My good friend David* got an email this week from an old roommate, Yehuda*. They lived together in Israel for two months 16 years ago! Both were students and the arrangement was supposed to be long term, but after two months Yehuda upped and left without warning. Now, 16 years later, Yehuda was writing to make amends over some unpaid bills from that time. He figured the bills amounted to approximately $200 and he wanted to rectify his mistake. “I was young and immature back then,” he wrote, “but for the last 12 years, every Yom Kippur, I think about those unpaid bills and feel bothered by them.”
Finally, all these years later, Yehuda had the courage to track down David and repay him.
I found the email exchange deeply moving. Here was someone who had done a genuine accounting of his soul - he’d sifted through years of his life, found a mistake and made a sincere attempt to fix it. I can only imagine that if he tracked down David to make amends, he was probably doing the same with others. Instead of dragging this mistake around and letting it weigh him down forever, Yehuda fessed up and did the right thing.
In this week’s Torah portion we are warned against stealing. Rashi explains that “Do not steal” in the Ten Commandments actually refers to kidnapping, whilst this week’s parshah refers to monetary theft. The Talmud writes that theft makes G-d angry. What’s so unique about theft that it makes G-d angry? After all, there are plenty of other sins which seem equally as bad—if not worse—to us. Eating on Yom Kippur, eating pork, adultery, slander… all of these are bad but none come with the same warning about angering G-d. So why theft?
When a person steals, he or she is committing a sin every single second until the item, or money, is returned. It’s not a one-time sin, it’s an ongoing sin, and in that way it is unique. When a person eats pig, he’s sinning from the first bite to the last swallow, but then that’s it. It’s over. Did he do a bad thing? Absolutely. Does he need to repent? Of course! But when a person steals, the sin grows and multiplies until he or she returns the money.
When we conduct ourselves and our businesses with honesty and integrity, we create a vessel in which G-d can shine His blessing. But if we, G-d forbid, cheat and steal and work dishonestly, there is no vessel for blessing and success. Living in the modern cutthroat world, it’s very tempting to sometimes be a little dishonest in business with the hope of bigger financial gain. In fact, stealing may be easier than ever nowadays—we can sit in the comfort of our own home, or office, and do all our thieving with the push of a button!
But the benefits of living an honest life, and running a transparent business, far outweigh the perceived advantages of theft. It may seem like a “quick-fix” solution, but ultimately G-d only blesses honest money.
With Pesach Sheni—the Second Passover—right around the corner, this is an opportune time for second chances. Let’s learn from Yehuda—it’s never too late to rectify an old misdeed.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.