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 estern
civilization advocates the division of the world
into the "secular" and the "religious." People
drawn to the spiritual realm are encouraged to
reject involvement in worldly affairs, thereby
abandoning involvement in the material realm to
the morally unrefined. The Torah rejects this
polarization and envisions "a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation" which will sanctify all aspects
of national existence through the molding of the
manifold dimensions of public and private life
into a harmonious union with the Divine will.
In
the spirit of the Torah's directive to sanctify
all of life, Darche Noam Institutions has for
the past three years sponsored a three day Yarchei
Kallah devoted to exploring the Torah's wisdom
on topics directly related to real, everyday,
this world, living. This year's program was entitled,
"The Jew in the Marketplace" and dealt with Jewish
business ethics.
In
the early stages of planning the conference I
had called Rabbi Dr. Meir Tamari, one of the world's
experts on the subject, to ask him to be a featured
speaker. He agreed immediately, with one condition-
that I come speak to him about the program to
make sure that it would be done "right." I realized
that he had strong feelings about the subject
and serious reservations about the usual treatment
it was accorded. Rabbis Karlinsky, Kwass, Yehoshua
Looks and I met with Dr. Tamari in his Telse-Stone
home. His uniquely passionate approach to the
issue and his absolute honesty were so striking
that, on the spot, we suggested a co-sponsorship
with his Center for Business Ethics and Social
Responsibility at The Jerusalem College of Technology-Machon
Lev.
Each
day's program combined three different learning
modes. The morning began with a guest lecture.
The lecture was followed by an hour and a half
of active learning with a chavruta, in the tried
and true Darche Noam tradition. The learning with
a chavruta was followed by shiurim given by the
faculty of both sponsoring institutions. The afternoon
program consisted of case-studies where prominent
business leaders presented scenarios of halachic-ethical
dilemmas based on their "real-life" experiences.
Our
guest lecturers included Dr. Meir Tamari; Rabbi
Yitzchok Adlerstein, noted scholar of Yeshiva
of Los Angeles; Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet, prominent
historian and Senior Lecturer from the Gruss Kollel;
and Rabbi Emanuel Quint, well-known authority
on Jewish civil law and founder and dean of the
Jerusalem Institute of Jewish Law. The business
leaders who presented case-studies were our very
own Yehoshua Looks, former president of the international
division of Edison Brothers Stores; Sholom Menorah,
founder of Netmedia Corporation; and Bob Rosenschein,
founder of Accent Software. The halachic-ethical
dilemmas presented ranged from the discovery of
corruption in a subsidiary office in Taiwan, to
sabotaging the competitor. s product (in a quasi-legal
faction), to weighing conflicting responsibilities
in deciding who not to pay during a cash flow
crisis: the employees, the banks, or the vendors.
These sessions were extremely stimulating as the
presenters opened themselves to comment and criticism
from the audience. Each day a different rav-posek
responded to the scenario, providing the Torah's
guidance. The three halachic authorities were
Rav Shmuel Herschler, Rav Zev Leff and Rabbi Dr.
Meir Tamari.
The
three days were capped by a thought - provoking
panel discussion on "The Image of the Orthodox
Jew in the Marketplace." The panel consisted of
Pinchas Landau, former economics affairs editor
for the Jerusalem Post; Jonathan Rosenblum, founding
editor of the English edition of Yated Neeman
and staff writer of a weekly op-ed column in the
Jerusalem Post; and Rabbi Dr. Tamari. Our Rosh
Yeshiva, Rabbi Karlinsky moderated the discussion,
displaying his inimitable engaging style. What
could have descended into a sparring session instead
was elevated into an acknowledgment of real problems
bein adam l. chavero, coupled with a discussion
of constructive solutions.
This
year's Yarchei Kallah attracted a record 100 participants.
The David and Fela Shapell Campus vibrated with
energy as the men and women pondered, contemplated,
studied, debated and critiqued. Our Sages tell
us that Jerusalem was laid desolate due to our
minimalist standards (shurat hadin) in civil law
, rather than striving for the heights of ethical
excellence (lifnim mishurat hadin). We are confident
that our Yarchei Kallah has played some role in
ameliorating this situation and thereby contributing
toward the ultimate and complete rebuilding of
our Holyland.
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