Rabbi Yeshayahu Shapiro: Admor Halutz
It is incumbent upon us to create here a lifestyle which will be not merely permissible from a strict legal sense, but also in the spirit of “You shall be holy,” and “Do that which is right and good in the eyes of God.” And if we weigh the matter in this way, we shall see that Judaism, in no way is in favor of private property, but is against it. If there is any place in Judaism for the “yesh omrim” that “what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours,” the foundation of private property, is nothing but “midat Sodom,” then it is clear that this is not an orientation in favor of ownership of property.
It is incumbent upon us to create here a lifestyle which will be not merely permissible from a strict legal sense, but also in the spirit of “You shall be holy,” and “Do that which is right and good in the eyes of God.” And if we weigh the matter in this way, we shall see that Judaism, in no way is in favor of private property, but is against it. If there is any place in Judaism for the “yesh omrim” that “what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours,” the foundation of private property, is nothing but “midat Sodom,” then it is clear that this is not an orientation in favor of ownership of property.
Rabbi Yeshayahu Shapiro in Admor Halutz
When Nathan the prophet told King David about the rich man that stole the sheep of the poor man, the matter touched his heart to such a great extent that he declared a death sentence upon the rich man. Can one even imagine anyone today who would declare a death sentence on one who steals the sheep of a poor man? Of course we know full well the seriousness of the prohibitions against stealing, tormenting (ona’ah), spreading gossip, slander, baseless hatred, or embarrassing another in public. However violating these prohibitions no longer arouses within us the same agitation as is caused by the violation of other prohibitions such as eating forbidden foods. . . . A man who holds on to the wages of his employee or who spreads gossip is indeed considered to be not quite right—but he will not be considered as one who is secular and irreligious even though these prohibitions are not at all lighter than others. This situation is the outcome of the long exile.
When Nathan the prophet told King David about the rich man that stole the sheep of the poor man, the matter touched his heart to such a great extent that he declared a death sentence upon the rich man. Can one even imagine anyone today who would declare a death sentence on one who steals the sheep of a poor man? Of course we know full well the seriousness of the prohibitions against stealing, tormenting (ona’ah), spreading gossip, slander, baseless hatred, or embarrassing another in public. However violating these prohibitions no longer arouses within us the same agitation as is caused by the violation of other prohibitions such as eating forbidden foods. . . . A man who holds on to the wages of his employee or who spreads gossip is indeed considered to be not quite right—but he will not be considered as one who is secular and irreligious even though these prohibitions are not at all lighter than others. This situation is the outcome of the long exile.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik: "Jewish Sovereignty and the Redemption of the Shekhina"
Unfortunately, one of the cardinal misunderstandings in modern Jewish history was the identification of the Jewish working class of rabbis with the organized European clergy in general. As the workers generally fought for economic and political equality, the Church supported the rulers and the powerful. Jewish revolutionaries condemned the Jewish Torah for the sins of the Orthodox Church. The hatred for Torah Judaism still reverberates today in the large workers’ movement in Eretz Yisrael. Its negative relationship with many religious institutions is a direct result of such ridiculous misidentification.
The mistake, which cost us a great deal, is a result of the shrinking of the Shekhina in exile. The Jewish Hoshen Mishpat has never been on the side of the employer and the powerful. The Torah of “you shall not oppress a widow and orphan” (Exodus 22:26), “you will not oppress him” (Exodus 22:26), “you shall pay him his wages on that day” (Deuteronomy 24:10), and “for to Me the children of Israel are servants” (Leviticus 25:55) has never been opportunistic. It has always defended the helpless and the desolate, and in this sense these rules are more advanced than in many modern labor societies. But the curse of tzimtzum has burdened Her; the curse of parchment being burned and letters flying away has blocked the path to realization. The ignorant masses, in order to shrink the Shekhina, classify the Torah as organized religion, which has no right to exist in a society of social justice. Today, the contemporary motto of division of church and state that is applied to the Jewish Torah and Jewish State is also the result of the shrinking of the Shekhina.
The masses cannot learn the Ketzot and the Netivot. They cannot understand the Torah in abstract; they must see it, physically sense it. In exile they only see a small part of Judaism, and therefore they despise it.
Unfortunately, one of the cardinal misunderstandings in modern Jewish history was the identification of the Jewish working class of rabbis with the organized European clergy in general. As the workers generally fought for economic and political equality, the Church supported the rulers and the powerful. Jewish revolutionaries condemned the Jewish Torah for the sins of the Orthodox Church. The hatred for Torah Judaism still reverberates today in the large workers’ movement in Eretz Yisrael. Its negative relationship with many religious institutions is a direct result of such ridiculous misidentification.
The mistake, which cost us a great deal, is a result of the shrinking of the Shekhina in exile. The Jewish Hoshen Mishpat has never been on the side of the employer and the powerful. The Torah of “you shall not oppress a widow and orphan” (Exodus 22:26), “you will not oppress him” (Exodus 22:26), “you shall pay him his wages on that day” (Deuteronomy 24:10), and “for to Me the children of Israel are servants” (Leviticus 25:55) has never been opportunistic. It has always defended the helpless and the desolate, and in this sense these rules are more advanced than in many modern labor societies. But the curse of tzimtzum has burdened Her; the curse of parchment being burned and letters flying away has blocked the path to realization. The ignorant masses, in order to shrink the Shekhina, classify the Torah as organized religion, which has no right to exist in a society of social justice. Today, the contemporary motto of division of church and state that is applied to the Jewish Torah and Jewish State is also the result of the shrinking of the Shekhina.
The masses cannot learn the Ketzot and the Netivot. They cannot understand the Torah in abstract; they must see it, physically sense it. In exile they only see a small part of Judaism, and therefore they despise it.