Corporate Social Responsibility and The Talmudic Principle of Going Beyond the Requirements of The Law: The Cornerstone of Ethics

Abstract

The Talmud blamed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple on the Romans because people insisted on following the strict letter of Torah law and not doing more than the law required. This paper will demonstrate the importance of stressing going beyond the requirements of the law — lifnim mishurat hadin — if an individual or organization is genuinely concerned about ethical values. There has been much discussion in the literature about corporations engaging also in activities that further social good, referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility, and not focusing exclusively on maximizing shareholder wealth.  In this paper we present an argument for an ethical framework, for individuals as well as corporations, that entails acting beyond the strict requirements of the law.