Chabad and JCC to Present Jewish Business Ethics Course

Chabad ‘s Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) will be partnering with the Jewish Community Center to present a new accredited six-session course, Money Matters: Jewish Business Ethics, beginning Thursday, January 26.

Money Matters discusses Jewish teachings about business and money, addressing issues such as the ethics of bankruptcy and freeloading, fair living wages, insider trading, CEO compensation, and collective bargaining. It also ponders questions such as: After purchasing a ticket for a ball game, can you move to an unoccupied, higher-priced seat? If you ever have the money are you morally obliged to repay discharged debt?

"The recent failures in the financial industry have drastically changed the way we think about business," explains Rabbi Yosef Landa, the course instructor, “we deeply believe that business should be a force for good, and that's why we're presenting students with timeless Talmudic insights into real-world ethical dilemmas.”

The Money Matters course will meet for six consecutive Thursdays, beginning January 26, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Arts and Education Building of the JCC Staenberg Family Complex, and is accredited by the Missouri Bar for 6.6 MCLE credits.

"Markets need morals, and morals are not made by markets. They are made by schools, the media, custom, tradition, religious leaders, moral role models and the influence of people," said the British Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, "Jewish ethics has a long past and a massive resource of wisdom. That is why courses such as Money Matters: Jewish Business Ethics are so important."

Like all JLI programs, Money Matters is open to the public regardless of personal affiliation, and is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning.

The highly acclaimed JLI courses are presented in more than 300 Jewish communities worldwide and have been offered locally by Chabad of Greater St. Louis for over a decade. This is the first time that Chabad is partnering with the JCC in offering these courses to the community.

Interested students may call 314-725-0400 or visit www.myJLI.com for registration and other course-related information.