Are Jews greedy

Answer 1

No, they are not. This stereotype comes from the casual observer's misunderstanding of Jewish culture. Jews often use their intellect to succeed rather than their hands which often leads them into business roles and entrepreneurship instead of physical labor.

In truth generosity runs in the veins of many Jews and in fact the very existence of The United States of America can be traced to the generosity of a Jew named Haim Solomon who funded George Washington's efforts and died a pauper because of it.

In Jewish culture, it is considered of the utmost importance that you are able to provide for your family. If you should die, or if your son or daughter should come down with some horrible and very expensive medical condition, or if a tornado should destroy your home and all of your belongings, you want to have enough money for your family to survive. It is not wealth that's important; it's financial security.

Moreover, the mitzva (command) of charity (Deuteronomy ch.15) is central to Judaism.

Of course there may be some Jews who are actually greedy, just as there are greedy people in any group. The question itself implies that all Jewish people have the same personality trait which is ridiculous.
I'll answer that by saying that, unless you've personally conducted a statistically

significant survey of Jewish personality types and characteristics and formulated

a conclusion based on your own observations, then the reason it might seem that way

to someone is the fact that it's what you've been taught and heard from so many directions

for so long.

-- One reason for the stereotype may be the casual observer's misunderstanding

of Jewish culture. Jews often use their intellect to succeed rather than their hands,

which often leads them into business roles and entrepreneurship instead of physical labor.

-- How did that get started ? Why are Jews typically not factory workers or farmers

like many others? In the Middle Ages, Jews were excluded from the tradesmens'

guilds, and prohibited by the church from owning land, but they were still required

to support their families and pay the king's taxes. The only remaining honest means

of making a living were banking and business ... which made it easy for their anti-semitic

detractors to grab the convenient and available stereotype of greed.

-- The very existence of The United States of America can be traced to the generosity

of a Jew named Haim Solomon who funded George Washington's efforts and died a pauper

because of it.

-- In Jewish culture, it is considered of the utmost importance that you are able to

provide for your family. If you should die, or if your son or daughter should come down

with some horrible and very expensive medical condition, or if a tornado should destroy

your home and all of your belongings, you want to have enough money for your family

to survive. It is not wealth that's important; it's financial security. A well-known

Hebrew proverb, dating from the Mishnah and quoted and re-quoted through several

centuries, asks "Who is the rich one?" and answers "The one who is satisfied with

what he has."

-- The commandment of charity (Deuteronomy ch.15) is central to Judaism.

If you'd like to conduct a survey that makes sense, go on line and search the

names of schools, hospitals, and nursing homes in different cities. See how many

"Jewish names" pop up in that kind of search, then ask yourself "How do they get

their names attached to those places?". Hint: It's not because somebody knew

the architect and slipped him a few bucks to paint their name on the door.

-- Full disclosure: There are some greedy Jews. There are also some greedy Baptists,

Amish, Methodists, Catholics, Anglicans, Buddhists, Muslims, Taoists, Uighur, Atheists

and Hindus. To imply that all Jewish people share a common and unique character trait

is absurd.