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    Taking & giving – Korach

    The sidra begins, Vayyikkach Korach, “And Korach took”.

    Korach was a taker, not a giver. In many ways he is the symbol of the person who lacks business ethics and is only concerned about what he can get out of his business life.

    It is said that the Chafetz Chayyim told his students, “What we talk about in Talmud shi’urim in Radin affects what happens in the British Parliament”.

    In a broader sense he was quite right. One thing always affects another, and the Talmudic discussions about honesty and community service in some way create standards for upright people everywhere in the world.

    Takers want as much as possible from every transaction. Givers say, “I am part of a community and I want it to be a better community because I was one of its members.

    “So I will end up with fewer assets? Maybe, but one of the questions God asks a person when they knock at the door of the World to Come is, ‘Were your dealings upright and honest?”

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