Kindness is the basis for Hebrew Law on business.
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Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
“THIS is how you treat people!” I proclaimed. Just before Christmas, 1995, a textile mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts was destroyed by fire. About 1,400 people worked at Malden Mills. The owner of the mill, Aaron Feuerstein, spoke to the employees’ days after the fire. “I am not throwing people out of work two weeks before Christmas,” was his famous line. Feuerstein then and there declared that he would pay his workers their wages, even though the mill was closed, and they could not work.
It was early in 1996 that an NBC News feature covered the incident. Feuerstein’s reputation as a kind boss soared. Feuerstein continued to pay his workers for months – without a product being produced – while the mill was being rebuilt. I showed that news story to my high school students for years, always ending with my line, “THIS is how you treat people.”
Aaron Feuerstein was a rich man who had made millions from his plant. He could have easily claimed the insurance money and walked away. But he didn’t. Feuerstein not only continued to pay his employees, but he also rebuilt the mill, creating an innovative, cold-weather material.
Something that is missing in all the mainstream reportage of Mr. Feuerstein is the answer to the question, “Why did he do it? Why did he continue to pay his workers when he didn’t have to?” The answer, according to Mr. Feuerstein, is found in Deuteronomy 24:14, “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or a stranger.”
“THIS is how you treat people,” is based on Hebraic law. Everyone should know the story of Aaron Feuerstein and the Hebrew teaching that motivated one man’s care for others. For Truth in Two this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the teaching of Scripture applied to business practices.