The power of shopping local: Black Friday is an opportunity for Israelis to rebuild - opinion

You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There's another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity - Bill Gates

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the sibling rivalry between Esau and Jacob. The first story we read about them revolves around the selling of the birthright. As we know, Esau came back from the field absolutely famished and saw Jacob boiling up a pot of lentil stew. Living in the moment Esau would do anything for some stew. “Jacob said, “Make an oath to me this day,” so he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank and got up and left. Thus, Esau spurned the birthright.” (Genesis 25:33-34)

This was certainly the first black Friday special! Up to this point in Genesis, we’ve read about some business deals, but they were at full price. This is the first real ‘bargain’ or ‘deal’ we have come across. 

It’s that time of the year again. I was walking down Yaffo street in the heart of Jerusalem earlier this week and there were 2 teenage girls walking behind me loudly pointing out the stores that have Black Friday signs in the windows and strategically planning their shopping trip. My social media feed is full of Black Friday advertisements, and I don’t even shop. 

Saving the Israeli economy

In the past, I have railed against the whole Black Friday/Cyber Monday industry. But this year I want to take another approach and that is to not buy from the big global online platforms and focus on shopping locally, helping support local small and midsized businesses, who through no fault of their own are suffering financially. I believe that we are morally obligated to do so, even if it may cost us a bit more money in the short run.

Whether it’s a business in the north or south that’s been hit hard due to the war, or businesses run by miluimnikim ( reservists) who’ve dropped everything in order to serve the country, many having spent more than 200 days fighting, it’s clearly our moral duty to support these individuals as opposed to giving more money to some multi-national company. 

The Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish law) in Yoreh De’ah 251:3 deals with who to prioritize when it comes to giving charity. The order is like this. The poor of the Land of Israel take precedence over the poor of other countries. Local poor take precedence over poor from other towns and localities. Poor neighbors take precedence over the other poor of the town. We see from this that we are obligated to support the local poor over the more ‘global’ poor. 

Maimonides in the laws of Matnot Aniyim 10:18 rules, “A person should always construct himself and bear hardship rather than appeal to people at large and make himself a burden on the community. Our Sages commanded, saying: "Make your Sabbaths as weekdays, and do not appeal to people at large." Even a distinguished sage who becomes poor should involve himself in a profession - even a degrading one - rather than appeal to people at large. It is preferable for a person to skin the hide of animal carcasses, rather than tell people: "I am a great sage..." or "I am a priest, grant me sustenance." Our Sages commanded conducting oneself in such a manner. There were great sages who were woodchoppers, porters of beams, water-carriers for gardens, and iron-smelters and makers of charcoal, but they did not ask anything from the community, nor did they accept gifts that were given to them.”

These business owners want to open up their stores. They don’t want to take charity. They want to earn an honest living. These local shop owners are doing everything in their power to stay open and not rely upon charity. It is incumbent on us to do everything in our power to help them. Now, I am not saying that you should go to a random store and spend a thousand shekels on products that you don’t need.  That would go against everything I write about every week. But if you need to buy something don’t buy from one of those huge online stores. In current times it’s a matter of life and death for the struggling local store and your purchase can make the difference. 

There are local economic benefits to shopping locally. Craig Hanson CEO and Co-founder of ThrivingLocally.com cites a study about the multiplier effect in small communities of buying local. He writes, “The study examined how much of a dollar spent at a local independent store is re-spent in the local area as payroll, goods/services purchased from area businesses, profits spent locally by owners, and as donations to area charities. The study found each $100 spent at local small businesses generated $45 of secondary local spending, compared to $14 for a big-box chain.” 

The government has been roundly criticized for not doing enough to help these businesses. As is with most government help, it’s layered in bureaucracy and falls well short of its goals. Let’s do it ourselves and strengthen both our small businesses and our communities at the same time. 

Happy shopping.

The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates. 

Aaron Katsman is author of the book Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.aaronkatsman.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.