Reflections, Competition, and Controversy

Day 356: The Holiness of Laughter

Laughter saves lives. Have you ever heard that? Laughter elongates your life, makes you happier and healthier, and hey, let's be honest, gives you some great abs.

But really, laughter saves lives. By making someone laugh you revive their spirit. This revival is possible for everyone from cancer patients to those who attempt suicide. Taking the time to make someone laugh tells them you care, eases their mind and spirit, and gives you the relief of seeing them smile.

If you'd like to learn more about laughter in Judaism, enjoy this article: http://www.aish.com/sp/48w/48957381.html

Day 357: Shabbat

I've had a beautiful, wonderful week at home. I've had the chance to see family members, friends, teachers, and visit different communities I've been a part of like dance and my shul.

• A Particularly Evil Form of Stealing: N/A
• A Husband's Obligations to His Wife: Maybe I'll keep these in mind while I date too...you know, just in case...
• Don't Insult Your Spouse: N/A
• Jews Shouldn't Be Cheap; Jewish Funerals Should Be: N/A
• A Law That Needs to Be Changed: N/A
• The Holiness of Laughter: N/A

Day 358: Unfair Competition

Getting a summer job as a college student is really hard. It took me until early June of last year to find something! It just so happened that one of my close friends and I applied to many of the same jobs. At first it was an accident, and then we kept finding jobs we both were interested, so we both applied. I don't believe she was any more offended than I was, I believe we both recognized that multitude of other people had probably also applied for those same jobs, so the likelhood either of us would get the job was low.

Apparently, according to Jewish ethics, it isn't necessarily okay for two people who know each other to apply knowingly to the same job. According to Rabbi Telushkin, "Jewish ethics approves of competition, it opposes ruthless competition." This also applies to business deals and purchases, etc.

Day 359: Would Jewish Ethics Permit a Jew to Own a Gun Store?

In my educational law class this past semester, we learned about torts. A tort is a civil wrong in which one party is liable for damages. Negligence is a type of tort. Negligence is defined as "An injury that occurs in which a reasonable person could have anticipated the results." So what is a reasonable person?

According to Judaism, a reasonable person must, in this case, be a wise person. And who is a wise person? "One who foreseess the future consequences of his acts" (Talmud Bavli, Tamid 32a). Meaning, there is nothing against a Jew owning a gun store, but there is certainly concern about a Jew selling guns to people who will cause harm with those guns. The most ethical way for a Jew to sell guns would be for in depth background searches to be done on each person wanting to buy one.