“Gentlemen, can you tell me, are our payrolls kosher?”
Rabbi Jill Jacobs’ Living Wage teshuvah is now online.
I, for one, am really excited by the prospects of contemporary halakhah such as this. In light of recent affairs in Iowa it seems particularly important to create a response to the complications of the free-market economy and the abuses that abound from it.
Rabbi Jacobs’ teshuvah hopefully represents a shift in the Conservative Movement towards a “culture of justice,” perhaps symbolically ushered in by Rabbi Morris Allen’s call for the Heksher Tzedek. Rabbi Jacobs seems to think the Conservative Movement might even be starting to stand for something. In her post at JSpot, Rabbi Jacobs wrote:
Congratulations to the Law Committee for taking a step toward restoring Hoshen Mishpat (civil law) to its place as a central part of Jewish law.
As a result of the passing of this teshuvah, I hope that hundreds or thousands of the workers who help to make Jewish institutions function will earn enough to support their families. I also hope that, across the countries, synagogue members, rabbis, campers, and students will engage in thoughtful and productive conversations about how our payrolls can reflect our values and our halakhah (law).
So who’s going to write the Consumer Responsibility Teshuvah?
An exciting tshuva indeed.
Welcome to JEWSCHOOL Justin!
—uzi · June 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 am