What happens would you cheat the government?….ask the rabbi.
Rabbi Raymond Apple answers difficult questions…
Rabbi Raymond Apple
FASTING ON 17 TAMMUZ
Q. Now that we have a State of Israel do we still need to fast on 17 Tammuz?
A. This is one of the four fasts commemorating the destruction of the Temple. 17 Tammuz marks the enemy’s breach in the walls of Jerusalem.
Zechariah said (8:18-19) that these fasts would eventually turn into occasions of joy. He said that in an age of peace and penitence, the fasts would no longer be necessary.
Most rabbinic authorities interpret “peace” in this context as having a rebuilt Temple.
Rashi has a different view, that “peace” means that “the hand of the gentiles is not strong against Israel”, but most authorities are against him.
This certainly means that Tishah B’Av should be maintained, and rabbinic thinking is not ready to rule that the other three fasts can be allowed to lapse.
CHEATING THE GOVERNMENT
Q. Recent media stories have focussed on the conviction of several religious Jews for illegal financial dealings, particularly money laundering. How does Judaism view such activities?
A. There are all sorts of ways to cheat the government and they are wrong whether you are religious or not.
But religious people should be the first to remember that if they do something ethically wrong it is a “chillul HaShem”, a profanation of the Divine Name, and it is not only they but their religion that suffers disrepute.
The Talmud states for example, “It is forbidden to deceive people, including gentiles” (Chullin 94a). The Magen Avraham says, “It is a greater sin to steal from a gentile than from a Jew, because the person concerned also profanes the name of God” (Tosefta Baba Kamma, ch. 10).
We have a principle of “dina d’malchuta dina”, found several times in the Talmud (Gittin 10b etc.), which says that “the law of the land is the law”.
This does not apply indiscriminately, but it is certainly applicable in relation to the financial obligations of citizenship. Thus tax evasion is not only illegal: it is against halachah, though it is permitted to utilise any legal method of reducing a tax liability.
It is also against halachah to obtain benefits to which one is not entitled, including the benefits that come from falsifying government forms.
There is a significant story told of Shimon ben Shetach, who purchased a mule from an Ishmaelite gentile. His students found a valuable diamond on the neck of the animal. They came to their master in great excitement and congratulated him, saying, “You will not need to work any more. God has just blessed you with great riches!”
“Give it back!” said Shimon ben Shetach; “I bought a mule, not a diamond!”
When the Ishmaelite received the diamond, he said, “Blessed is the God of Shimon ben Shetach!” (Deut. Rabba 3:5; Jer. B.M. ch.2, 8c).
REBBETZIN
Q. Why is a rabbi’s wife called a rebbetzin?
A. I don’t think anyone knows for certain. Strictly speaking, it is only the rabbi himself who should have a title. It is he who has gained the rabbinical qualifications, not his wife, though most rabbis’ wives are also very knowledgeable.
Nonetheless, the rabbi and his wife almost always form a rabbinical partnership team in which both are involved in teaching and leading the community. Hence it is appropriate for her to have a title that recognises her status.
The term rebbetzin obviously comes from Yiddish (as does “chazan-te” for a chazan’s wife and “shammes-te” for a shammes’s wife).
In Hebrew it is usual to call her rabbanit, though this term may originally have meant a rabbi’s daughter or a woman who was a rabbinic scholar in her own right.
The fact that rabbis often marry the daughters of other rabbis may have led to all rabbis’ wives being called rabbanit.
Rabbi Raymond Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest and most prestigious congregation. He was Australia’s highest profile rabbi and held many public roles. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem.
Good morning, I am not a Jew, I am a Catholic convert. But I have a great respect and admiration for the lived ethics and principles of Judaism, espoused in Rabbi Apple’s articles and the works of Jonathan Sacks. I get these emails regularly and always find much to reflect upon. Thank you.