There is a mistaken notion about the scope of our Jewish obligations.

“I’ll ask a rabbi about Shabbat or Kashrut, but I don't tell the rabbi how to run his business, so the rabbi shouldn't tell me how to run mine. We may observe holidays and rituals at home on weekends, but what we do in the office 9 to 5 is our own business.”

According to the Talmud, the very first question we are asked by the Heavenly Court after our passing is “did you conduct your business honestly?” The second question is “did you study Torah, etc.” But question #1 is: were we ethical in business.

Note how the Ten Commandments combine our relationships to G-d and to our fellow. The Torah constantly juxtaposes the ritual commands and the interpersonal ethical obligations. One verse may say, eat only Kosher and the other verse will say, do not cheat, do not engage in fraud, because they are all part of the same religious structure. Judaism sees no dichotomy between ritual behavior and social behavior.

The Torah states: “Kedoshim Tiyu, be holy!” The great commentator Ramban explains that this requires us not to just obey the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the law. A person can be 100 percent observant, and yet be a “Naval B’rshut HaTorah” a repulsive, disgusting individual within the confines of the law. We must go beyond the law and embrace the ethical imperatives within that legal structure.

Alexander de Toqueville remarked 200 years ago that Americans are a litigious society; that we go to court at the smallest drop of the hat. We've become a rights oriented society rather than an obligation oriented society.

Judaism teaches us not to always press our claims to the fullest, but to deal with the other person in a spirit of tolerance, acceptance and compromise.

We declare in the Shma, “You shall love G-d with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all your might.” All of your heart, all of your soul we understand. But what is ‘your might?’ Rashi interprets that the verse means that we should love G-d with all our money.

But, how do we serve G-d with all our possessions? Certainly, G-d doesn’t require us to renounce material wealth. So, how does one serve G-d with all of his possessions?

The short answer is: with the probity and integrity by which we amass those possessions.

Business ethics is the arena where the ethereal transcendent teachings of holiness and spirituality confront the often grubby business of making money and being engaged in the rat race that often comprises the marketplace. It is the acid test of whether religion is truly relevant or religion is simply relegated to an isolated sphere of human activity. It is business ethics, one could posit, above all, that shows G-d co-exists in the world rather than G-d and G-dliness being separate and apart.

Serving G-d with all your possessions means that in the accumulation of our wealth, there is also a mechanism to serve G-d.

Torah teaches us to live in this world. We know that this world is a mixture of good and evil where other people don't play by the same rules. But the test of an ethical and moral person is to adhere to those values even if everyone else fails to adhere to them.

Rabbi Yitzchok Breitowitz received a BS, Johns Hopkins University 1976; JD,Harvard Law School 1979, Magna Cum Laude;Rabbinical Ordination, Ner Israel Rabbinical College,1976.Rabbi Breitowitz is the author of many articles and is a frequent lecturer on the interface of medical,legal and family ethics and Jewish law.