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Writer's pictureRabbi Bonnie Koppell

Thou Shalt Not Steal




THOU SHALT NOT STEAL


Rabbi Bonnie Koppell  

 

I can summarize what I want to say to you tonight in four words- “Thou shalt not steal.”  It’s even easier in Hebrew; only two words- “Lo tignov.”  It’s in the top 10 commandments.  Thou shalt not steal.  My humble theory is that if everyone in the world observed this ONE commandment, I mean, REALLY observed it, that we would be very close to living in the messianic age.

         Just imagine.  A life with no keys.  What if you NEVER had to worry about anyone taking anything of yours.  If you didn’t need to lock your home or your car?  If you never needed to keep anything in a safe?

         How many passwords do you have?  A hundred?  Two hundred?  Ron and I pay for a password keeper- between us we must have well over 300.  Imagine if Lifelock and Microsoft Identifier went out of business?  If we didn’t need 2-factor identification?

         Thou shalt not steal.

         A year or so ago, I was walking down the street in New York City and someone stole my wallet.  If you’ve ever had your wallet stolen, or even if you haven’t, you know where this story is going.  Fortunately Ron tested positive for COVID on the day we were leaving, so he was home to receive my frantic phone call.  He overnighted my passport so I didn’t have to explain to the friendly TSA agent why I had zero identification with me. 

         Thus began the tedious process of cancelling and replacing credit cards and driver’s license and Medicare card and military ID.  Oh, and did I mention that there was a checkbook in said wallet?  I mean, who carries around a checkbook anymore.  In addition to a significant amount of cash?

         We really thought we could get away with not closing the checking account and avoiding that hassle, but when the thief managed to cash 3 checks for a significant amount of money, we decided that the better part of valor was to close that checking account.

         The story doesn’t end there.  Months later someone walked into a bank in Pittsburgh, PA and convinced the teller that they had opened a new checking account, lost the checks, and couldn’t remember the number.  The helpful teller gave them a deposit slip, and they were able to withdraw another $700 from the NEW account.  And thus it continues.

         Thou shalt not steal.  The manager of our local bank wryly told us that folks who make their livelihood stealing other people’s money don’t wake up each morning and go to work.  Stealing IS their full-time job.

         One of our congregants had her purse stolen in broad daylight right here in Paradise Valley only a few months ago.   Unfortunately, she was knocked to the ground and injured in the process.  Here are her words, “My purse and my book bag were wrenched from my hand, and in those 20 seconds of the attack, my life changed.  More than just a purse and a book bag were stolen from me.  I have replaced the contents of my purse, the many cards in my wallet, my cell phone, prescription glasses, Epi-Pen and car key fob.  What has not been replaced is my total sense of self, the confident, independent person I was before I was attacked.

He stole my sense of independence, my carefree ability to navigate through everyday tasks . . . with confidence that my decades of innate caution will keep me safe.  If I stayed away from sketchy neighborhoods, dark streets, and empty parking garages, I believed I would not be accosted.  Now every trip to a bank carries an elevated threat level, and every parking lot carries the risk of being targeted as a victim.  I drive with one eye on the rear-view mirror as I monitor the cars behind me.

He stole my sense of confidence that I would know how to handle a dangerous situation.  Years of rigorously teaching our children how to respond to a confrontation with “stranger danger” neglected to prepare me for a violent attack in the middle of the day on a quiet street lined with elegant homes.  Obviously, we cannot conjure up every possible dangerous scenario, but this one was never, ever on my radar.  Now every time I return to that house or others, my heart rate speeds up and I have to give myself a pep talk before I open my car door.

He stole my sense of assuming the best in other people that I encounter.  My attacker was covered from head to toe. . . If he stood before me today, I could not identify him, but any man similarly attired raises an alarm in me.  .  . It is exhausting to be on constant alert for a phantom threat.

He stole my ability to calm the thoughts often churning in my brain.  When I close my eyes to sleep at night, he often appears, the attack replaying in slow motion or real speed.  Even if I manage to get some sleep, there are times when he appears in a terrifying nightmare. In the depths of a darkened bedroom, my traumatized brain fashions a heart-stopping, paralyzing scenario in which he still has the keys from my purse and entered our house to menace me.  It doesn’t matter that I know that we changed all of the locks immediately.  Night terrors are more powerful than fact and rational thought.

One man in one moment stole so much from me.  While I have been surrounded by love and support as I heal from this incident, I have a long journey ahead of me to completely heal.  Only I can work on rebuilding my sense of self, my confidence, my outlook on the world and my calm.  After all, he did not steal my resilience and determination.”

         In writing about that experience, she concluded, “I am so blessed to have Temple Chai friends who sat with me at the ER, went to my house to help (my husband) cancel cards, drive me back and forth in an effort to retrieve my car without the key fob, order a locksmith and then wait with me for that process.  Maybe, in the long run, our friendships are our greatest assets.”

         Lo tignov.  Thou shalt not steal.

         The temptation to take what doesn’t belong to us starts at a young age.  The cantor shared with me these “Toddler’s Rules of Possession,” which, if you have ever spent time with a toddler, will resonate with you-

1.    If I like it, it’s mine.

2.   If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.

3.   If I can take it from you, it’s mine.

4.   If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.

5.   If it’s mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in any way.

6.   If I’m doing or building something, all pieces are mine.

7.   If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

8.   If I saw it first, it’s mine.

9.   If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.

10.                  If it’s broken, it’s yours.

And it only accelerates from there.  I started collecting newspaper articles on this theme and quickly grew weary.  Scams of every variety- “Grandma I love you and I trust you more than anyone.” Deep fakes mean that we can no longer rely on a picture- or a video recording- being worth a thousand words.  Vehicles targeted.  Retailers monitoring self-checkouts, locking up merchandise, salespeople armed with body cameras, or simply going out of business.  Porch pirates.

