The Talmud usually answers questions about civil law by quoting legal precedents.
However, in this text, Rav responds with ethical quotes from the Book of Proverbs.
What might the significance of this be?
The attitude of Judaism to the yetzer hara (evil inclination) in economics,
as one that can be sanctified, stands in contrast to the attitudes found in… socialism.
Their understanding of the economic drive as being the cause of hate, jealousy, theft and murder was a correct one and one that is perfectly acceptable.
Since it severed the relationship between the activity of the individual and the return that society was paying him, this raised other moral issues of a fair return for an honest day’s work.
