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PERASHA MISHPATIM

02/17/2023 01:13:29 PM

Feb17

And these are the ordinances… you shall place before them" (21,1)

In good faith

Rashi says on the spot that when we read ...''And these'' it means that the Torah wants us to know that these ordinances are in addition to the utterances that were given in the monumental event of the receiving of the Torah; this is to say that the first set of instructions are from Mount Sinai and so are these issues are given at the same event.

The first issue that is felt within these ordinances is related to a Jewish slave that stole and did not have money to pay and therefore was sold as a slave in order to repay in kind to settle his debt.

Rav Moshe Feinstein says that this first issue here relates directly to the very first commandment ''I am Hashem your God…'' which means that if one had to steal then in fact he lacks the proper faith that Hashem is his God that takes care of the needs and livelihood of all creatures in the entire universe.  Therefore the person who resorted to theft is deficient of faith and trust in Hashem and doubts Hashem's obligation to sustain and support the entire creation and in fact demonstrates an impediment in belief in the very first commandment; otherwise he would have been able to muster enough faith in Hashem and would not resorts to theft.

The very first question one is asked after his ascendance to the Next world is ''Did you negotiate in good faith'' and the reason that this question is first and carries the highest gravity is that if one did not obtain his income in lawful and proper means, that means all the Mitzvoth that he performed that stemmed and were derived from such questionable income as Tefilin, Blessings on meals, donations and so on, were all founded on corrupted earnings and therefore would in fact amount to sins and transgressions and would carry little merit.

It is said that once a rich businessman presented the phylacteries that were just made for him to the Chazon Ish and said that he spared no money and effort to have them made with the utmost strict rules and finest material as well as the highest grand like manner and beauty, and that he paid top dollars and spared no resources and hired the most distinguished writer and was very pleased and proud of this.  The Chazon Ish then whispered in his ears the question, ''Did you also obtain the funds for this purchase with the same type of dedication and honorable methods''?

''When money you lend to My people, to the poor person who is with you, do not act towards him as a creditor, do not place …interest''.  When a poor person comes to borrow money we are to employ a great deal of sympathy and understanding as well as very strict and important awareness.  We must be mindful that sometimes Hashem granted us wealth and money only for the sake of landing and sharing part of it, as it is His way of taking care of the poor and needy that for unknown reasons to us Hashem selected for them to receive their sustenance in this manner.

Each and every one, in accordance to his own level, has to lend money if one of the 3 'If and whens'' that are not discretionary arise and it must be treated as a commandment; furthermore, the saying ''the poor who is with you'' as per Or HaHaim Hakadosh means that we need to feel just as poor as the borrower, we need to feel that we are poor in our balance of Mitzvoth and that this borrower is now an opportunity for us to merit a great Mitzvah.

Therefore, Hashem warns us to not to feel as a creditor and not to think that we are somehow superior to the borrower and possess an elevated state and to realise that in fact the main point is to make an effort to feel the borrower's plight and humiliating state of mind when asking for a loan.  As a result we must share this emotional burden and acknowledge his turmoil as much as we can.

These 2 issues have direct link to the strength of our faith and trust in Hashem that indeed He is our God!  On one hand, having ample confidence in Hashem as the ultimate provider will ensure that we apply appropriate and sincere conduct as well good faith in our dealing with others.

Thus, on the other hand, we know to never have to resort to ill fated methods to earn our living, as it can come to us in a fair and proper manner.

And as result and proof of this faith, we will be able to view our wealth as a trust that Hashem has put with us and lend to others as agents and messengers.

SHABBAT SHALOM!!!

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784