Ethics is the bottom line

To Aaron Feuerstein, good Judaism makes good business sense

EILEEN B. BRILL
Special to Jewish News

Last year Aaron Feuerstein, CEO of Malden Mills in Massachusetts, was thrust into the national spotlight when a fire nearly destroyed his textile factories. Demonstrating an all-too-uncommon loyalty to his 2,400 workers, he continued paying them for 90 days at a cost of $1.5 million per week while the factories were being rebuilt. He also gave generously to support charities that helped the families of nine critically injured workers who have since recovered.

Last Wednesday, some 150 business and community leaders gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix to watch Feuerstein receive the Lincoln Award for Ethics and Excellence in Business, sponsored by The Economic Club of Phoenix. The Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, at Arizona State University, presents the honor periodically to outstanding members of the business community who epitomize an ethics-centered philosophy.

Feuerstein graciously accepted the award, affirming the Lincoln Center's motto that "good ethics is good business." He credited his employees for their hard work during and after the fire, stating, "my people are my best asset."

He described how after he made the decision to rebuild, his workers thanked him profusely and promised "we will pay you back tenfold." At the same plant which never manufactured more than 130,000 yards a week of Polartec fabric, a mere one month and 10 days after the fire the workers began producing 200,000 yards a week.

What was unusual was how Feuerstein finished his speech: quoting from Jeremiah, Chapter 9, verses 22 and 23, in flawless Hebrew, then giving the English translation. His message was "Let the rich man not praise himself," but rather, by demonstrating the will of God, show kindness, justice and righteousness in his actions.

The rabbis and other Jewish leaders at the luncheon exchanged quick, knowing glances. Their reaction reflected a sentiment of many there that Feuerstein's words, as well as his actions, showed the world the best that Judaism has to offer.

"He didn't necessarily learn that at Harvard!," joked Rabbi David Rebibo of Congregation Beth Joseph in Phoenix, who attended the lunch. "Those of us who were Jewish took great pride that he ended his talk quoting Jeremiah. His response to the catastrophe was in accordance with the Torah: you do not sacrifice the lives of people who are depending on you."

Rebibo was not, however, surprised by Feuerstein's response, knowing the history of his family. According to Rebibo, Feuerstein's father, Samuel, was one of the early pioneers of the Jewish Day School movement and a leader with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations.

In fact, Feuerstein related after the luncheon, it was, in part, his grandfather's devotion to Judaism that led him to found Malden Mills at the turn of the century when he emigrated from Hungary.

"My grandfather - he was really something else," Feuerstein recalled. "He felt that by owning a textile mill it would not only enable him to bring his children into the business, but would provide the opportunity to observe the Sabbath." Since the family worked together, it allowed them to schedule work hours around religious observances, he said.

Feuerstein grew up in a family where Talmudic discussions around the dinner table helped formulate his beliefs about how to act in the world. "Judaism gives you a complete and thorough ethical framework within which you and your family can live," he explained.

He and his wife, Louise, are ardent supporters of their temple, Young Israel of Brookline, Mass. Coincidentally, their synagogue suffered a fire a year before the mill burned down and they played a role in helping to rebuild it.

For Louise, who converted to Judaism nine years ago, her religion is a way "to focus on the here and now." She adds, "It's a positive impetus to make life meaningful every day, not just concentrate on what's down the road."

Study remains an important part of Aaron Feuerstein's life, and he refers to it as "exercise for my mind." Also, each day he alternates between doing an hour of running and an hour of calisthenics. During that time, he goes over memorized passages from either Jewish literature (his favorites are the Prophets, the Psalms and Pirke Avot) and English literature (specializing in Shakespeare's tragedies).

So how does he feel about being a celebrity who has been on national television, written up in newspapers and magazines across the country, and has received close to 10,000 letters?

"Such things didn't happen to me until after I was 70 years old," he says with a smile. "Perhaps I was fortunate it didn't happen earlier - it might have spoiled me."