Lazer Beams

High tech, low ethics

With layoffs, recession, and economic slowdown, high tech companies are thinning their work force. Who gets the ax? The top brass wants to let others do the dirty work, so they've revitalized the nasty "360 Evaluation."

Have you ever heard of the "360 Evaluation"? It's a dog-eat-dog system used by leading high-tech companies whereby everybody rates everybody - superiors their subordinates, subordinates their superiors, and workers their coworkers. The outcome is a free-for-all of slander, revenge, and intrigue.

One of the senior design engineers of a leading Israeli high-tech firm was faced with a mandatory "360", where he was required to relinquish information about his subordinates, superiors, and peers - this was something that the KGB would be proud of. He couldn't sleep for a week, until he called me and asked me what to do. I told him to give only factual and positive information, and to steer clear of anything that could be detrimental to another person's reputation or livelihood in the slightest way.

The Chofetz Chaim writes that one is better advised to forfeit all his or her worldly possessions, rather than utter one word of slander against another person.

The Bolshevik-like system of the "360 Evaluation" is both immoral and a negation of Jewish law. The juxtaposition of high tech and low ethics is just another symptom of a decadent society. Some might say, "back to the drawing board"; better yet, back to the Gemara. High-tech has a lot to learn from Chovot Halevavot and Mesillat Yesharim.

Evil Speech: Like a Worm

Yehudit via Julie sent me the following thought after reading our Worm editorial on Breslev Israel:

"In the car this morning, I made an effort to do five minutes of hitbodedut (personal prayer - LB). I'd felt kind-of, well, yucky, for hearing different stories yesterday from different people about subject matter that would fit into the lashon hara (unwholesome speech - LB) spectrum. I was asking Hashem what it was about yesterday - and the two incidents - that I should be learning. Then it hit me. This morning, I realized my computer had been infected - attacked, really - by a virus, a worm, something unkosher in the hard drive. My computer was rendered useless.

"I put two and two together. Like viruses or worms, lashon hara slithers its way into your ear and lodges itself into your brain...and your soul. It proceeds to tempt you to slither it on to another person. I so wanted to share what I'd heard with my husband, but there were distractions with the kids and the phone and - well - I didn't get the chance.

"I realized I'd be better off not to discuss either stories with anyone. And so I killed the virus, the worm of lashon hara. And my husband did the same with my computer today. Now if only I had these lightbulb moments more often!"

The above thought really sinks in - like a worm... Thanks so much to Yehudit and Julie for these special thoughts.

Integrity and spirituality

Maybe you know people who enjoy flaunting Tibetan phrases, rolling their eyeballs, and burning lots of myrrh-scented candles and incense. Maybe you know other people who walk around quoting scripture, and then look down at you, saying, "Where were you at services last week?" Neither of these types has anything to do with genuine spirituality...

Here's a fool-proof method to find out if a person is spiritual or not: Conduct a business transaction with that person, and if he or she deals with fairness and integrity, you can bet that they're bona-fide spiritually-oriented people.

When a person's soul leaves the body at the termination of the physical life on this earth, the first question the Heavenly Court asks is, "Did you negotiate in good faith?", in other words, did you do business fairly (Talmud, tractate Shabbos, pg. 31). It's fine if a person listens to sitar music or quotes Kabbala after having dealt honestly with his/her fellow human, but without integrity, forget about spirituality.

Rabbenu Bachiya: Duties of the Heart

Now that it's Elul and only 4 weeks from Rosh Hashana, we take you on a trip to the Upper Galilee to see what we can learn from the holy gravesite of Rabbenu Bachiya, author of the classic "Chovot HaLevavot" (Duties of the Heart):

Here's wishing you a wonderful Shabbat Shoftim!

Chronic "Borrowers" and Unpaid Debts

Dear Rabbi Brody,

My next-door neighbor is constantly borrowing things - a pint of milk here, a couple eggs there, etc. etc. Sometimes - especially before Shabbos or a holiday - she knocks on my door three times a day. Each time, her request is "minor", but the stuff adds up to tens of dollars every month, because she "forgets" to return what she borrows. My husband is a grad student, and we're certainly not wealthy, so we feel the loss. I'm careful about telling the truth, so I don't want to say, "sorry, I don't have what you need" when I really have it in my cupboards. I'm building up a lot of inner frustration and animosity toward the neighbor, yet I'm afraid to ruin the peace. Would should I do? Thank you, D.W., Ohio

Dear D.W.,

First of all, as a rule of thumb and good practice, always write down what you lend a person, the exact amount or item, and the date...

