He uses the example of Aaron Feuerstein, the owner of the Malden Mills textile factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as an instantiation of these values. When his factory burnt down in December 1995, Feuerstein pledged to rebuild the plant, rehire the workers, continue to pay their wages for as long as possible, and even give them their usual Christmas bonus. Feuerstein was hailed as a hero, someone who did what everyone thought was right but what few people actually do. This makes perfect sense. Jr. Feuerstein is an observant Jew who was inspired, even compelled, by his understanding of the Jewish legal tradition to do the right thing.
Singer discusses how Jewish concepts yield new insights into American property laws.
Thus, not only the edges of the field, but what is dropped or left behind during the harvest, are reserved for the poor to take. By themselves, Jewish legal concepts, because they describe entitlements rather than beneficence, give Singer the fodder for a forceful and direct argument that the poor have a right to employment, indistinguishable from a property right. But his argument, or at least its provenance, has its limits. So Singer turns to other major traditions, Christianity and Islam. Christianity, though shot through with exhortations to charity and love for one's neighbor, is not quite as amenable to Singer's arguments as Judaism.