Justice Shall Thou Seek

Doing justice, according to Judaism, is first and foremost a person's duty to his and her fellow men and women. Doing justice is less concerned with sacred acts than with different kinds of social norms, different kinds of justice toward the "other". It may consist of stealing of knowledge (ideas, texts, etc), employers' refusal to grant employees their welfare rights, or employees spending working hours for personal activities. If a person eats say, an apple, without blessing it first, s/he is taking the apple without paying its price; therefore, s/he is stealing from God. If a person commits an unjust act - steals an object or commits any other crime - the most important penance to be performed is to desist and return the item to its original owner. Otherwise, that person's prayers, no matter how intent, will not be accepted in Heaven.