The Book of Jewish Values A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living

by Telushkin, Joseph

• ISBN13: 9780609603307
• ISBN10: 0609603302
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-22
• Publisher: Harmony

Summary

InThe Book of Jewish Values, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin has combed the Bible, the Talmud, and the whole spectrum of Judaism's sacred writings to give us a manual on how to lead a decent, kind, and honest life in a morally complicated world. Telushkin speaks to the major ethical issues of our time, issues that have, of course, been around since the beginning. He offers one or two pages a day of pithy, wise, and easily accessible teachings designed to be put into immediate practice. The range of the book is as broad as life itself: The first trait to seek in a spouse (Day 17) When, if ever, lying is permitted (Days 71-73) Why acting cheerfully is a requirement, not a choice (Day 39) What children don't owe their parents (Day 128) Whether Jews should donate their organs (Day 290) An effective but expensive technique for curbing your anger (Day 156) How to raise truthful children (Day 298) What purchases are always forbidden (Day 3) In addition, Telushkin raises issues with ethical implications that may surprise you, such as the need to tip those whom you don't see (Day 109), the right thing to do when you hear an ambulance siren (Day 1), and why wasting time is a sin (Day 15). Whether he is telling us what Jewish tradition has to say about insider trading or about the relationship between employers and employees, he provides fresh inspiration and clear guidance for every day of our lives.

