Day: February 21, 2025

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך (פרק כב פסוק כד)

The Torah tells us about the mitzvah to lend money to people in need, “when you will lend money to my nation, the poor person with you”. What is the meaning of the line “with you” and what does it have to do with giving צדקה? The Alshich explains based on a Gemara in Bava Basra (131b) that if a man bequeaths all his possessions to only one of his sons, we say that he certainly did not mean to make that son the sole owner. Nobody would willingly leave any of their children with nothing. Rather, we say that he was appointing that son as the caretaker of the estate, to safeguard the funds and provide them to his brothers when necessary. So too, says the Alshich, we are all children of Hashem, certainly He would not give one person wealth and leave others destitute. It must be that the one who has the money was just appointed as a “guardian” over the poor person’s money, that is why he has so much, and part of his job is to distribute it when needed. This perspective is being taught to us by the pasuk, “the poor person, with you”, in other words, the portion of the poor person was deposited with you- and you must give it back to him. With this perspective it is much easier to give צדקה.

ובשר בשדה טרפה לא תאכלו לכלב תשלכון אתו (פרק כב פסוק ל)

The Torah tells us that we are forbidden to eat meat from an animal that was “torn in the field”, rather we should give it to the dogs. The Daas Zekeinim says that the reason why the dog is picked as the lucky recipient, is because they would often use dogs to guard their sheep. As appreciation for all the dog’s hard work, when there is a טרפה- a torn animal, one should give it to the dog. That means, even if this time the dog’s defenses were broken through, and an animal did get killed, one must still recognize all the good that the dog does, all the sheep that it did protect, and all the other times that no animals were killed. With this outlook, focusing on the positive and appreciation, even when something went wrong, one can lead a much happier life.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

ואלו המשפטים, “and these are the ‘social laws’ that you should transmit in full clarity…” These are מצוות which are to be understood in a logical manner per understanding what Hashem expects from us in our interaction with others.

The first mitzvah is the idea of the עבד עברי, the Jewish “indentured servant”. Just as the statement אנכי ה‘ אלוקיך is the basis for the עשרת הדברות , so too we can say that this commandment is the basis of our obligations and responsibilities to society.

An עבד עברי can be one who due to impoverished conditions, his family is destitute and reeling from hunger will attempt to steal money, but get caught. How is he to pay back what he stole? He has nothing!

The Torah instructs the בית דין, the court, to hire him as an indentured servant for six years. His “master” has to abide by the following rules:

1. He must be given equal status to all members of the master’s family, the same quality food, accommodations; if there is only one bottle of wine or one comfortable pillow it is given to him. He must be showered with brotherly love.
2. No menial work is allowed; even to carry the master’s towel and clothing to the bathhouse, or to sweep the floor.
3. The master must feed the ‘servant’s’ family, even if there are three wives and fourteen children.
4. He can only be asked to perform work that is his vocation or an expert at.
5. When the “servant” leaves, he is given, הענקה seedlings and animals to start a business with, its value equal to six months of labor.

Obviously, the master has gained a “Master”. Hashem is instructing the master to rehabilitate the “poor guy” who is scorned by his friends, he has lost the respect of his family, he is downtrodden and hopeless.

Says Hashem, “every person is important to Me, every person has to be important to you, for My world is founded on the principle that every human has a definitive, singular role.”

You, the master, have a lofty, tremendous responsibility to magnanimously elevate the ‘slave’s’ spirits, ennoble him, edify him, so that he once again has an inner sense of human dignity and nobility; where he can once again declare, “I can and I will be a productive member of society.”

Why is this the first commandment? Why is it so fundamental to our understanding of one’s life mission?

The משנה in פרקי אבות , Ethics of our Fathers Ch. 4:1 states: “ איזהו מכובד, המכבד את הבריות – Who is honored, one who honors others.” There are many explanations to this dictum. The Alter explained, “That when one treats another with reverence and respect due to one’s perception that a person is a צלם אלוקים, a creation of G-d that is an embodiment of Him, only then can one truly feel, understand, and internalize one’s own innate dignity and nobility.

One struggles all the time; should one’s living experience revolve around oneself or rather, one should always ask, “What am I doing for Hashem’s world- who am I?!”

The mitzvah of עבד עברי, the indentured servant is not just about the person in need. IT’S ABOUT US! It’s an exercise of how to correctly live. It’s about our responsibility to relentlessly, selflessly with passion, sensitivity, love, and compassion to enable others to live a life permeated with dignity. By conducting ourselves in such a manner, one inculcates and imbues in oneself unequivocal validation.

As דוד המלך said, “כי מכבדי אכבד”, “for those who honor Me, I honor them.” An explanation: those who honor Hashem by respecting His creation, the human, will be infused by Hashem with a feeling of dignity, self-validation, and self-esteem. We are being taught that the true manner to gain self-respect is only by respecting and revering others. When one constantly treats another as a unique member of Hashem’s world, then one in turn feels the same validation.

One may ask, if we are trying to enable the ‘former robber’ to elevate his spirits, to ennoble him, why does the Torah allow the ‘master’ to require the servant (עבד עברי) if he is married, to cohabitate with a שפחה כנענית to produce children. A regular Jewish male is forbidden to be intimate with a ‘Caananite slave’ though she is partially Jewish. Isn’t it degrading?

Theft, falsehood is the fundamental source of all misguided actions. (The decree at the time of Noah was finalized due to theft). The Torah is teaching us that one who has stolen compromises their spiritual identity, worth and in order to inculcate the ‘robber’ with this idea, the Torah says “You, and only you are allowed to cohabitate with this woman”.

In order to rehabilitate, there are two dynamics, 1) we must validate the ‘robber’, 2) the ‘robber’ must simultaneously truly introspect, and be ‘taught’ through action the results of his wrongdoing.