Altruism & Happiness
Israel is ranked as the fourth happiest country in the world, according to the UN-sponsored World Happiness Report. The obvious question arises: how can Israel, the only civilized nation under constant mortal danger, maintain such happiness? Despite ongoing threats from Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah, along with facing global boycotts and condemnations, what are the sources of this happiness?
While happiness can be measured through various metrics, it obviously goes beyond factors like good falafel, a warm climate, or picturesque landscapes.
Studies indicate that wealth and physical comforts, although they are undoubtedly great blessings, have limited correlation with achieving happiness. Conversely, altruistic behavior, encompassing volunteering, charitable giving, and simple acts of kindness, has been demonstrated to enhance the well-being of the helper and foster happiness.
Core Jewish values such as gratitude, humility, community, purpose, and faith contribute significantly to happiness. The ultimate joy in life is found in anchoring one's existence in something beyond oneself, achieved through faith and belief in G-d.
It is for this reason that we feel uplifted and joyous while studying Torah and performing Mitzvot. For they enable us to rise above our limitations and connect with our Divine soul and the people around us.
Despite the myriad challenges faced by Israel and the Jewish people during this time, we are joyous and united with unwavering faith. While differences of opinion and lifestyle of course still exist, the tragic massacre on Oct. 7th and the outpouring of support for one another has clearly demonstrated that our shared connection and commonality overwhelmingly surpass our differences.
In the realm of business, a self-centered approach is a common human inclination. However, Judaism teaches the importance of developing a selfless approach in interactions, helping others wholeheartedly without expecting anything in return.
This week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, delves into civil and business laws emphasizing fair and compassionate treatment of others even without personal gain.
The Torah portion highlights the Mitzvah of providing interest-free loans. As the verse states: “When you lend money to My people, to the poor person [who is] with you, you shall not behave toward him as a lender; you shall not impose interest upon (Exodus 22:24)”.
Maimonides ranks interest-free loans as the highest form of charity, emphasizing the importance of supporting fellow Jews without fostering dependency.
The prohibition against taking interest seems surprising. Charging interest is seemingly necessary for a healthy economy. When loans are available, merchants can make greater profits and entrepreneurs can bring new ideas and inventions to the market. That translates to more class mobility, more jobs, more food, more clothing, more leisure time and more choices of how you want to live.
If there were no interest, there would be no incentive for anyone to make these loans. You can put your money to work to earn a profit buying and selling, building and renting—so why should you be prohibited from charging a fee while your money lies idle, thereby incurring a loss of potential gain?
Nevertheless, loans with even the slightest amount of interest are forbidden, regardless of how rich or poor either party may be. A Jew who wishes to invest in another Jew's financial project can do so only by entering into some form of partnership called in Jewish law a Heter Iska which essentially changes the format of the loan to an investment. This “legal loophole” is fairly simple to implement and many local banks and financial institutions have the knowledge and ability to include this format upon request (it is beyond the scope of this article to elaborate on this method).
The reason the Torah prohibits interest between Jews is simply because your fellow Jew is family. It's just not appropriate for family members to charge interest from one another. The Jewish nation is meant to behave as a cohesive unit, like a single organism, each one concerned for the other's benefit as much as with his or her own.
The sages emphasize the immense reward for providing a loan to a fellow in need, reinforcing the Torah's command to "love your fellow as yourself."
The Midrash explains that whatever G-d commands His people to do He himself obeys. The greatest lender of all is G-d Himself: He lends each of us our soul and body along with its accompanying talents, character, health, family, wealth etc. with which to fulfill our mission in this world.
Each one of us has been gifted with unique talents and abilities which we have received as a loan from G-d. Just as a loan is made to be used and not only safeguarded, so too we have a responsibility to use our strengths, resources and influence to help others in need and do acts of goodness and kindness.
This week celebrate Rosh Chodesh (the new month) Adar. The Talmud teaches that "When the month of Adar enters, we increase in joy." Since the joyous holiday of Purim occurs during the month of Adar, the entire month undergoes a transformation into a season of joy. Additionally, as this year is a Jewish leap year, there is an obligation to intensify our joy for two consecutive months.
Let us enhance our joy by actively engaging in altruistic actions and performance of Mitzvot, ultimately contributing to the ushering in of an era marked by peace and prosperity for all nations on earth with the arrival of Moshiach!
