We tend to attribute the fatherhood of modern capitalism to Adam Smith, who wrote The Wealth of Nations originally as a mere guidebook. In essence, Adam Smith’s philosophy was to let the markets regulate themselves or, as we commonly refer to this idea, to perpetuate a free economy. My finance professor back in business school, Dr. Aaron Brown, one of the leading analysts on Wall Street, compares the attempt to regulate the market to a person trying to stabilize a ball with a stick. This might be true, but it doesn’t mean that markets can’t regulate themselves ethically.

Recently, I was invited to introduce “The Book of Amos” at one of the local churches. “The Book of Amos” is the first prophetic book of the Bible to have been written, and it carries a universal message about regulating the market. Amos’s themes of social justice and divine judgment are reverberated in the words of all the other prophets.  God wants us to be free, but links this freedom directly to our ethical conduct regarding our wealth.

Amos, an older contemporary of Isaiah, was active around c. 750 BC. He was a Judaean who preached to the northern kingdom of Israel. But Amos tells the cult prophet Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.” (Amos 7:14) The sycamore (of Israel) produces a small fruit that is not known to have a great taste. The job of the dresser was to puncture the fruit days before it was to be gathered in order to help with the ripening process.

When Amos says he is a dresser of sycamores, he is describing himself as the average man on the street. The central idea of the “Book of Amos” is that God puts his people on the same level when it comes to ethical behavior. Similar to the surrounding nations, Israel and Judah will not be exempt from the judgment of God because of their unjust ways. Israel is guilty of injustices toward the innocent, the poor, and to young women. The modern example of sex trafficking has ancient roots.

“Thus, said the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept His statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk. So will I send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. Thus saith the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes.” (Amos 2:4-6)

The Talmud tells us that this is a reference to Joseph having been sold by his brothers. The Talmud also links this act to the destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judea — thus the Temple. If you don’t see yourself and others as equals — a fellow sycamore tree — eventually you are bound to be unjust toward him.

We have just begun the “Three Weeks” period between the 17th of Tammuz, the day the Romans breeched the walls of Jerusalem, and the 9th of Av, when the Temple was destroyed. Let’s use this time to examine ourselves and our actions, and to make sure we don’t sell our brothers and sisters for a pair of shoes. The way to rebuild is through justice. “Behold, the days come, said the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:5-6,11)

God bless,

—Rabbi Gadi Capela