Yosher Award 
The Uri L’Tzedek Yosher Award
To recognize, honor and celebrate Jewish moral exemplars committed to ethical business practices.
Uri L'Tzedek is an Orthodox social justice organization guided by Torah values and dedicated to combating suffering and oppression. Uri L’Tzedek asks - What is Yosher, or moral virtue, in the business world?
A businessperson, especially a business leader, has legal, contractual, and promotional obligations in the workplace. At the same time, the businessperson also has an ethical and social responsibility to his or her employer, employees, shareholders, clients and the public.
“V’asita hayashar v’hatov,” the Torah commands in Deuteronomy 6:18 – You shall do what is straightforward and good. Rashi explains this injunction as being “lifnim mishurat hadin,” i.e. beyond the requirement of the law. The Talmud reports that when Rabbah bar Bar Channah hired porters, and they broke the wine barrel they were meant to carry, he confiscated their garments. Rav rebuked him and told him to return the garments, but Rabbah bar BarChannah justified his actions by pointing out that the porters owed him the monetary value of the wine they had lost; however, Rav explained, the law prohibits the confiscation of debtors’ very clothes, “in accordance with Proverbs 2:20, ‘So that you will go in the ways of the good’”(BavaMetzia 83a).
The principle of Yashrut operates beyond basic legal, market, or industry standards: it is about applying justice and righteousness to all of one’s dealings, sanctifying one’s everyday business actions, and imbuing one’s work environment with Torah values.
Uri L’Tzedek is proud to announce the Yosher Award. The Yosher Award seeks to acknowledge, honor, and celebrate observant Jews who exemplify the principle of Yashrut in the business world, to
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Recognize ethical deeds and efforts to combat suffering and oppression; and
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Honor one role model, male or female, who makes business a “good-faith activity,” and who, guided by Torah values, celebrates justice, righteousness, ethics and innovation in business.
Uri L’Tzedek invites you to nominate Jewish exemplars of Yosher and businessethics, which you find to be deserving of the Yosher Award. The Yosher Award will recognize all nominees who embody the principles of “hayashar v’hatov” and “lifnim mishurat hadin” in business. The awardee will be chosen by a panel of experts in Jewish business ethics, along with business and Orthodox Jewish leaders, as the nominee deemed the best role model and influence for Yosher in the business world.
Click here to download the nomination form. Please visit our FAQ page, here, for important details regarding the award
