[Avodah] Hilul Hashem vis-a-vis non-Jews

[Micha Berger]

I just thought of another source, one that came up back when Napster was
in the news and the discussion of copyright and halakhah came up. I
again invite you to see my earlier posts of notes of a shiur by R Zev
Reichman then of the YU's Kollel Elyon, speaking at an OU
lunch-and-learn program, at
<http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol07/v07n058.shtml#04> and
<http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol07/v07n058.shtml#13>.

This isn't about chilul Hashem, directly, but assurs the underlying
cause -- acting less morally than our host society expects of their
population.

On the list (in the second post), at #2, was the Sho'el uMeishiv
1:44. To quote myself from back when the shiur was fresh in my mind
(in the first post):
> The Sho'el uMeishiv's position that if secular society saw the moral
> obligation to protect an author's creation and publisher's investment,
> it is impossible that the Torah is less moral. He therefore assigns
> ownership of ideas to their creator. And since, in halachah, ownership
> is eternal (barring proactively making a kinyan), he paskened that
> copyrights are lehalachah also eternal.

> Note that he isn't claiming dina dimalchusah. There are grounds for
> that too, and even for turning that dina dimalchusah ownership into a
> halachic eternal ownership. But that's for a discussion of the halachos
> of copyright.

> I just want to note the SuM's assumption, and the importance he assigns
> moral rights identified by the surrounding culture.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             With the "Echad" of the Shema, the Jew crowns
micha at aishdas.org        G-d as King of the entire cosmos and all four
http://www.aishdas.org   corners of the world, but sometimes he forgets
Fax: (270) 514-1507      to include himself.     - Rav Yisrael Salanter