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In medieval and even later times Jews in Europe were invested heavily in being tax farmers for the feudal lords that controlled the areas of population. Even then the rabbis of the communities had an ambivalent attitude towards them. Jews did not have many great options to earn a living so the tax farmer had to be tolerated but he certainly was not an object of communal honor or high regard. The Talmud records for us that the great scholar Rabi Elazar ben Shimon was a tax collector and enforcer for the Roman authorities for a certain period of time in his lifetime. He reported Jewish tax dodgers to the Roman authorities who dealt with them harshly. When he was reprimanded by his rabbinic colleagues for so doing he justified himself by saying: "I am removing the thorns from the vineyard of Israel!" The rabbis retorted and said: "Let the owner of the vineyard [God] remove the thorns by Himself!" Hearing the opinion of his colleagues, Rabi Elazar ben Shimon left his post and went into hiding from the Roman authorities until his death. Even after his death his body was hidden for years and not brought to proper burial out of fear of the Roman authorities whose command position he had abandoned. When finally being brought to burial, his body was found not have decayed and was whole except for a worm hole in his ear. This was due to his once having willingly heard a scandalous comment about another Jew.
In the long and painful exile of the Jews over all of its centuries, taxes were one of the means of persecution used against Jews by their bigoted non-Jewish rulers. There were many special decrees from kings and despots, including the Church, forcing Jews to pay onerous taxes that were special to them The Jewish law of dina d’malchuta dina - the laws of the government are to be obeyed scrupulously - did not apply in this area of discriminatory taxation. Of necessity and survival, Jews used many methods of tax avoidance in those circumstances. This was especially true in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the Russian empire of the anti-Jewish czars. The Czar’s decrees were so onerous that the Jews sullenly and sometimes creatively sought a way to avoid them. This created a mindset in Eastern European Jewish society of the moral legitimacy of cheating the hated government, especially in matters of taxation. This mindset accompanied many Jews to their new countries of residence even those new countries did not have laws that clearly discriminated against Jews in any way and certainly not in tax matters. It has taken a number of generations to uproot this mindset in the vast majority of the Jews of the world. Nevertheless, as recent scandals have shown us, it has not been completely removed from all communities in the Jewish world. No one enjoys paying taxes but the rule of dina d’malchuta dina applies completely in our world of today.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor Fee Despite the Buyer’s Refusal?
based on ruling 83117 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Rabbis in Midrash
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
