Love of Money: The process of acquiring money versus the proper use of money has often been taught in the scriptures. Unfortunately, the Jews have often been maligned with the love of money. Karl Marx perpetuated the myth of greedy Jews. "Marx's father Heinrich, whose original name was Hirschel ha-Levi, was the son of a rabbi and the descendant of many generations of Talmudic scholars. His brother was chief rabbi of Trier. Marx described his attitude to Jews and Judaism as one of ‘self-hatred.’ At 15 he was confirmed a Protestant and became deeply attached to Christianity and to German culture. Marx associated Jews largely with greed, self-interest and love of money. He reveals a surprising ignorance of Jewish history and culture, and often refers to Jews as the symbol of financial power and capitalist mentality. This attitude did not protect Marx or his ideas from anti-Semitic attacks by his enemies. Ironically, the fascists and Nazis of the 1930s a nd 1940s used the term ‘Marxism’ to denote a sinister worldwide ‘Jewish’ plot against their national interests. Marx's Jewish origins, though hinted at in Soviet encyclopedias up to the 1940s, were studiously concealed thereafter." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Lending Money, a Moral Obligation: "In Jewish tradition, the lending of money to the needy is a moral obligation of extreme importance. Lending money is, of course, also a basic component of any business economy, but both in biblical and Talmudic law, no distinction is made between the two situations: no matter what the occasion, money lent by one Jew to another must not earn interest. Usury of even the most minimal amount is flatly prohibited by the Torah:" "This prohibition proved to be one of the most universally violated obligations of biblical law. The prophets repeatedly denounce "evil-doers" who oppress the poor by taking interest on loans . . . even in biblical times there were many who did not live up to this moral requirement imposed by the Torah." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Fear and Faith are Expectations: Although the word "fear" is used often in the scriptures, it has two meanings. One meaning is opposite of faith. Fear is expecting what you "don’t want" while faith is expecting things you "do want."

"In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." (Psalms 56:4)

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalms 27:1)

Purpose of Human Existence in One Sentence: ". . . on the eve of the Children of Israel's entry into the Promised Land, Moses made a farewell speech to the Jews . . . he reviewed their history and gave direction for their future. In one sentence (Deuteronomy 10:12) he summed up . . . the entire purpose of human existence: ‘And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you? Only this: to revere (fear) the Lord your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.’" "The Hebrew word for ‘revere’ is (yirah) which is usually translated as ‘fear,’ and that for ‘love’ is (aha'vah). These two concepts, although they may seem contradictory at first glance, are the essence of Judaism's view of man's attitude to God." "The ‘fear’ referred to is not the fright or scaredness which a person feels when he is confronted, for example, with a hungry lion. It is rather a feeling of awe or reverence felt when witnessing greatness or grandeur . . . awe at the thought of the infinity and greatness of God." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Seven Categories of Theft, Stealing, Embezzlement, and Purloining: According to the (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.), Jewish law classifies the criminal act of theft or of robbery into seven broad categories: 1) Fraud, that is, "stealing another person's mind"; 2) Stealing by way of falsifying weights and measures; 3) Stealing objects that are useless or have no value; 4) Misappropriating documents, land or property consecrated to the Temple; 5) Stealing personal items of worth; 6) Stealing animals (sheep or oxen) and then slaughtering or selling them; 7) Stealing a person, that is, kidnapping."

Different Penalties: "Each of these categories carries a different penalty, ranging from death in the case of kidnapping to the payment of a double fine in the case of the theft of a personal item of worth and of a fourfold or fivefold fine in the case of the theft and subsequent slaughtering or selling of an animal. The distinction in Jewish law between theft and robbery is a formal one --- theft being defined as an act of stealing done clandestinely, while robbery is an act of stealing done openly and with force." "Prohibitions against theft are scattered throughout the Torah, and the rabbis of the Talmud generally tended to see each as referring to a specific category of theft rather than as a prohibition against theft in general. Thus, the "Thou shalt not steal" of the Ten Commandments, because it appears in the context of prohibitions that carry the death penalty, was interpreted to be a reference to kidnapping, since that is the only type of theft punishable by death."

Restitution: "A thief who has been caught must, of course, return the objects he has stolen to their rightful owners. If he no longer has them in his possession, he must pay the value of the objects as they were assessed at the time of the robbery. The money to cover the value of the objects as well as for all the fines imposed, was drawn from the thief's possessions and property. If, after selling all he owns, the thief manages to accumulate sufficient funds to cover the cost value of the objects, he is allowed to pay the fines in installments. However, if his net worth does not cover the value of the stolen objects, the court has the right to sell him into slavery and use the proceeds to repay the victim. Women, however, were never sold into slavery."

Slavery:" Stealing a human being for gain is a capital offense in the Bible. One verse (Exodus 21:16) says that kidnapping is to be punished by death under all circumstances. Another (Deuteronomy 24:7) states that the kidnapper should be put to death if he enslaved or sold his victim. The rabbis interpreted the verses to mean that kidnapping either a Jew or non-Jew is forbidden under all circumstances. But the death penalty is only applicable if the kidnapper actually exploited his victim as a slave or sold him in slavery. Of course, in order to convict there has to be testimony of valid witnesses. The eighth of the Ten Commandments "Thou shalt not steal" is understood by the sages to refer to kidnapping and not to ordinary theft which is prohibited elsewhere in the Torah." "Since the prohibition against kidnapping applies to both Jews and non-Jews, slave-trading is absolutely forbidden according to Judaism. There can be no justification whatsoever for enslaving another person against his will." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

As a closing thought, in a very righteous sense, we are all "slaves of our God." We have been bought and paid for. We should, therefore, show our willingness to serve Him through all of our activities and in all our thoughts and expressions.