Is Profit the Only Factor?
by: Prof. Daniel Shalit

 Jewish economy must obviously be based upon the most modern technological advances. Parallel to that, we must gain a new perspective on the ultimate goal of any economic venture. In our day, the goal of any company is only monetary. A business is opened in order to make a monetary profit. In Israeli law today, it is against the law for a company not to be profitable. If the company is not profitable, the director must be fired.

By contrast, the primary goal of a Jewish company should be to produce its goods according to the laws of the Torah. This includes the laws of Shabbat, all financial transactions, materials, kashrut, etc. In addition, close attention must be paid to the human element – the interaction of the staff and how they interface with the public that they serve. Third, all capital raised locally and in the international market must be raised according to Torah law. When all these principles are applied, there will also be financial gain.

In Biblical times the Israeli economy was based upon agriculture. Since then we have experienced the industrial revolution, and currently are in the midst of the technological era, which has revolutionized not only the economy, but also how we raise capital.

Although our economy is no longer based upon agriculture, we must find a way to synthesize elements of the agricultural economy into our current system. In Biblical times, land was parceled out to each tribe. In our day, land can be leased until the Jubilee to those people who commit themselves to working the land.