JLI and LYA team up to offer Jewish business ethics course

Date: 1/23/2012

January 23, 2012

GREATER SPRINGFIELD — The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) and Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy (LYA) will present the new course Money Matters: Jewish Business Ethics. Money Matters will present Judaism’s approach to practical economic dilemmas and monetary quandaries that people face daily in both their personal and professional lives.

Money Matters will be offered at LYA, 1148 Converse St., Longmeadow, for six Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 25 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Fee for the course, which includes a student textbook, is $100 with a couple’s discount of $70.

Money Matters will also be offered at the law offices of James Smith, 1331 Main St., Springfield, for six consecutive Thursdays beginning Jan. 26 from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m.

“The recent failures in the financial industry have drastically changed the way we think about business,” Rabbi Wolff, the local JLI instructor said. “At JLI, we deeply believe that business should be a force for good, and that’s why we’re presenting students with timeless Talmudic insights into real-world ethical dilemmas.”

Spanning a wide range of intriguing subjects, Money Matters discusses the personal ethics of bankruptcy and freeloading asking questions such as: After purchasing a ticket for a ball game, can you move to an unoccupied, higher-priced seat? If you ever have the money are you morally obliged to repay discharged debt? Questions regarding topics in social ethics such as living wages, insider trading, CEO compensation, and collective bargaining are also addressed.

“Markets need morals, and morals are not made by markets. They are made by schools, the media, custom, tradition, religious leaders, moral role models and the influence of people,” British Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks said. “Jewish ethics has a long past and a massive resource of wisdom. That is why courses such as JLI’s Money Matters: Jewish Business Ethics are so important.”

Like all JLI programs, Money Matters is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or other house of worship.

Interested students may call 348-4978 or visit www.myJLI.com for registration and other course-related information.