Author Biography

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, spiritual leader and scholar, is the author of <i>Jewish Literacy</i>, the most widely read book on Judaism of the past two decades. Another of his books, <i>Words That Hurt, Words That Heal</i>, was the motivating force behind Senators Joseph Lieberman and Connie Mack's 1996 Senate Resolution #151 to establish a "National Speak No Evil Day" throughout the United States. Rabbi Telushkin serves as a senior associate of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and is the rabbi of the Los Angeles-based Synagogue for the Performing Arts. He lives with his family in New York City and lectures regularly throughout the United States.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. VII
Introduction	p. 1
On Hearing a Siren	p. 3
"Let Your Fellow's Money Be as Precious to You as Your Own"	p. 4
The Purchase That Is Always Forbidden	p. 6
"What Would God Want Me to Do?"	p. 8
Be Generous Even When Your Instincts Are Lazy	p. 9
When You're Tempted to Cheat	p. 10
Shabbat	p. 11
Give Cheerfully	p. 11
When a Person Says "I'm Hungry"	p. 13
Don't Play Favorites	p. 14
Don't Make Your Family Afraid of You	p. 15
Support Political Asylum	p. 17
Bless Your Children	p. 18
Shabbat	p. 20
Don't Waste Time	p. 21
"Stay Away from a Bad Neighbor"	p. 23
The First Trait to Look for in a Spouse	p. 25
"Love Your Wife as Yourself"	p. 26
Respect Your In-Laws	p. 27
Don't Speak Unless You Have Something to Say	p. 29
Shabbat	p. 30
If You Have a Bad Temper	p. 31
If You Have a Bad Temper (2)	p. 33
Find Excuses for Behavior That Seems Unkind	p. 34
"Judge the Whole of a Person Favorably"	p. 36
Return Lost Objects	p. 37
"As Long as the Candle Is Burning..."	p. 39
Shabbat	p. 40
Don't "Steal" Another Person's Mind	p. 40
Who Is Wise?	p. 42
The Special Obligation to Visit and Help People, Particularly Poor People, Who Are Sick	p. 44
Visiting the Sick: Seven Suggestions	p. 45
A Gynecologist from New Jersey, a Lawyer from Brooklyn	p. 48
Sharing Helpful News	p. 49
Shabbat	p. 51
Is a Jew Permitted to Smoke?	p. 51
When Not Giving Charity Is the Highest Charity	p. 54
Give Money When Times Are Hard	p. 56
Acting Cheerfully Is Not a Choice	p. 57
One Must Always Greet Another Person	p. 59
Should a Recovering Alcoholic Drink Wine on Shabbat and at the Seder?	p. 61
Shabbat	p. 63
The Jewish Ethics of Speech: What Is Lashon Hara?	p. 64
Don't Pass on Negative Comments	p. 65
The Sin That No One Ever Acknowledges Committing	p. 67
When Confrontation Is Desirable	p. 68
"You Shall Not Ill-Treat Any ... Orphan"	p. 70
Why Refraining from Gossiping Is an Important Challenge	p. 72
Shabbat	p. 73
Tzedaka Is More Than Charity	p. 74
Fight Fairly	p. 76
A Day Without Rumors; How About a Week?	p. 78
When Is It Appropriate to Pass On a Rumor?	p. 79
Some Thoughts for a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah	p. 80
Learning from the Bad to Do Good	p. 82
Shabbat	p. 84
Love the Stranger	p. 84
The Torah on the Blind and the Deaf	p. 86
Standing Up for Justice	p. 87
Don't Buy Products Produced by Exploited Workers	p. 88
Everybody Deserves a "Tenk You"	p. 89
The Need for Moral Imagination	p. 90
Shabbat	p. 91
"One Who Learns from His Companion a Single Chapter"	p. 92
Cite Your Sources	p. 93
Who Is Rich?	p. 94
Enjoy, Enjoy	p. 95
"Keep Far Away from Falsehood"	p. 97
"What Good Thing Happened to Me This Week?"	p. 98
Shabbat	p. 99
When, If Ever, Is It Permitted to Lie? (1): When Life Is at Stake	p. 100
When, If Ever, is It Permitted to Lie? (2): Judaism and White Lies	p. 102
When, If Ever, Is It Permitted to Lie? (3): Lies Told for Reasons of Humility, Privacy, and Not to Harm Another	p. 104
Declaring a "Complaining Fast"	p. 106
The Most Unusual of Blessings	p. 107
Treating People Who Are Retarded with Respect	p. 109
Shabbat	p. 110
Don't Charge Interest	p. 111
Help Someone Laugh	p. 113
For Whom Was I Named?	p. 114
A Lifesaving Bribe	p. 115
The Little Indecencies That Reveal Character	p. 116
"The Most Beautiful Etrog I Have Ever Seen"	p. 118
