Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 2nd of Cheshvan

The following is based on the Hebrew Chizuk video by Rabbi Shmueli for the 2nd day of Cheshvan

Introduction: Repentance and the Severity of Robbery

Good morning to everyone. Today is Tuesday, the third day in the holy Sabbath week, the 2nd of Cheshvan 5787. Today, Tikun Chatzot and Tachanun have already begun, and we are starting to repent, to weep over the destruction of our Holy Temple, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, Amen. First of all, a person needs to repent, as we saw in the days of Noah: "The end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth". The Midrash explains that "violence" (chamas) refers to less than the value of a prutah (a small coin), just as those who pass by food in the marketplace take from the fruits less than the value of a prutah, an amount one cannot sue for legally. However, this applies to what is done openly to a person's face; behind their backs, they rob more. Thus, "for the earth is filled with violence through them"—specifically in their presence there was violence, but behind their backs, they took even more. Consequently, the earth is filled with violence and liable for sin through theft.

Our Sages ask what is meant by "the end of all flesh". Wherever you find sexual immorality or idolatry—may it be far from you—death comes to the world, killing both the good and the bad. Yet, regarding the generation of Noah, their decree of destruction was sealed specifically because of robbery, as Rashi notes. Commentators ask how idolatry and forbidden sexual relations can be more severe than theft, and yet the decree was sealed only for robbery. The Sages explain that a person who commits other sins can return what he did, and it can be rectified with money. But if you tell them to return it with money, they have none, because all the money they possess is stolen property. When punished by having their property taken away, the generation treated it as a death penalty because they had no legitimate money of their own—they were absolute thieves. Therefore, it is impossible to atone for their punishment with money since everything they owned was stolen, sealing their fate entirely because of robbery.

The Parable of Falsehood and Loss in Noah's Ark

This principle is illustrated in the parable from Midrash Shocher Tov that when the Holy One, Blessed be He, asked Noah to bring into the ark two of every kind, each animal came with its mate. Falsehood (Sheker) came to enter the ark. Noah told him, "You cannot enter unless you take a partner". Falsehood went and encountered Me'eirah (Loss/Destruction), a force appointed to diminish people's wealth. When people have money at home, she takes large percentage of it to diminish them.

Me'eirah heard that Falsehood was rejected from Noah's Ark because he had no partner; they decided to marry and become partners and thus they could gain entrance into the ark. They made a condition between them that whatever Falsehood gathers, she would take away. They made an agreement and entered the ark together. As soon as they left the ark, Falsehood went out and gathered wealth, and Me'eirah immediately took it away. When Falsehood asked where everything he acquired went, she reminded him of their stipulation, leaving Falsehood with nothing to say. This reflects the verse: "He conceives mischief, and brings forth falsehood". Falsehood generates wealth through deception, and Me'eirah takes it away.

Lessons on Integrity: The Story of the Dates and Deception

A similar lesson appears in Tana D'bei Eliyahu regarding an Israelite who sold forty kors of dates to a gentile. He measured them in a dark house, and the gentile remarked, "G-d in heaven and you on earth know the measure that you are measuring for me". The seller shortchanged him by three se'ahs of dates out of the four kors (where a kor is thirty se'ahs). Afterward, the Israelite took his money, bought a jar of oil, and placed it in the exact spot where he had measured the dates; the jar broke, and the oil spilled. As he complained upward, Eliyahu the prophet appeared to him and reminded him of the Torah prohibition against oppression and robbery, emphasizing that stealing from a gentile is strictly forbidden. Because he stole, Hashem ensured his ill-gotten gains diminished.

Our Sages explain that people refrain from wearing tefillin all day nowadays because of fraudulent individuals who wore tefillin to appear righteous while deceiving others. For example, in Jerusalem, a man deposited his money with someone he found studying in the study hall wearing tefillin, assuming he was righteous. Later, the man denied ever receiving the deposit, prompting the depositor to point to the tefillin on his head as a terrible desecration of Hashem's name. Dishonest people often use religious garments merely as a disguise. Similarly, stories circulate of hitchhikers in disguise who find that dressing as Jews or wearing specific garb helps them secure rides and assistance.

The Consequences of Dishonesty and Unpaid Debts

Whoever steals is destined to return in reincarnation along with the person they robbed until the matter is rectified. It is written in Meam Loez, anyone dealing in business must act with truth and faith; otherwise, they are bound to lose everything. Kosher money is protected from harm, whereas non-kosher or stolen money vanishes.

The Gravity of Theft and Exemplary Integrity

The Sages teach that theft is the very first transgression investigated when a person is judged ("Did you deal faithfully?"). Performing charity with stolen money accomplishes nothing. Rabbi Abraham, son of the Rambam, noted that even ten years of fasting cannot easily offset a single act of theft. During the Ne'ilah prayer, we plead, "So that we may cease from the financial oppression of our hands," because no iniquity hinders prayer from ascending quite like theft. Rabbi Aharon Kotler similarly warned that yeshivot can face troubles when their funding is not entirely pure, noting that non-kosher money leads to misfortune.

True righteousness is exemplified by figures like Ribiko the shoemaker, whom the Chazon Ish praised for his absolute financial purity, he sent people to him because he was entirely clean of any improper money. The Steipler and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky likewise demonstrated extraordinary caution, refusing to touch or claim even stray items left behind that did not belong to them. Once a certain wise student came to the Steipler, sat, gave a cigarette, had a box of matches, [and] forgot it there. The Steipler remembered his face. He ran after him to give him the box of matches, [but] did not succeed. But he remembered his face. After years, he came to the Steipler, [and] says to him: "What joy we had to return your box of matches!"