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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review August 29, 2003 / 1 Elul, 5763

How you play the game (of life)

By Rabbi Berel Wein


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A little known Biblical concept about fair competition in business — and life in general


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | Competition is an accepted condition in our society. In commerce, sports, government, and the arts and sciences, competition is the fuel for the engine that drives our society forward. Without competition we would be at the mercy of monopolists, cartels and a controlled society that would stifle all progress, efficiency or incentive for personal reward.

The Talmud itself speaks highly of competition, at least in educational and scholarly matters, when it states "competition amongst scholars increases wisdom and knowledge." Nevertheless, like all seemingly positive attributes, competition should have its limits. Unrestrained, cutthroat, vicious competition is immoral, wrong, and eventually counter-productive.

This week's Torah (Bible) reading, "Shoftim," introduces the prohibition against the concept of "hasagas gvul" — unfair and immoral competition. Literally, the Hebrew words mean "overstepping or illegally encroaching on one's neighbor's border." Just as it is obviously wrong to move one's border fence to gobble up a piece of ground of the neighboring lot, so too is it wrong to engage in unfair competitive practices in order to injure someone's business to benefit one's own enterprise.

As naive and altruistic as this may appear at first glance, there is sound social and economic sense behind this Torah policy. The Torah is interested in creating a fair, just, harmonious and compassionate society. Unfair competitive practices, when practiced regularly, openly and without shame, prevent the achievement of such a society.

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In the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, the great philosopher, poet and biblical commentator of the twelfth century, "for such unfair competition [such as border encroachment] automatically leads to quarrels, violence and even murder." Rapacious economic practices in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries led to the reactions of socialism, communism and other state-controlled economies in the twentieth century.

The prophecy of ibn Ezra of "quarrels, violence and even murder" was thus fulfilled in front of our horrified eyes. Excess begets excess and greedy, exploitative, unfair competition begets unfair state-controlled, repressive monopoly and tyranny.

Thus the Torah frowns on negative remarks regarding competitors' products and personalities. Negative advertising, whether in politics, commercial services or manufactured products, is not allowed and is definitely a form of loshon harah — evil speech.

One may describe accurately and even boast about the wonderful and unique qualities of one's own products or services, but it is unfair competition to knock the other person's. I know that this sounds strange to twentieth century American consumers, who are bombarded by telemarketing, incessant advertising and a terrible amount of negative competition. But Jews and their Torah understanding of life always were bidden to swim upstream against the current.

I think that the prohibition about "encroaching on the border" affects many areas of life. Following this precept guarantees the sanctity of privacy, the holiness of confidentiality and the civility necessary for a fair, civil and trustworthy marketplace. There is unfair competition in families and institutions for time and attention, for wealth and opportunity, even for love and caring. In fact, it is probably within the family circle, at the very beginnings of life itself that the seeds of destructive competition are planted.

A wise parent is aware of the dangers of pitting sibling against sibling, of unfair comparisons of abilities and attainments. It is the individual, unique human being that counts, and though competition in human life is unavoidable, the destructive aspects of competition can and should be controlled and minimized.

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Rabbi Berel Wein is one of Jewry's foremost historians and founder of the Destiny Foundation. He has authored over 650 tapes, books and videos which you can purchase at RabbiWein.com. Comment by clicking here or calling 1-800-499-WEIN (9346).

© 2003, Rabbi Berel Wein