Our tradition strongly emphasizes the value of intellectual property.   Stealing ideas, genivat daat, is as much a violation of this commandment as stealing others’ belongings.  We read in Pirke Avot 6:6 “Whoever repeats a statement in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world.”  Like I said, the messianic age. 

Have you ever noticed how rabbis will tediously quote in their sermons that “so and so said in the name of so and so who heard it from so and so?”  Why don’t we just say what we want to say?  The answer is in the honoring of this principle- “Lo tignov.”  It is important to recognize the person who had the idea in the first place, to honor the person from whom we learned, and not to pretend that we are the author when we are not.

Sadly, even in the rabbinic world, it is not unheard of for one rabbi to appropriate the words of another and pass them off as their own.  When we are honest in our actions, we bring holiness into the world and bring about kiddush HaShem, glorifying God.  The Talmud comments on  a phrase from the Torah (Yoma 86a)- “’And you shall love Adonai your God’ (Dt. 6:5) that this means that you should cause God to be loved through your acts.  Thus, if a person studies Bible and Mishnah. . . and is honest in their business dealings, and speaks gently to people, what do people say about them?  ‘Happy are the parents who taught them Torah.  . .  But when a person studies Bible and Mishnah. . . but is dishonest in business, and does not speak gently with people, what do people? ‘Woe unto those who study Torah. . . This person studied Torah; look how corrupt are their deeds, how ugly their ways.’” 

         When we steal, whether it is someone’s property or their ideas, it reflects poorly on Jewish tradition.  It was the practice in the ancient world that the family of those who made incense for the Temple worship never wore perfume, lest, God forbid, someone think that they had stolen the fine oils from their place of work.  (Tosefta Yoma 2:6)-

         Lo tignov- thou shalt not steal.  Sadly, we steal that which is the most precious thing in the world, we steal people’s time, without giving it a second thought.  When we are late for an appointment or miss it altogether, we have taken away something that we can never return- the valuable moments of a person’s brief life.  The Torah emphasizes paying workers in a timely fashion in several locations.  (Leviticus 19:13, Deuteronomy 24:14-15)

  So much respect does Judaism place on the time invested by those who labor for their livelihood, that we read the story of (Baba Metzia 83a)- “some employees who negligently broke a barrel of wine belonging to Rabbah son of Bar Hanana.  The rabbi seized their coats as compensation (when they failed to pay for the damage).  They went and complained to Rav.  ‘Return their cloaks to them,’ he ordered.  ‘Is that the law?’ asked Rabbah.  ‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘for it is written ‘So follow the way of the good.’’ He returned the cloaks to the porters.  Then they complained (to Rav):  ‘We are poor men, we have worked all day and are hungry, and we have nothing.’ ‘Go and pay them,’ Rav ordered Rabbah.  ‘Is that the law?’ he asked.  ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘(for see the end of the verse), ‘and keep to the paths of the just.’”  It is vital to respect other people’s time.

         The rabbis especially frowned upon asking the price of an item we have no intention of buying.  (BT Baba Metzia 58b) Comparison shopping is, of course, allowed.  But it is forbidden to steal the time of a seller asking questions it there is no chance of a sale.  We can’t raise their expectations falsely.  And in today’s market, even more so, it is prohibited to go to a brick and mortar store in order to gain intelligence in order to go home and order what we want online.  Lo tignov- don’t steal the salesperson’s time and their hope.

         When we gossip about another person, we steal their reputation.  When we mock them, we steal their dignity.  The rabbis consider embarrassing a person in public to be the equivalent of murder.  (BT Baba Metzia 58b-59a)  When we lie to or mislead them, we steal their trust.  Lo tignov- thous shalt not steal- it is truly the foundation of an ethical life.

         Finally, when the rabbis studied the ten commandments, their analysis of this mitzvah is shocking.  They understood “Thou Shalt Not Steal” NOT as the theft of property, nor the theft of ideas, nor stealing people’s time.

         No.  Lo tignov is traditionally interpreted as a prohibition of kidnapping.   The rabbis debate the various forms of stealing, and conclude that in Exodus 20:15, the ten commandments, lo tignov, refers to stealing a person.  This is how the Mechilta and Rashi understand it.  In our morning blessings, each morning, the 4th plea to God is praising the One who is “matir asurim- who frees those who are held captive.”  We say this prayer every single day.

From the time Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery, the Jewish people have struggled with those who would capture our people and hold us for ransom.  Pidyon Shvuyim, redeeming those who are held captive, is not a contemporary phenomenon, but, rather, part of a centuries old way of life.  The Talmud recognized the horror with these words, “Captivity is worse than starvation and death.”  (BT Baba Batra 8b)

         In the 13th century the famous Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg was captured by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf I and held for ransom.  While Jewish communities were sadly accustomed to raising money to redeem captives, the rabbi was concerned about setting a precedent and he died in captivity.  Kidnapping for ransom was a regular occurrence in the Pale of Settlement during the reign of the Russian Empire. 

         The Hamas evil doers, may their name be erased, captured 250 of our people on October 7th.  Some have been returned, many have been murdered,  all have been scarred.  As we have throughout history, the Jewish people have come together in solidarity and support, exemplifying the Jewish principle, “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh- All Israel are responsible one for the other.”  (BT Shevuot 39a)

         Lo tignov- Thou shalt not steal.  Other people’s property, other people’s ideas, other people’s time.  Don’t steal other people.  If we are committed to tikkun olam, to making our world a paradise, we can do no better than starting with this mitzva.  This is my humble plea on this holiest night of the year- “lo tignov.”

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

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