Shabbat	p. 120
"Do Not Stand by While Your Neighbor's Blood Is Shed": The Requirement to Intervene	p. 120
When You Suspect Child Abuse	p. 122
Untamed Anger and the Death Of Love	p. 124
Be Fair to Your Enemy	p. 126
Don't Make People Tell You Lies	p. 127
"He Who Saves a Single Life It Is as If He Saved an Entire World"	p. 128
Shabbat	p. 130
Spend a Week Following Your Heart	p. 130
Don't Make Unrealistic Demands of People	p. 131
A Jewish View of Hunting	p. 133
Feed Your Animals Before Yourself	p. 135
Don't Spread Negative, but Irrelevant, Information About Someone You Dislike	p. 136
Don't Humiliate an Enemy	p. 137
Shabbat	p. 138
Pray for Someone Else Today	p. 139
Raising Your Child to Be a Mensch	p. 140
The Questions All Parents Should Ask Themselves	p. 142
"Just as Theft of Money Is Theft, So Is Theft of Time"	p. 143
What It Means to Sanctify God's Name	p. 145
The Special Obligation of Religous Jews to Sanctify God's Name	p. 147
Shabbat	p. 148
When Is the Best Time to Repent?	p. 149
Acknowledge Your Sin and Accept Responsibility	p. 151
Ask for Forgiveness Even When You're Not Fully in the Wrong	p. 152
Tipping Even Those Whose Faces You Don't See	p. 153
What If You Could Read Your Obituary Today?	p. 154
The Infinite Ways of Doing Good	p. 155
Shabbat	p. 157
"You Shall Not Place a Stumbling Block"	p. 157
The Nameless Person Behind the Counter	p. 160
Acts of Kindness (1): Looking Backward	p. 163
Acts of Kindness (2): Looking Ahead	p. 164
Acts of Kindness (3): Looking Ahead	p. 166
The Least Time to Spare, the Most Time to Give	p. 168
Shabbat	p. 169
God's Four Questions	p. 170
Do You Scream When You Should?	p. 172
Paying a Laborer's Wages Promptly	p. 173
What a Worker Owes His Employer	p. 174
What We Owe Our Siblings	p. 177
Anger: Three Thoughts Before You Explode	p. 178
Shabbat	p. 179
What Does It Mean to Honor and Revere Your Parents?	p. 180
What You Don't Owe Your Parents	p. 182
Escort Your Guests	p. 184
Two Pieces of Paper	p. 185
Read and Listen to Points of View with Which You Disagree	p. 186
It's Not Only What You Do for Your Parents That Counts--It's Your Attitude	p. 188
Shabbat	p. 189
"Educate a Child According to His Way"	p. 190
Don't Threaten Your Children with Physical Punishment	p. 192
Enter a Mourner's Home with Silence	p. 193
"Don't Take My Grief from Me"	p. 195
"You Shall Not Carry God's Name in Vain": An Unforgivable Sin	p. 197
When It's Good to Be a Fool	p. 199
Shabbat	p. 200
Helping Non-Jews	p. 201
Schedule Kindness into Your Day	p. 203
Don't Be a Pious Fool	p. 204
Don't Serve Liquor with an Overly Generous Hand	p. 206
True Hospitality: Did You Ask Your Wife?	p. 207
Don't Embarrass Your Guest, Don't Embarrass Your Children	p. 208
Shabbat	p. 209
When You Suspect Spousal Abuse	p. 210
An Abused Spouse: How You Can Help	p. 213
Maimonides' Advice: How to Change Negative Behavior	p. 215
The Unending Obligation to Be Kind	p. 217
"What's Hateful Unto You..."	p. 218
Not Everything That Is Thought Should Be Said	p. 219
Shabbat	p. 220
A Day of Kind Deeds	p. 221
An Expensive Technique for Overcoming Anger	p. 222
When You're Angry at Your Spouse: Putting Things into Perspective	p. 224
Treating Your Employees with Respect	p. 225
Abraham, the Model of Hospitality	p. 226
There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch	p. 228
Shabbat	p. 229
How Fear of God Can Make You a Better Person (1)	p. 230
How Fear of God Can Make You a Better Person (2)	p. 231
Express Gratitude to Your Parents	p. 233
When Your Mate and Your Parents Are in Conflict	p. 234
"From a Child Is Beautiful, Anything"	p. 236
"This Is the Most Delicious Muffin I Have Ever Tasted"	p. 237
Shabbat	p. 239
When You Hear That Someone's Taking a Long Trip, Make Sure They Take Along Some Extra Money	p. 240
Steady Giving	p. 241
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: What the Torah Says	p. 243
Can Veal Be Kosher?	p. 244
Should a Jew Wear Fur?	p. 246
When Giving Enough Is Not Enough	p. 248
Shabbat	p. 249
What Does the Sick Person Need?	p. 250
