The And Judaism s Viewpoint On Money, Wealth, And Charity...

Jewish people have long been known for their role in finance and banking, for better or worse. The Jewish presence in the highest legions of financial gurus is so prevalent, that the stereotype of Jews and Money is deeply ingrained in most people’s minds. The success of these Jews is admirable, but the negative stereotypes that have been generated as a result of this are not. The aim of this paper is to investigate and find out the Torah’s and Judaism’s viewpoint on money, wealth, and charity is, and provide a historical understanding of why Jews and Money seem to be synonymous with each other in the public’s eye, even though money is equally as important to everyone. To understand the portrayed relationship between Jewish people and money, we need to go back into history to understand what roles Jews played throughout history in the secular world, even though they have been persecuted and consistently treated as second class citizen. A further examination of this will help us see where the â€Å"Jew and Money† stereotype originated from, and how it became a mainstay in society, media and propaganda. The Middle Ages is when the idea of associating money with the Jewish people came about. Christianity prohibited Christians from loaning out money, and taking interest on anyone. Usury was a very strict and enforced rule in Canon Law. Usury usually connotates exorbitant interest rates, but it was interpreted as any form of interest. The Torah and Talmud however, permits giving outShow MoreRelatedThe Ancient Greek Civilization1781 Words   |  8 Pagesmore just are therefore happier. He defines justice as a balance amongst one’s desires maintained by using reason. If we can use reason to balance our desire/appetite for personal wealth with the knowledge that working for our money can bring about satisfaction and benefit to others while greed, lying, or theft to obtain money is wrong, we will be acting justly and therefore will be happier. Plato also believed that the soul is made up of three basic parts including reason, spirit/passion, and appetite/desire