BAIS HAVAAD'S PARSHA PERSPECTIVES PARSHAS BEHAR The Mitzvah to ‘Buy Jewish’:Who Needs Scrip When You Have Scripture? By: Rabbi Tzvi Price

Due to the recent recession, numerous communities across America have tried to find new and innovative ways to help their members. One novel idea implemented in many cities and towns has been the printing of local currency called ‘scrip.’ The idea is simple. A community creates its own money which can be purchased at local banks at a five percent discount. The owner of this scrip can then use it at participating businesses. Those businesses will then further circulate the money through the local economy by purchasing goods and services at other participating businesses. Eventually, someone might decide to cash in his scrip at the bank, but hopefully not until the scrip has succeeded in conserving the wealth of the community. In essence, everyone who participates in the local scrip system has agreed to preferentially treat the local businesses that honor the currency, giving those businesses an economic edge over their non-local competitors. This idea might sound new, but we Jews have been doing business under a similar system for a very long time. However, our system does not need a five percent incentive to keep it operating. Nor does it require the printing of any ‘funny money.’ It works because of one thing and one thing only – our desire to promote each other’s financial success by buying from and selling to our fellow Jew whenever possible. Taking everything into consideration, we do a pretty good job of turning that desire into action, and it gives us a real economic advantage. But it’s not just a desire, it’s a pasuk in this week’s Parshah.