Should a Doctor or a Close Family Member Tell the Truth to a Person Who Is Dying?	p. 252
Is Your Work Sacred?	p. 255
Is Abortion Murder? Should a Woman's Right to Abortion Be Absolute?	p. 257
Should a Woman Have the Right to Do What She Wants with Her Body?	p. 260
Rabbi Aryeh Levine and the Mitzvah to Visit the Sick	p. 261
Shabbat	p. 263
Help Someone to Find a Spouse, Help Someone to Find Work	p. 264
Do Good...Now	p. 265
Teach Your Child Torah	p. 266
Teach Your Child the Value of Human Life	p. 268
A Pragmatic Reason for Forgiving Others	p. 270
Charity Is Not Enough	p. 271
Shabbat	p. 272
Find Work for the Developmentally Disabled	p. 273
An Employer Must Know How His Employees Live	p. 274
Confession and Your Neighbor's Soul	p. 275
How Can One Repent Who Has Committed the Ultimate and Unforgivable Sin?	p. 277
When a Jew Acts Dishonestly Toward a Non-Jew	p. 278
One Boss in a Million	p. 280
Shabbat	p. 281
Have You Written an Ethical Will?	p. 282
Three Traits That Reveal Your Character	p. 285
"Until the Day of One's Death"	p. 286
When the Old Become Frail	p. 288
Beyond the Letter of the Law	p. 289
Consult with Your Spouse, Consult with Your Friends	p. 291
Shabbat	p. 292
"The Dust of Forbidden Speech"	p. 293
A Twenty-Four-Hour Experiment	p. 294
Don't Bear a Grudge	p. 295
Picking Up Sumbling Blocks	p. 297
The Limits of Self-Sacrifice	p. 298
"Go and Gather the Feathers"	p. 299
Shabbat	p. 300
Make Sure You Have a Friend Who Can Criticize You	p. 301
Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, and the Need for a New Kind of Hero	p. 302
Start Your Day with Gratitude	p. 303
If You Have a Tendency to Complain About Others	p. 305
Respect Your Family's Privacy	p. 306
"What Does a Good Guest Say?"	p. 307
Shabbat	p. 308
Question to Ask Yourself Before You Criticize Another	p. 309
Knowing When to Step Aside	p. 311
When You've Judged Another Unfairly	p. 313
"Therefore Was Man Created Singly"	p. 315
"If Someone Wishes to Kill You, Get Up Early and Kill Him First"	p. 317
Be Conscious of the Goodness and Sweetness in Others	p. 318
Shabbat	p. 320
The Good That You Do Lives On	p. 321
When It's Right to Be Early	p. 322
"His Mercy Is Upon All His Works"	p. 323
Be Kind to Your Enemy's Animal	p. 325
"Seek Peace and Pursue It"	p. 327
On Loving Yourself	p. 328
Shabbat	p. 329
"There Is No Messenger in a Case of Sin"	p. 329
The Power of Goodness	p. 331
Teach Your Child a Profession	p. 333
Teach Your Child That What Matters Most to God Is Goodness	p. 334
Don't Give Away Too Much	p. 336
Can a Religious Person Be Cruel?	p. 338
Shabbat	p. 339
The Antidote to Arrogance	p. 340
Don't Pretend to Virtues You Don't Have	p. 341
"Love Your Neighbor": What Is the Neighbor's Responsibility?	p. 343
"Honor Your Father and Mother": The Surprising Wording of the Biblical Commandment	p. 345
If Parents Become Senile	p. 346
How to Learn Empathy	p. 347
Shabbat	p. 349
Don't Snap at Your Spouse	p. 349
Are You in an Abusive Relationship?	p. 351
Don't Be an Elitist	p. 352
Don't Encourage Your Children to Date Wealthy People	p. 354
The Painful, Challenging, Question Parents Must Ask Children	p. 355
Marriage Is Also Supposed to Be Fun	p. 356
Shabbat	p. 357
Rabbenu Gershom and the Prohibition Against Being a Snoop	p. 358
Be Generous with Power	p. 359
When Silence Is Golden	p. 361
Learn Even from Those with Whom You Disagree	p. 362
Revenge and the Command to Love Your Neighbor	p. 363
Who Is a Hero? A Jewish Perspective	p. 365
Shabbat	p. 366
Accidents Do Happen	p. 367
When an Accident Is No Accident	p. 368
Don't Be a Mitzvah Hero at Someone Else's Expense	p. 369
Speak Truth to Power	p. 370
Just How Much Are You Supposed to Fear God?	p. 372
Don't Mouth Pious Platitudes	p. 373
Shabbat	p. 374
Do a Favor...for Your Enemy	p. 375
Maimonides, Art Buchwald, and the Importance of Every Deed	p. 376
When You Have Been Sinned Against: Your Obligation	p. 378
A Nightly Prayer Before Going to Sleep	p. 380
Don't Let Your Child Humiliate Another Child	p. 382
