Volume 67, Issue 7

A Monopoly on Integrity
by Professor Mehl

As a student in our Yeshiva in the early 1970’s, my Rebbe, Harav Dovid Lifshitz Z”TL, related the following story about his Mechutan (in-law), Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetzky, a story which was later printed in a biography on Reb Yaakov.

As a young man, Reb Yaakov was a bookkeeper for a noted religious institution, and one of his monthly duties was to reconcile the institution’s deposits on the monthly bank statement with the receipts issued to donors by the institution for that month.  Reb Yaakov noticed that many of the receipts issued were substantially higher than the deposit slips for the respective donations.  When he mentioned this to the institution’s Executive Director, he was told that this was the standard operating procedure for the institution.  “They give us a check for $1,000”, Reb Yaakov was told, “and we give them a receipt for $5,000.”  Upon hearing this fact, Reb Yaakov immediately resigned from his position, saying that he could no longer be associated with such an institution.

In view of the billions of dollars that have imploded through corporate scandals over the last two years and in light of the trillions of dollars (yes, trillions) in market capitalization that have evaporated, it seems rather trivial to discuss a story involving the sum of $1,000, or even $5,000.  However, when we realize that every major scandal usually begins with a relatively minor infraction, we can better understand how a few trickles of water can eventually lead to an enormous deluge.

In the 1990’s, Enron was portrayed as the company of the decade, and Wall Street analysts as well as the financial press were hailing its Chief Financial Officer as the financial innovator par excellence.  In a period covering only 15 years, the company evolved from a stagnant energy producer to a veritable financial giant that created trading markets in such new commodities as wind, weather, and broadband, among others.  The company grew from obscurity to become the country’s seventh largest company, employing more than 21,000 staff members in more than 40 countries.  In the year 2000, its revenues were over $100 Billion.  Taking advantage of deregulation in the energy industry, the company was largely credited with creating market trading in energy, allowing energy to be traded in the same way as other commodities, such as oil and grain.  Among Enron’s innovations, it had opened the German power and gas markets, and had pioneered the world’s largest online commodity trading site. 

It is not the intent here to recount the entire episode of Enron’s demise and the unfortunate and tragic events for its employees and shareholders, many of who lost their entire retirement savings.  These events have been well documented in the press, along with the financial shenanigans that were perpetrated by Worldcom, Global Grossing, Adelphia, Tyco & others.  The intent rather is to emphasize what all these scandals had in common—they, in all probability, began as “minor” infractions, indiscretions, discrepancies…. which over time not only became accepted as proper transactions, but became the standard way of doing business in order to compete effectively in the New Economy.  As our Sages tell us, an Aveira (transgression), which begins as an Aveira, and is practiced repeatedly, ceases over time to be called an Aveira, and eventually falls into the category of a Mitzvah.

Many years ago, I attended a conference on Business Ethics that was sponsored by the Agudath Israel of America.  The keynote speaker was Rabbi Shimon Schwab, Z”TL, who was the leader of Khal Adas Yeshurun in Washington Heights.  Rabbi Schwab was known as the classical “Ish Emes” (Man of Truth), and his words were sharp and direct.  He declared that no Heter (dispensation) existed vis-à-vis cheating in business, and, speaking directly to the accountants in attendance, affirmed, in no uncertain terms, that not only were they were not permitted to falsify documents and financial statements, but that they had to be prepared to give up any client that they suspected of dishonesty.

The Talmud in Maseches Beitza (16A) states that on Rosh Hashana, it is already determined in Heaven as to the level of our income for the coming year. Thus, Rabbi Schwab said, any attempt to “improve” on this situation by acting dishonestly in our business dealings, is not only prohibited from a Choshen Mishpat (Civil Law) vantage point, but is also an act of Kefirah (blasphemy) toward God, as if to say that we don’t believe and trust that God will provide all our needs, and, therefore, it is incumbent upon us to achieve that income level, whatever the means.

Although Orthodox Jews do not have a monopoly on integrity and honesty, our bottom line must include the realization that we indeed are different, and therefore, we must act on a higher level, even if these actions conflict with the business norms of the day.  We should revel in the fact that more colleges and graduate schools are scheduling courses in Business Ethics, which has always been the corner stone of our financial matters. Rav Soloveichik, Z”TL, said many times that the phrase, “Goy Echad B’aretz”, which we recite every Shabbos afternoon in Tefilas Mincha is not to be interpreted as “one nation”, but rather “a unique nation.”  This uniqueness separates us from other nations in all aspects of life.

We, as Orthodox Jews, and specifically the students and alumni of this institution, which is universally respected as the representative of Orthodox Judaism, have a special obligation to assure that all our business transactions, and, for that matter, all our actions are conducted on the highest levels of honesty, in order to create a “kiddush sheym shamayim.” 

A final note:  One of my proudest achievements of my nearly 30 years working in the private and public sectors is that I have worn my Yarmulke on the job every day, even though some of the firms for whom I worked would probably have preferred otherwise.   Contemporary Halachic decisors speak at length on this topic, and one should consult with a competent Halachic authority as to its appropriateness in different situations.  The word “Yarmulke” is a combination of the words ”yray malka”, which means  “respect for the one Above.”   If we truly desire that this character trait apply to our professional lives, it seems axiomatic that the Yarmulke should have a prominent place in our academic lives.

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