IN THE BIBLE AND TALMUD, Yeshiva University (New York, NY 1974)

Wigoder, Geoffrey, "Labor and Labor Laws," in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JUDAISM, [2002]

Wolkinson, Benjamin W., "Labor and the Jewish Tradition - A Reappraisal," in Jewish Social Studies Vol. 40 no. 3/4 (S/F 1978)

Woll, Jonathan S., THE EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP IN SHULCHAN-ARUCH Dissertation Hebrew Union College (Cincinnatin, OH 1976)

Wolsey, Louis, "The Historic Attitude of Judaism to Labor," in CCAR Yearbook Vol. 38 (1928) [pp. 311-343] Zipperstein, Edward, BUSINESS ETHICS AND JEWISH LAW, KTAV (New York, NY 1987)

This listing is a `work-in-progress' - additional suggested entries welcome.

Jewish Labor Committee
25 East 21st Street New York, NY 10010