(יט) בְּזֵעַ֤ת אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ תֹּ֣אכַל לֶ֔חֶם עַ֤ד שֽׁוּבְךָ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כִּ֥י מִמֶּ֖נָּה לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ כִּֽי־עָפָ֣ר אַ֔תָּה וְאֶל־עָפָ֖ר תָּשֽׁוּב׃
(19) By the sweat of your brow Shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground— For from it you were taken. For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
(13) You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning.
(א) עד כמה הוה מחילה או חזרת האונאה ושליח שטעה ואחים שחלקו וטעו ובו ל"ט סעיפים.
אסור להונות את חבירו בין במקחו בין בממכרו ואיזה מהם שאינה בין לוקח בין מוכר עובר בלאו:
It is forbidden to oppress, whether in buying or in selling; and whoever oppresses, whether buyer or seller, puts themselves in breach of a prohibition.
(א) אָסוּר לִקְנוֹת מִן הַגַּנָּב הַחֵפֶץ שֶׁגָּנַב. וְעָוֹן גָּדוֹל הוּא שֶׁהֲרֵי מַחֲזִיק יְדֵי עוֹבְרֵי עֲבֵרָה וְגוֹרֵם לוֹ לִגְנֹב גְּנֵבוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת שֶׁאִם לֹא יִמְצָא לוֹקֵחַ אֵינוֹ גּוֹנֵב וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר (משלי כט כד) "חוֹלֵק עִם גַּנָּב שׂוֹנֵא נַפְשׁוֹ":
(1) It is forbidden to buy from a thief anything he has stolen; it is a grave sin, since one encourages criminals thereby, inducing a thief to commit other thefts. If he finds no customer, he will not steal. Relative to this it is written : "The partner of a thief is his own enemy" (Proverbs 29:24).
ולכן אמן שמבקשים ממנו לעשות דבר והוא מבין שהדבר הזה הוא לעסק בגנבה, אסור לו לעשותם ואם עשה ענשו חמור מאוד. ואפילו הדבר ספק אצלו אם זהו לגנבה אסור לסייע.
If an artisan is contracted, he must refuse the contract if it is known that the raw materials were stolen. If the artisan does work with stolen objects, he will be severely punished. All this applies even if one suspects that the raw materials were illegally procured.
Rabbi Levy Epstein (Warsaw, 1894-8), Arukh Hashulkḥan Ḥoshen Mishpat, Laws of Theft 356:1
The Bible insists that God is concerned with everydayness, with the trivialities of life. The great challenge does not lie in organizing solemn demonstrations, but in how we manage the commonplace. The prophet’s field of concern is not the mysteries of heaven… but the blights of society, the affairs of the marketplace. He addresses himself to those who trample upon the needy, who increase the price of grain, use dishonest scales and sell the refuse of corn (Amos 8:4-6). The predominant feature of the biblical pattern of life is unassuming, unheroic, inconspicuous piety, the sanctification of trifles, attentiveness to details. “The wages of the hired servant shall not abide with thee” (Lev. 19:13). Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, (Poland, 1907-US, 1972)
The Insecurity of Freedom [italics original]
עבודת האלקים, על פי תפיסת ההלכה, מתקיימת (מלבד לימוד התורה) בגישום עקרונותיה בעולם הריאלי. אידיאלי הצדק הם עמודי האש להשקפת עולם זו. משאת נפשו של איש ההלכה היא תיקון העולם במלכות החסד והצדק – הריאליזציה של היצירה האפריורית-אידיאלית, ששמה תורה (או הלכה) בתחום החיים הממשיים. אין ההלכה סגורה ומסוגרת בין חומות בתי פולחן, אלא חודרת לכל פינות החיים. השוק, הרחוב, בתי החורשת, חנויות, ביתו של האדם, בתי ועד, בתי משתה וכו' וכו' הרי הם רקע לחיי הדת.
הרב יוסף דוב סולוביציק, איש ההלכה, עמ' 82.
According to the outlook of halakhah, the service of God (with the exception of the study of the Torah) can be carried out only through the implementation, the actualization of its principles in the real world. The ideal of righteousness is the guiding light of this world-view. Halakhic man’s most fervent desire is the perfection of the world under the dominion of righteousness and loving-kindness, the realization of the a priori, ideal creation, whose name is Torah (or Halakhah), in the realm of concrete life. The Halakhah is not hermetically enclosed within the confines of cult sanctuaries but penetrates into every nook and cranny of life. The marketplace, the street, the factory, the house, the meeting place, the banquet hall, all constitute the backdrop for the religious life. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (Belarus, 1903-US, 1993) Halachik Man, p. 94
Question: In 1971, you [Rabbi Yitz Greenberg and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein] were the only Orthodox rabbis to declare that non-union lettuce and grapes should be regarded as non-kosher and you urged Jews to boycott them. What is the basis in Judaism for that position?
Rabbi Greenberg: We were both students of the Rav, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. From him we learned the idea that Halacha is not just a list of ritual dos and don’ts, but a comprehensive worldview that applies to everything that happens around us. The Torah prohibits the exploitation of workers, so why shouldn't that apply to migrant farm workers picking lettuce or grapes? They were being mistreated, so it was natural for us to apply the principle of non-exploitation to their situation, too. It seemed obvious.
Interview in The Jerusalem Post, May 3, 2008
(ו) כְּשֶׁיֶּחְטָא אִישׁ לְאִישׁ לֹא יִשְׂטְמֶנּוּ וְיִשְׁתֹּק כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בָּרְשָׁעִים (שמואל ב יג כב) "וְלֹא דִבֶּר אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת אַמְנוֹן מְאוּמָה לְמֵרָע וְעַד טוֹב כִּי שָׂנֵא אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת אַמְנוֹן". אֶלָּא מִצְוָה עָלָיו לְהוֹדִיעוֹ וְלוֹמַר לוֹ לָמָּה עָשִׂיתָ לִי כָּךְ וְכָךְ וְלָמָּה חָטָאתָ לִי בְּדָבָר פְּלוֹנִי. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא יט יז) "הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת עֲמִיתֶךָ". וְאִם חָזַר וּבִקֵּשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ לִמְחל לוֹ צָרִיךְ לִמְחל. וְלֹא יְהֵא הַמּוֹחֵל אַכְזָרִי שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית כ יז) "וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אַבְרָהָם אֶל הָאֱלֹקִים":
(6) If one man commit a sin against another man, the one sinned against shall not remain in silent hate against the sinner, as it is said of the wicked: "And Absalom spoke unto Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon" (Second Samuel. 13.22); but, on the contrary, it is obligatory upon him to make known to him and say unto him: "Why have you done to me thus and such, and wherefore have you sinned against me in that particular matter?"; for, it is said: "And thou shalt indeed rebuke thy neighbor" (Lev. 19.17). And, if the sinner did repent and begged to be forgiven by him, he must forgive him; and in doing so he should not be cruel, for it is said: "And Abraham prayed unto God" (Gen. 20.17).6For Abimelech, who sinned against him. G.
He who pursues after his fellow [to kill him] may be saved [from sin] at the cost of his life. How do they do this? They wound one of his limbs; and if even so they cannot prevent him, they may kill him.
I submit that while there is significant room for debate about the exact parameters of these obligations, it is beyond question that the Torah expects us to reach far beyond what was expected of those who lived in the pre-modern world. Rabbi Joshua Cahan
“צער בעלי חיים in the Marketplace of Values,” Conservative Judaism, Summer 2014