ותני רבי חייא בר רב מדיפתי רבי יהושע בן קרחה אומר כל המעלים עיניו מן הצדקה כאילו עובד עבודת כוכבים כתיב הכא (דברים טו, ט) השמר לך פן יהיה דבר עם לבבך בליעל וגו' וכתיב התם (דברים יג, יד) יצאו אנשים בני בליעל מה להלן עבודת כוכבים אף כאן עבודת כוכבים
Rabbi Hiyya bar Rav from Dipthi taught that Rabbi Yehoshua b. Korha said: anyone who closes his eyes from charity is as if he serves idols. It is written in one place, "Guard yourself lest there be a worthless thing in your heart" (Dt 15:9), and it is written elsewhere "The sons of the Worthless went out" (Dt 13:14): just as there they went for idolatry, so too in the first instance.
What does this suggest about the nature of idolatry?
In Ivory Coast (supplier of 40% of the worlds cocoa), there are 109,000 child laborers, 10,000 of whom are forced laborers—slaves, who work without pay and are subject to beatings and abuse. All major cocoa companies buy cocoa from farms using children, and reap profits off the backs of these kids.
In the contemporary documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate," the filmmakers document one such slave, a 12 year old girl from Segou, Mali, named Maryam. Maryam's parents were quite poor, so they sent her to Ivory Coast to make money to send back home to her family. She was sent by bus 270 miles to the south, to Zegoua, on the border with the Ivory Coast, with an escort. Her escort was really a trafficker, and she had really been sold into slavery without her or her family knowing- the going price is 230 euros, all of which goes to the smugglers. When she showed up there she had open sores on her knees and legs. If she had not been intercepted she would have been handed over to be smuggled by motorcycle, across dirt roads, into Ivory Coast, to work for no pay, never to attend school, in a country whose language she didn’t know.
(א) שלא להנות מתקרבת עבודה זרה - שלא נדביק שום דבר מעבודה זרה עם ממוננו וברשותנו להנות בו, ועל זה נאמר (דברים ז כו) ולא תביא תועבה אל ביתך וגו'...
(ו) ומן הנכלל במצוה זו, שלא ידביק האדם אל ממונו שחננו האל בצדק ממון אחר שהוא של גזל, או חמס או מרבית, או מכל דבר מכער, שכל זה בכלל משמשי עבודה זרה הוא, שיצר לב האדם רע, חומד אותו ומביאו אל הבית, והיצר הרע נקרא בשם עבודה זרה, וכמו שאמרו זכרונם לברכה (ב''ב י א) שבו נאמר פן יהיה דבר עם לבבך בליעל (שם טו ט) וכתיב בענין עבודה זרה (שם יג יד) יצאו אנשים בני בליעל מקרבך וידיחו וגו'. ובממונות כאלו שזכרנו, ובמשמשי עבודה זרה על כלן נאמר והיית חרם כמוהו, כלומר, שכל הנדבק עמו הוא חרם, שאין ברכת האל מצויה בו, ואבד וכלה, וכענין שאמרו זכרונם לברכה (ב''מ עא, א), שפרוטה של רבית מכלה כמה אוצרות של ממון, שבא זה, ומאבד את זה.
1. Not to derive benefit from any utensils which serve idolatry--that we should not attach anything idolatrous with our money or in our possession to benefit from it. On this it was said "Do not bring an abomination into your house." (Dt 7:26)
6. Included in this commandment is that a person should not connect to the money that God has graced him rightfully, money that was stolen from another, or extorted or interest, or anything unseemly, all of which are included in "implements of idolatry." Because a person's inclination is evil, he desires it and brings it into his house. The evil inclination is called idolatry, as they said (Bava Batra 10a): it was said of it "lest there be a worthless thing in your heart" (Dt 15:9) and it was written about idolatry "Worthless men went from your midst and ..."(Dt 13:15) Of any money like this which we have mentioned, and of any implements of idolatry, it is written "You shall be banned like it." That is to say, anything attached to it is banned, because the blessing of God is not found there, and it is destroyed and perishes. This is what the rabbis said, that "a coin of interest destroys an entire treasury of money," (Bava Metzia 71a) This comes and destroys that
According to the Sefer Chinnuch, could you justify buying something produced unethically?
What contemporary labor practices do you think would fall under his prohibition?
According to the Sefer Chinnuch, what difference does it make if we don't purchase items produced unethically? What do you think is the motivation for the prohibition?
