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Publication Date: January 1993
Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America
Author(s): Norman Linzer
Research Area: Culture and religion; Social conditions
Keywords: Religion; Communal Organization; Social Services
Type: Report
Coverage: United States
Abstract:
In Judaism's lexical ordering of values, Pikuach Nefesh, the saving of life, and Torah study and Torah scholars are pre-eminent. Using only this ordering of values to determine priorities in allocations to federation's services is a complex undertaking. These conceptual tools that talmudic literature provides for determining priorities in the allocation of scarce resources are not as precise as the ritual laws, and intelligent people could legitimately disagree on their application to allocations. This article illustrates how traditional Judaic sources can be used to illuminate the difficult contemporary dilemma of setting personal and professional priorities. The moral laws underlying the traditional sources provide a Jewish framework for allocating limited resources of time, energy, and money.