January 5, 2021 · 3:00
Question: A company has a number of open positions. They have received many resumés from job seekers, and have the ability to choose which employees they want to hire. Do they have to give priority to Jewish applicants or are they allowed to hire whomever they want? Answer: It is stated in Yoreh Deah, Hilchos Tzedakah, that the highest form of charity is providing a Jew with a source of livelihood. It is thus clear that from the tzedakah angle, hiring Jewish workers is the right thing to do.We actually see this from a verse in Torah that states, “Vehichzakta bo,” 'And you shall support him.' The Chofetz Chaim says that one should do this again and again. Even if one already is employing many Jewish workers, he should still hire more if he has more job openings. He should do so even if the Jewish worker would demand a slightly higher salary than a non-Jew.There are situations where it is more difficult for the employer to deal with a Jewish worker as versus a non-Jew. Perhaps the Jewish individual under consideration is harder to deal with or does not listen to instructions as well as the non-Jewish alternative. Although this wouldn’t be enough of a reason to fire him if he were already employed, the employer may not want to hire him if he feels the non-Jew is a better choice. In such an instance, the employer may have a dispensation from the mitzvah to hire a Jew. The Erech Shai discusses a case where one has a property for sale, and he feels that he could get more than the m