Home
In this issue

Oct. 10, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The limitations of scientific miracles

Caroline B. Glick: Lebanon on the brink --- and why it matters

Oct. 8, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: The day when the sane talk to themselves

Ana Veciana-Suarez: Many nonobservant Jews are finding religion

Oct. 7, 2008

Gary Rosenblatt: Of politics and prayer

Caroline B. Glick: The ironies of the West's collusion with the Arabs and Iran

Oct. 6, 2008

Rabbi Yitzchok R. Rubin: Mamma to the masses

Jonathan Tobin: Ahmadinejad Isn't Too Impressed

Oct. 3, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The 'living dead' are all around us

Caroline B. Glick: Olmert's parting blows

Oct. 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: Often customers looking for our competitor accidentally enter our store. Can we just serve them without comment?

Jonathan Tobin: Jewish pundit quiz on next year's news

Sept. 29, 2008

Rabbi Eli Gewirtz: Lehman Brothers and the Day of Judgment

Rabbi Leiby Burnham: Apples, Honey and You

Sept. 26, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The shofar and the Echo of Sinai

Caroline B. Glick: A road paved on reality

Sept. 24, 2008

Greg Crosby: Home for the Holy Days

Ethel G. Hofman: Rosh Hashanah Favorites: Old-fashioned taste, reduced calories

Sept. 23, 2008

Caroline Glick: Liberalism or lives!?

Michael Ledeen: Dear President Ahmadinejad

Sept. 22, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I gave a check to a local merchant, but it hasn't been cashed in months. Probably they lost it. Do I have to tell them?

Diana West: We are losing Europe to Islam

Sept. 19, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: On harvesting success

Caroline B. Glick: It is time to act

Sept. 18, 2008

Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Is camping the panacea to save Jewry from self-destruction?

Craig Gordon: Was SNL hilarity too much for Hillary?

Sept. 17, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: The Whole World Is Watching

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: East meets Southwest in this quick meal: MEXICAN-ASIAN TOSTADOS

Sept. 16, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. : Into the fire

Everything's Relative : Your Official Jewish Guide to the 2008 USA Presidential Election

Sept. 15, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Enabling risky behavior

Diana West: A day that will live in ... accommodating Islam

Sept. 11, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The skeleton in my closet

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein: Persecution and systematic destruction of Christians in the Middle East must be stopped

Sept. 10, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: There's Something About Sarah

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Who needs Chili's when you have these? Recipes for Mexican that taste great and are dietetic! Our commitment to freedom

Sept. 9, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Must counterinsurgency wars fail?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.:

Sept. 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract?

Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something

Sept. 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract?

Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review July 7, 2008 /4 Tamuz 5768

Duty to save gullible from themselves?

By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir


Printer Friendly Version

Email this article


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: Recently someone in our area started advertising a get-rich-quick scheme and is inviting interested people to an introductory meeting. Should I attend and try to debunk the scheme for the benefit of the gullible attendants?


A: Quick money-making schemes never lose their allure. While we are all aware that earning a good income generally requires time, energy and specialized ability, we also know that there are occasional lucky individuals who happen to be in the right place at the right time, and hope we may be one of them. I imagine that there may even be an occasional scheme which brings in more money from providing a useful service to customers than it eats up in fees collected from eager participants, though I must admit I have never actually encountered one.


There are many good reasons for you to try and bring an objective point of view to the revival-meeting atmosphere that tends to thrive in these meetings. From a Jewish point of view, you have the opportunity to save the leader from transgression, and to save the participants from a likely loss.


The Torah commands, "Don't hate your brother in your heart; surely reprove your fellow, and don't bear sin towards him" (Leviticus 10:17). The beginning of the verse tells us that if someone is doing a transgression we shouldn't just condemn them silently; we should try to rectify the situation. The middle of the verse tells us to admonish a transgressor, to try and convince him to refrain from wrongdoing. The end, "don't bear sin towards him", tells us to deliver reproof in a constructive manner that will not cause embarrassment.


So from this point of view there would certainly be some benefit in your attending the meeting, asking pointed questions that would possibly prevent the organizer from misleading the participants by withholding important information etc.


Another Torah command is, "Don't stand idly by the blood of your brother" (Leviticus 19:16). This commandment tells us to be proactive in preventing loss to our fellow man, and not to stand by idly if his welfare is in danger. Since the majority of participants in these schemes end up either losing money or causing losses to others, so this commandment is relevant to the situation you describe.


However, there are some opposing considerations as well. Note that the invitation is directed towards "interested people". This doesn't categorically exclude you; after all, if you conclude the idea has merit you may indeed be interested, and if it has no merit then your responsibility to warn is that much greater. But there is still a certain amount of subterfuge involved given that your interest is not your primary motive for attending, so this kind of activity should not be taken lightly.


Another, critical question is whether your presence will really achieve your goal. Will your questions be persuasive, or will they be countered by equally persuasive professional patter? It is likely that the participants are aware of the various reservations you would like to express, but for reasons ranging from gullibility to crazy optimism to desperation have decided to temporarily ignore them. Some may have rationally assessed the odds and decide that the endeavor is worth the risk, or may provide them with valuable experience in the school of hard knocks that will be worth the few hundred or thousand dollars they are putting at risk.


Finally, there is the danger of the slippery slope. You personally may be:

  • Fully convinced that the endeavor involves undisclosed risk to participants;

  • Determined to express your reservations in a constructive and not disruptive way;

  • Be solely motivated by concern for the spiritual and material welfare of the organizer and participants.


But encouraging this kind of voluntary activity will lend legitimacy to all kinds of disruptive activities. The last thing we all want is for gatherings of legitimate organizations to be routinely disrupted by rivals, protestors, provocateurs and so on. Our open democratic society gives us adequate alternative methods to express reservations; disruptive displays should remain an absolute last resort.


Our tradition has an expression for expressions of resistance that are legitimate only if they have completely pure motivations: haba limalech, ein morin ken: If someone comes to consult, we don't instruct people this way. (1) The directive will invariably be misused by someone with improper motives.


If you are firmly convinced that your intervention will be helpful and are willing to devote the time and energy, then it seems to me that the most constructive and least disruptive action would be to stand outside the gathering area and offer prospective participants a flyer. This could be a printed page which states briefly your reservations regarding the proposal (including any verifiable negative information) together with questions you suggest they ask. This is likely to achieve any positive contribution your presence would make, without any of the negative disruption you would risk with your presence.

SOURCES: (1) Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 82a.

ARCHIVES

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration, is Research Director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, Jerusalem College of Technology. To comment or pose a question, please click here.

THE JEWISH ETHICIST, NOW IN BOOK FORM

You've enjoyed his columns on JWR for years. Now the Jewish Ethicist has culled his most intriguing — and controversial — offerings in book form.
HARDCOVER
PAPERBACK
Sales help fund JWR.









© 2008, The Jewish Ethicist is produced by the JCT Center for Business Ethics