Rabbi: Buy only from religious storeowners
Haredim must prefer doing business with religious Jews, rather than with secular or non-Jewish business owners, says Rabbi Yaakov Yosef
Ultra-Orthodox Jews should prefer shopping in businesses owned by religious Jews, rather than by secular or non-Jewish owners, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef ruled.
The rabbi, son of Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, became the subject of a police investigation several months ago after he issued a halachic ruling saying Jews must refrain from employing Arabs.
This week the rabbi went one step further when he published a ruling in the "Our Land of Israel" journal stating, "If we have before us two stores – one owned by a Jew and the other by a non-Jew (or a Jew that behaves like a gentile) – it is our duty to buy from the God-fearing Jew."
Yosef, one of the leading rabbis of the Israeli Right, added that "the aforementioned ruling pertains not only to shopping in a store, but should also be implemented when renovating the house or moving. One must prefer to employ religious workers."
However, the rabbi noted that according to one halachic view, it is permitted to shop at a secular or non-Jewish-owned business if the price difference between the latter and the religious competition is greater than 16.6%.