Based on this text, can chocolate produced with slaves be considered "kosher"? Given that chocolate is produced from multiple sources, how much slave-produced content would render it unkosher
(ו) אלו כלים שאין האמן רשאי למכרם בשביעית, מחרשה וכל כליה, העל, והמזרה, והדקר. אבל מוכר הוא מגל יד ומגל קציר ועגלה וכל כליה. זה הכלל, כל שמלאכתו מיחדת לעברה, אסור. לאסור ולהתר, מתר.
(ט) משאלת אשה לחברתה החשודה על השביעית, נפה וכברה, ורחים ותנור. אבל לא תבר ולא תטחן עמה. אשת חבר, משאלת לאשת עם הארץ, נפה וכברה, ובוררת וטוחנת ומרקדת עמה. אבל משתטיל את המים, לא תגע אצלה, שאין מחזיקין ידי עוברי עברה. וכלן לא אמרו אלא מפני דרכי שלום. ומחזיקין ידי גוים בשביעית, אבל לא ידי ישראל. ושואלין בשלומן, מפני דרכי שלום.
(6) These are the tools that a craftsman is not allowed to sell during the Sabbatical year: a plow and all its tools, a yoke, a winnowing fan, and a pick. However, one may sell a hand-sickle, a harvesting sickle, and a wagon and all its tools. This is the rule: anything whose usage is directed toward [work which is a Sabbatical] transgression is forbidden; but [anything the normal usage of which is for work which is] a transgression [on the Sabbatical year] or permitted, it is permitted.
(9) A woman may lend to her fellow who is suspected in the matter of the Sabbatical year a sieve, a sifter, millstones and an oven. But she may not sort or grind with her. The wife of a Chaver [status marking those who scrupulously observe tithes and purity laws] may lend to the wife of an Am HaAretz [someone lax in observing tithes and purity laws] a sieve and a sifter, and may sort, grind and sift with her. But once she wets [the flour], she may not touch it, as one may not assist transgressors.
And all of these were said only for the sake of peace. And we encourage the work of non-Jews in the Sabbatical year, but not that of Jews. And we inquire after their [the non-Jews] well-being, for the sake of peace.
When we purchase chocolate that was partially produced by slaves, are we "assisting transgressors"?
With regard to one who cooks on Shabbat, if he did so unwittingly, he may eat what he cooked. If he acted intentionally, he may not eat what he cooked. This is the statement of Rabbi Meir.
Rabbi Yehuda says: If he cooked the food unwittingly, he may eat it at the conclusion of Shabbat, If he cooked it intentionally, he may never eat from it.
Rabbi Yoḥanan HaSandlar says: If he acted unwittingly, the food may be eaten at the conclusion of Shabbat by others, but not by him. If he cooked the food intentionally, it may never be eaten, neither by him nor by others.
Rabbi Yehuda says unintentionally he may eat after Shabbat--but not on Shabbat. And the same law applies to others. Because even though with unintentional violation there is no stoning, there is still a prohibition. And we need enough time that they could cook [the food] such that he gets no benefit from the sin.
And since it needed to teach in the latter clause that "he may never eat it," meaning that since he violated a prohibition the rabbis penalized him but not others, it also taught in the first clause with regard to him... And the anonymous mishnah [at the end] that prohibits it that day even to others is not R. Yehuda, because if so, the penalty of the first clause is on intentional sin, so why should it be permitted later? He taught that if it was intentional it should never be eaten! Rather, the reason is that he should not benefit from a sin, and it makes no difference whether it is him or someone else.
רבי יונתן כל מי שאפשר למחות לאנשי ביתו ולא מיחה נתפס על אנשי ביתו באנשי עירו נתפס על אנשי עירו בכל העולם כולו נתפס על כל העולם כולו אמר רב פפא והני דבי ריש גלותא נתפסו על כולי עלמא
they said: Anyone who had the capability to effectively protest the sinful conduct of the members of his household and did not protest, he himself is apprehended for the sins of the members of his household and punished. If he is in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the people of his town, and he fails to do so, he is apprehended for the sins of the people of his town. If he is in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the whole world, and he fails to do so, he is apprehended for the sins of the whole world. Rav Pappa said: And the members of the household of the Exilarch were apprehended and punished for the sins of the whole world. Because their authority extends across the entire Jewish world, it is in their hands to ensure that nobody commit a transgression.
What obligations does this text impose on us in regards to slave-produced chocolate?


