36 | SEPTEMBER 10 • 2020
business SPOTlight
brought to you in partnership with
here’s to
B I R M I N G H A M
T
raditional Judaism is a religion
based on rules. There are 613
commandments in the Torah,
which means there are a lot of ways
Jewish people can make mistakes.
But of all the 613 commandments, we
are unaware of any Jewish-based phil-
anthropic and investment guidelines. To
be sure, rabbis and scholars have opined
on the topic, but, for example, there
is no Jewish equivalent to the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Investment Guidelines. There are also
Baptist guidelines and leaders of Muslim
sects have released their own Sharia-
based rules, but there is nothing directly
on point in Judaism.
Nevertheless, Jews who want to invest,
make financial plans and give to char-
ities based on Jewish values would not
be without guidance. Perhaps your rabbi
won’
t provide any pithy stock picks, but
Jewish values can provide the founda-
tion upon which financial decisions are
made.
Any discussion of Jewish-based finan-
cial decisions begins with the Torah. In
this case, we would be guided by five
particular mitzvot: tzedakah, tikkun olam,
tzedek, g’
milut chasadim and tikya. These
five foundational mitzvot won’
t tell us
to buy Facebook versus Apple,
or to donate to a particular
charity, but they will provide
the basis upon which informed
investors can make their own
decisions.
So, what are these mitzvot
and what do they tell us about
making financial decisions?
The first is tzedakah, which is
literally translated to “righteousness.”
Judaism places an emphasis on the
importance of charity. Tithing (maaser
in Hebrew) is referenced throughout the
Torah, and in most other major world
religions for that matter. The Torah
states the obligation to donate 10% of
one’
s crops to members of the commu-
nity in need. Tzedakah also refers to the
KYLE T. ZWIREN, REUBEN RASHTY AND JACOB RASHTY
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
A Jewish
Approach to
Planning and
Investing
Mark Silberstein, former
Detroiter and son of the late Rabbi
Noah M. Gamze, spiritual leader
of the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue, has been named
senior director of Local Media
Content at KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Jews Choose Trump announced
that Ronna H. Ross of Bloomfield
Township is the Michigan Director
of JCT, which supports the
re-election of President Donald
Trump and is a nationwide clear-
inghouse of information particularly interesting
to Jewish Americans.
The Oakland University Board of Trustees
recently voted to appoint Tonya Allen as
chair and Robert “Bobby” Schostak as
vice chair of the board. Allen serves as
president and chief executive officer of
the Skillman Foundation, a Detroit-based
organization dedicated to improving the
lives of Detroit children by helping to create
pathways to high school graduation, col-
lege, successful careers and fulfilling lives.
Schostak is the president and CEO of the
Templar Baker Group, a multi-disciplined
consulting firm, and serves as the co-chief
executive officer of Schostak Brothers &
Company, a leading commercial real estate
business in Michigan, where they operate
properties in 24 states.
Tonya Allen
Robert
Schostak
Sami Rohr
Prize for Jewish
Literature honored
recipients of its
2020 award for
nonfiction in an
online ceremony. Among the
recipients is Sarah Hurwitz,
author of In Here All Along:
Finding Meaning, Spirituality,
and a Deeper Connection to
Life – in Judaism. Writing in
her own voice, Hurwitz invites
us to share her journey toward
fulfillment as she rediscovers
the beauty and timeless les-
sons of Judaism.