By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
From Shakespeare’s Shylock to Arthur Miller’s Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman, the stereotype of the corrupt businessman and, in particular ,the Jewish businessman, reflects a sometimes-shrewd and ultimately spiritually adrift human being who uses his financial prowess to gain control or power.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in his latest book, Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments For Making Money (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; October, 2002, $24.95), takes direct aim at the negative, often anti-Semitic image of the greedy Jewish entrepreneur.
The orthodox rabbi and best-selling author meets that stereotype head-on and praises the Jewish legacy of success in business. He codifies his own financial decalogue for achieving success while prescribing it to the Jew and the non-Jew alike as he shares his “secrets” of Jewish wealth creation.
While defending the pursuit of wealth through business, Lapin rejects the idea that Jewish prosperity is achieved through deceit and manipulation.
“Not all stereotypes are false,” says Lapin. “Stereotypes are very often true. Jews being good at business is the elephant nobody wants to acknowledge. Everybody knows this, it’s just that people have been conditioned to be polite and not talk about it. It is true we are good at business. We are disproportionately successful with money. But no, it isn’t because we cheat and steal. What I think I’m doing is clarifying. It’s not because we cheat and steal.”
In addition to writing books, Lapin is a nationally syndicated talk show host, advisor to President Bush and the founder of Toward Tradition, an organization dedicated to promoting the spiritual values that encourage economic freedom. He is uncomfortable with the persistent cultural value that business is somehow a less-than-honorable means by which to earn a livelihood.
“What has happened is that a Christian perception of wealth has crept into, not only to the Jewish community, but the entire culture,” says Lapin. “The notion that poverty is synonymous with virtue is a calamity. It’s captured the culture. Unfortunately, we find that a lot in the Jewish community.”
Lapin believes that in order to be successful in business, one has to believe in the dignity and morality of business. This idea is so central to Lapin’s philosophy, he chose it for the first chapter of his book.
“Anybody who has deep moral reservations about his occupation is someone who will never excel at that occupation,” Lapin says. “We’ve never been handicapped by that feeling. It’s the secret of Judaism. The Hebrew terminology for business, for transactions, all of these speak of God smiling on the whole process.”
The rabbi also believes that prosperity permeates the Jewish lifestyle because of a dedication to community, giving and doing the right thing.
“God rewards human connectivity with wealth,” Lapin says. “The Internet, television, telephone, shipping, railroads — anything that increased connectivity with humans created a wealth-creation spike. This is the message of Judaism. The need for a minyan (a quorum of at least 10 men for prayers) is the need for people to come together.”
Contributing to a community is also fundamental to Lapin’s vision for a prosperous society. He believes that the motivation to make money is not as important as actually making and sharing it.
“It’s not a book about being a saint, it’s a book about getting rich,” Lapin says. “Focus on action — that’s a priority. It’s the way to start. It’s the way to begin. Behavior is more important than thoughts. The reasons we do it don’t matter so much. Jewish morality is predicated on the fact that only God can read minds and hearts. We judge on actions, not intentions. We should focus on doing the right thing rather than obsessing on whether people have the right intentions.”
And to emphasize his focus on behavior, Lapin is clear to contradict a popular cultural value.
“Sincerity is not a virtue. We overrate sincerity. We are to behave respectfully to one another. Actions trump intentions.”
But while Judaism promotes actions, community and connectivity, Lapin tells his readers that a religious orientation is not necessary to prosper in the world.
“Even if you have no sense of cosmic morality or transcendent faith it still doesn’t matter, it still makes sense to conduct business honorably,” Lapin says. “It still makes sense because you’ll be more successful that way, long term.”
Whether the reader is Jewish or not, Lapin says that anyone can benefit from his Commandments. The important thing is that people are open to understanding themselves, their habits and their attitudes more intimately.
“This (book) is a complete spiritual reorientation of your outlook,” says Lapin. “Money is not material. Is it metal discs or is it strips of paper? No, money is a completely spiritual condition. It’s horrible and wrong to let the material dominate our existence. The material should occupy its proper place.”
For Lapin, financial success requires the right attitude.
“Anyone who thinks that Jews rose from the tenements of Brooklyn to the mansions of Beverly Hills by incremental changes in the minimum wage, that’s not how we did it. We did it with business. We should become less embarrassed by our ability to create wealth. In fact, we should share it. We ought to hold entrepreneurial institutes and camps to teach youth who come from underprivileged backgrounds to create wealth because we know how to do it.”