A gentle reprimand will release the pent-up frustration. When you don't express yourself, as you yourself have seen, you accumulate animosity. The Torah forbids us to harbor hate in our hearts toward another person. The only way to avoid the hate trap is to tell your neighbor - gently but candidly - exactly how you feel.

The next time your neighbor shows up, invite her for a cup of coffee, sit her down, and explain that according to religious law, one who fails to return a loan is called a wicked person. All the crying and chest-beating in synagogue on Yom Kippur can't rectify the crime of one unreturned potato. Also, the Zohar says that a person cannot achieve his or her rightful place in heaven unless they've repayed all outstanding debts. A person must suffer an entire reincarnation for a debt of a few pennies or more, and who says that your next go-round on this earth isn't going to be twenty times worse that this go-round? Also, religious law requires that a loan should be given only upon signing an IOU in front of two witnesses. Why? Many times people conveniently "forget" the money and/or items that they owe others.

Finally, explain to your neighbor that with all good intentions, you and your husband simply can't afford to be a free-aid society to the entire neighborhood. Unless the neighbor repays and returns all her outstanding debts, tell her that you won't be able to continue lending, for her own good.

If the neighbor accepts what you say, you will have done her a phenominal spiritual favor in this world and in the next. If she walks out in a huff, then at least she won't have the chutzpa to continue asking for things. Either way, you're the winner, and you've taken the load off your chest. The important thing is to avoid negative feelings toward another human at all costs. With blessings always, LB

Being Moral in an Immoral Society

Dear Rabbi,

I'm a Manhattan attorney, and I usually read your blog with my coffee and sandwich at lunch. I like your hard-hitting material, but sometimes you sound like Tiny Tim singing "Tiptoe through the Tulips". If I took your roll-with-the-punch emuna advice, I'd be trampled in my profession. Your morality is fine for rabbinical seminary, but it doesn't hold water in the Big Apple where it's a dog-eat-dog world. I attended a Yeshiva high school myself; the Gemorra is a superb mind-development tool, but excuse me, I don't see how its lofty moral platitudes are applicable to our society today. In short, how in the world do you expect a person to be moral in an immoral society? Best wishes, Louis

Dear Louis,

Look at all the immoral tough-guy tyrants from time immemorial. None had happy endings. Their success is always short-lived. King David taught us that the meek (humble) shall inherit the earth (Psalms 37:11); Hollywood, Wall Street, and many of your professional cronies don't subscribe to King David's thoughts, but meanwhile, King David's principle has proved to be historically correct for thousands of years. Maybe the role of a Spartan warrior, a Viking, or a Roman centurion is a lot more appealing than the humble role of a wise Talmudic scholar (which you obviously don't appreciate, since it seems to me that you regard your Talmud studies as a figment of your high-school past - please correct me if I'm wrong, barrister), yet the wise scholars are still with us today, while the Spartans, the Romans, and the Vikings have vanished from the face of the earth. I can go on and on with more case studies, but I think you get the point.

Now, let's look at our album of "meek", handicapped anti-macho moral types, who really did inherit the earth:

* Franklin D. Roosevelt - paralyzed from the waist down, yet successfully lead the United States through one of the most difficult times in its history.
* Helen Keller - blind, yet pioneered Braille and our entire system of special education for the blind.
* Thomas Edison - deaf; "I utilized my handicap to increase my powers of concentration, since I didn't have to listen to the small talk and nonsense of other people," he wrote in his memoirs, and rose to become the greatest of American inventors.
* Mahatma Gandhi - a frail weakling, but a giant of emotional strength. Gandhi was the father of "peaceful resistance," the mode of non-violent protest that led to the independence of India.
* Ray Charles - blind, but one of the giants of 20th Century American music.

Notice how history remembers all the above anti-macho types with love and admiration. Now, take a good look at the tyrants you know. Is there a single one who is happy? Has a single one been successful on the long run? Does history love and admire Haman, Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, or Saddam Hussein? I don't think so.

The choice is yours, Louis. By choosing a moral path, you'll have The Almighty on your side. With His help, you'll always be a winner. Emuna makes you tough - not your biceps or a fast macho tongue. Blessings always, LB