Jewish views re POVERTY: Unlike Christianity, in which some strands have viewed poverty as virtuous and desirable, Jews have generally viewed poverty negatively. Jacobs and Greer assert that [i]n general, Jewish texts have portrayed poverty as an unjustifiable burden. In contrast to the consistently negative view of poverty, Kravitz and Olitzky describe a rapidly changing attitude towards acceptance of wealth as desirable as the Hebrews transitioned from being nomadic shepherds to farmers and ultimately to city dwellers. Obligation to avoid poverty Lifshitz asserts that, because poverty is something to be avoided, Jews are exhorted to earn their living through gainful employment. Jewish law calls upon Jews to do everything in their power to avoid becoming a burden on others. They are to be responsible for their own welfare and not to rely on the community to provide for them. Although the wealthy are called upon to be charitable to the poor, Lifshitz insists that this does not absolve the poor from their responsibility to earn a living. He argues that the Law does not mandate redistribution of wealth and that, in Judaism, the property of the wealthy is theirs to do with entirely as they please. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_views_of_poverty,_wealth_and_charity
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 00:37:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015