What the Fifth Commandment Demands of Parents	p. 383
Shabbat	p. 384
Make Your Celebration a Cause for Everyone to Celebrate	p. 385
On Not Embarrassing the Recipient	p. 386
Is There Someone You're Ignoring Whom You Should Ask for Forgiveness?	p. 388
Don't Forgive on Other People's Behalf	p. 389
The Punishment of One Who Humiliates Another	p. 391
When You Can't Give Money	p. 393
Shabbat	p. 394
How to Avoid Giving in to Temptation	p. 394
When You're Tempted to Do Something Wrong	p. 395
When There Is No Shalom Bayit in Your Bayit	p. 397
When Jewish Law Permits a Person to Be Publicly Shamed	p. 398
The Limits of God's Forgiveness	p. 400
It's Not Enough to Be Nice, Timing Also Matters	p. 401
Shabbat	p. 402
Help Non-Jews as Well as Jews	p. 402
The Final Words a Jew Should Speak	p. 403
Should a Jew Donate His Organs?	p. 405
Listen ... Really Listen	p. 407
How Not to Teach Torah	p. 408
Charity, Idolatry, and Deafness	p. 409
Shabbat	p. 410
Sanctifying the Secular	p. 411
Don't Be a Racist	p. 412
Never Practice Ingratitude	p. 413
Raising Truthful Children	p. 414
Empathy Is Not Natural	p. 416
Express Your Gratitude to the People Nearest to You...Now	p. 418
Shabbat	p. 419
Learning to Say "I Need"	p. 420
When Anonymous Giving Is Important, and When It Is Not	p. 421
When Silence Is Criminal	p. 422
If You Learn That Someone Is Intending to Hurt Another	p. 423
"You Are Not as Good as You Think You Are, and the World Is Not as Bad as You Think It is"	p. 424
When Pious Words Are Irreligious	p. 426
Shabbat	p. 427
When a Half-Truth Becomes a Whole Lie	p. 427
Is Your Blood Redder?	p. 429
Should There Be a Limit to Parental Love?	p. 430
Teach Your Child Survival Skills	p. 431
The Most Perfect Act of Kindness	p. 432
A Ritual Way to Make Each of Your Children Feel Special	p. 433
Shabbat	p. 434
A Time for Silence	p. 435
When Praising Someone Is the Wrong Thing to Do	p. 436
You and Your Ex	p. 437
Solomon's Sword: How to Determine a Child's Best Interests	p. 438
The Special Obligation of Adoptive Parents	p. 440
Don't Speak Lashon Hara About Yourself	p. 441
Shabbat	p. 442
Learning to Keep Your Envy in Check	p. 443
Don't Get Used to Other People's Suffering	p. 445
What's Wrong with Your Life? What's Right?	p. 446
Shiva, the Final Act of Gratitude	p. 447
Repentance Is Good--Overrepentance Is Not	p. 448
Don't Stereotype Groups	p. 450
Shabbat	p. 451
Raising Your Children to Love Both Themselves and Others	p. 452
Watch Your ... Compliments	p. 453
When Legal Doesn't Equal Moral	p. 454
Using Your Evil Urge to Do Good	p. 455
Let Your Word, Not Your Oath, Be Your Bond	p. 457
Never Insult Another	p. 458
Shabbat	p. 460
When Is It Permitted to Pass On Negative Information About Another?	p. 461
Passing On Negative Information When a Couple Are Dating: The Four Guidelines of the Chaffetz Chayyin	p. 462
Telling Your Children "I'm Sorry"	p. 464
Make Time for Your Children	p. 466
"You Must Not Remain Indifferent"	p. 467
When You Learn Torah, Use It	p. 468
Shabbat	p. 470
One Who Calls Another Person by a Cruel Nickname	p. 471
When Anonymous Giving Is Not Good	p. 472
Do You Owe Your Children an Inheritance?	p. 474
"One Who Is Bashful Will Never Learn"	p. 476
Study Judaism Fifteen Minutes a Day...Starting Now	p. 478
Random Acts of Kindness	p. 479
Shabbat	p. 480
A Particularly Evil Form of Stealing	p. 481
A Husband's Obligations to His Wife	p. 482
Don't Insult Your Spouse	p. 483
Jews Shouldn't Be Cheap; Jewish Funerals Should Be	p. 484
A Law That Needs to Be Changed	p. 486
The Holiness of Laughter	p. 489
Shabbat	p. 490
Unfair Competition	p. 491
Would Jewish Ethics Permit a Jew to Own a Gun Store?	p. 492
Wronging with Words	p. 493
The Telephone as an Instrument for Good	p. 495
Torah Study and the Importance of Review	p. 497
A Week of Kindness, a Week of Gemilut Chesed	p. 498
Shabbat	p. 500
Your First Check for the New Year	p. 500
Topical Index	p. 502
Glossary of Hebrew Texts Cited	p. 504
Bibliography	p. 506
Index	p. 513
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Week 1, Day 1        
Sunday

