Italian
Rabbi Scialom Bahbout challenges the profit-driven mindset: “Resources are a temporary gift, they should be used for the common good”
ROME. In an era where global finance seems to dominate every aspect of life, an invitation to ethical and spiritual reflection comes from Rabbi Scialom Bahbout, who has been a leader of several Italian Jewish communities. Speaking at the international conference of the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation, Bahbout offered a biblical interpretation of money and debt that deeply addresses contemporary social issues.
“The Bible teaches us that we do not own anything – he explained -. Even the money we have is only temporarily given to us, and we must make good use of it not only for ourselves, but also for others.” At the core of the Jewish vision is therefore a principle of responsibility and sharing, according to which any excess resource should not be hoarded, but made available to the community.
A countercurrent message in an economic system that often rewards accumulation. “Financial feudalism is not allowed from the perspective of Jewish thought. Accumulating for oneself or for one’s heirs can become an abuse, an undue appropriation of what, essentially, does not belong to us.”
The rabbi also offered a concrete example: “Banks can cancel out-of-date coins. If it can be done for banknotes, why not reconsider obsolete or toxic financial instruments as well? It’s not true that it can’t be done: it just takes the will to do it.”
Bahbout recalled how the world of economics can – and should – draw inspiration from age-old values. And he concluded with a provocation: “Once society was agricultural, today it is financial. But in both, the issue remains the same: what we have must be shared. This is the true message of the Bible.”
