Political considerations demand simplicity of thought and
message. However, the Bible and Jewish thought provide a more
sophisticated and textured economic approach than Rabbi Aryeh
Spero's paean to rugged capitalism ("What the Bible Teaches
About Capitalism," op-ed, Jan. 30). Judaism does not endorse
capitalism, just as it does not culminate in socialism.  Judaism
advocates work and creation of wealth but also protects the
poor. Annulment of debts in the Sabbatical year (Deuteronomy
15:1-6) and return of land in the Jubilee year (Leviticus 25)
are not the approach of capitalism. Similarly, the Talmud's
treatment of labor relations (tractate Baba Metzia) is not
readily translatable into a simplistic distinction between
capitalism and socialism. The Bible, the Talmud and the Responsa
literature have created an ongoing corpus of legal and moral
writings balancing the right of private property with societal
and individual needs.  To equate the Bible with a single form of
economic theory is to force Judaism into