Business Dealings in Faith

Greetings and blessings

Not to deceive another in commerce, whether in acquisition or in sale, to be trustworthy people of truth and integrity.

And so writes the Chafetz Chaim in his sacred book Shmiras HaLashon [vol. 2 - ch. 19]:

"The Torah did not obligate the householder to learn all day and all night and not engage in business at all, only that he should engage in business and set times for Torah. However, this is what the Torah commanded: that the business be conducted faithfully and without deceit, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shabbat 31a), that a person is asked, Did you conduct business faithfully? Did you set times for Torah?".

And now, because of our many sins, there are those who make absurd claims that in this time a person’s livelihood is difficult, and one who wishes to conduct himself with honesty and faithfulness will not be able to eat even bread with salt. From this, it has become as though permitted to commit wrongdoing, to speak falsehood, to defraud and steal and rob, to encroach on another’s boundaries, and many similar evils, in addition to neglect of Torah study and prayer with a congregation and desecration of Shabbat and the like, and no one takes it to heart to regret the evil. Woe to mankind on the Day of Judgment, for the entire Torah is included in faithfulness, as it is written, But the righteous shall live by his faith.

And a person should be greatly careful with his money, for one who believes in Hashem, that He gives the power to achieve success, and that all of a person’s livelihood is allotted to him from Rosh Hashanah by the One on High, will not believe that by transgressing the word of Hashem he will succeed in all his ways, heaven forbid. And if he does succeed, certainly and without any doubt it will be wealth preserved for its owner for his harm, in addition to the punishment preserved for him in the World to Come.

And if you see an upright person who walks in the path of the righteous and conducts business faithfully, and his livelihood is limited, Heaven forbid to believe that there is a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, heaven forbid; will the Judge of all the earth not do justice, Heaven forbid and mercy forbid? Rather, only to Him are the hidden reasons accounted. And one who believes in Hashem truly, with a whole heart, will believe with complete faith that the Rock, perfect in His work, all His ways are justice, and all that the Merciful One does is for the good, so that it will be good for him in the World that is entirely good."

With success - Menashe Yisrael