On Hearing a Siren

What is your reaction when you are talking with a friend and your conversation is suddenly interrupted by the piercing wail of an ambulance siren? Is it pure sympathy for the person inside -- or about to be picked up by -- the ambulance, or do you feel some measure of annoyance? Similarly, how do you react when you are awakened from a deep sleep by a series of clanging fire trucks or the wail of a police car?

I am embarrassed to admit that, along with many others, my initial reaction to such noises is often impatience and annoyance rather than empathy. My friend Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, known throughout the Jewish world as "Reb Zalman," suggests that whenever we hear the sound of a passing ambulance we offer a prayer that the ambulance arrive in time. Similarly, whenever our sense of calm is interrupted by fire trucks, we should pray to God that the trucks arrive in time to save the endangered people and home. We should also pray that no firefighter be injured. And when we hear police sirens, we should implore God that the police respond in time to the emergency.

Reb Zalman's suggestion is profound. By accustoming ourselves to uttering a prayer at the very moment we feel unjustly annoyed, we become better, more loving people. The very act of praying motivates us to empathize with those who are suffering and in need of our prayers. Furthermore, imagine how encouraging it would be for those being rushed to a hospital to know that hundreds of people who hear the ambulance sirens are praying for their recovery.

Speaking to a Jewish group once in Baltimore, I shared Reb Zalman's suggestion. After my talk, several people commented on how moved they were by this idea, but one woman seemed particularly emotional when she spoke of this suggestion. When she was ten, she told me, she had been awakened from a deep sleep by passing fire trucks. It was almost one in the morning, and now, twenty-five years later, she still remembered her first response: it was so unfair that her sleep had been ruined.

The next morning she learned that her closest friend, a girl who lived only a few blocks away, had died in the fire. Ever since, she told me, whenever she hears fire trucks go by, she prays that they arrive at their destination in time.

Loving one's neighbor is usually carried out through tangible acts, by giving money or food to those in need, by stepping in and offering assistance to a neighbor who is ill, or by bringing guests into one's home. But sometimes loving is expressed through a prayer that connects us to our neighbor, even when we have no way of knowing just who our neighbor is.

Weeki 1, Day 3
Tuesday

The Purchase That Is Always Forbidden
One may not buy wool, milk, or kids from shepherds. Nor may one buy wood or fruit from the watchmen of orchards. . . . [Even in instances where it is permitted to buy something], in all cases in which the seller asks that the goods be hidden, it is forbidden [to make such a purchase]. . . .
-- Mishna, Bava Kamma 10:9
Common sense lies behind this ancient ruling. There is no way you can know for certain that the shepherds or watchmen have stolen the items from their employers, but common sense suggests that if they are offering for sale precisely those items they are paid to guard, they have probably acquired them illegally.

In modern terms, imagine that the checkout man at your local supermarket meets you on the street and tells you he can deliver dairy goods to your house at half the price you pay at the supermarket that employs him. You can't be certain that he is acquiring the products illegally, but nonetheless, Jewish law says that in such a case you should regard the person as guilty until proven innocent, and refuse to purchase food from him.

Similarly, one sees on the streets of many American cities people selling videos of recently released movies for a fraction of what they cost in stores. Since reason suggests that such films have been "pirated" (illegally copied) or stolen -- how else can one account for the cheap price at which they are being sold? -- Jewish law would prohibit purchasing them.

As a rule, otherwise honest people who buy stolen merchandise continue to regard themselves as honest, and certainly see themselves as being on a higher moral rung than the people from whom they have purchased their goods. Maimonides makes it clear that Jewish law does not share this view: "It is prohibited to buy from a thief any property he has stolen, such buying being a great sin, since it encourages criminals and causes the thief to steal other property. For if a thief finds no buyer, he will not steal" (Mishneh Torah, "The Laws of Theft" 5:1).

An actual, if less obvious, instance of dealing in stolen goods, the insider stock-trading scandal, occurred in the late 1980s in the New York financial markets; in that case, a financier paid employees of law firms and financial institutions to inform him when companies with which they dealt were going to be bought out. Knowing that the stock prices in those companies would rise substantially, the man bought shares and, over a number of years, made tens of millions of dollars in profit. When his scheme eventually was exposed, he, along with the people who supplied him with the information, was sent to prison. From my understanding of Judaism's perspective, purchasing information that the seller has no right to market is yet another way in which a person traffics in stolen goods.

Very simply, if someone is trying to sell you something that is not his to sell -- whether goods or information -- you have no right to buy. As it is written in Proverbs (29:24), "He who shares with a thief is the enemy of his own soul."

---

Excerpted from The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living by Joseph Telushkin
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.