A touching letter published in "Or HaShabbat" illustrates the importance of maintaining honesty and avoiding any form of theft: "My grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Klar, of blessed memory, passed away 8 months ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grandfather was a very simple person who lived all his life with great modesty and was far removed from publicity," begins the letter by his granddaughter, noting that one of the points her grandfather emphasized throughout his life was caution against theft, to the point that his son noted in his eulogy that his father was "as strict about theft as with chametz on Passover."

"Throughout his life, he often gave up things that had even the slightest doubt of being stolen, and he wouldn’t touch anything that didn’t belong to him. For example," the granddaughter notes, "on the eve of Passover, he would sell aluminum in 5-meter lengths. Because it came in a very long roll, he instructed his grandchildren who would cut it for customers to give an extra 5 cm on each piece to ensure no theft occurred, even if a mistake happened. This was such a small amount that it was almost unnoticeable. A non-Jewish merchant once said that he never checks the goods when Mr. Klar brings them because he trusted his integrity. Indeed, he was known for his meticulousness about financial matters, sanctifying Hashem through it."

"A few months ago, on the 13th of Tammuz 5780, I dreamed I was meeting my grandfather Rabbi Avraham Moshe Klar, of blessed memory, who had passed away 4 months earlier. In the dream, I saw Grandpa in his living room, pacing back and forth, saying: ‘The five books – the five books,’ and he appeared very worried.

"During the dream, I didn’t remember that Grandpa had passed away, so I ignored it. I continued to sleep, and the dream repeated. When I saw him again restless and saying: ‘The five books, the five books,’ I suddenly woke up: ‘But Grandpa has passed, what isn’t here?’ I said to him: ‘Grandpa, go back,’ and he took me to a room, showed me a chair with five books on it, and said firmly: ‘I need to return the five books. I can't ascend.’

"I told him several times in the dream: ‘You will go back to your place, and I will return the books for you.’ Then in my dream, I saw him go into another room where several family members were singing and dancing.

"I woke up in shock, and chills ran through my body. In tears, I called my dear father, the son of Grandpa, and told him about the dream. I told him that Grandpa repeatedly asked during the dream to return the five books.

"My father went to Grandpa’s house in Jerusalem, where he had lived since moving to Israel three years ago, and began a thorough search for each book, checking their ownership by what was written at the beginning of each book. But he found nothing. He did not find any book that didn’t belong to his father. Before moving to Israel, Grandpa lived in Argentina, so my father contacted his sister, who lives in Argentina, asking her to search and investigate thoroughly if there were five books in their father's possession that did not belong to him. Two of the grandchildren quickly went to the community’s study hall, knowing that he might have left books there. Indeed, two boxes full of books were found, and after searching them, they found that there was only one book that actually belonged to someone else, which was his son, my dear father.

"The grandchildren left the book in the study hall, assuming Grandpa certainly did not trouble from the heavens over a book of his own son, and it seemed likely that the books in question belonged to people outside the family. From there, they went to the house of another grandchild, who, upon hearing about the dream, said he had many books Grandpa left in Argentina, and he would look through them. He indeed found four books that didn’t belong to Grandpa himself but to other family members: three belonged to my dear father (his son) and one to another daughter, which made it clear that, together with the single book left in the study hall, there were five books in his possession that weren’t his. The grandchildren quickly returned the books to their owners."

A rabbinical authority in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem heard about the dream and its significance and noted that in matters of theft, it doesn’t matter whether it’s within the family, a neighbor, or anyone else.

The family consulted Rabbi Yitzchak Koldetski, who said it is very important to publicize this, especially in our time, when the Holy Temple is destroyed because of baseless hatred. Here is proof of how stringent they are in heaven even about books belonging to a son, who undoubtedly wouldn't be strict about it, yet it’s essential they be returned, and he needs to descend to this world to complete his correction by returning property that isn’t his which was in his possession.

"May these words be for the elevation of the pure soul of Rabbi Avraham Moshe ben Rabbi Chaim, of blessed memory," the heartfelt letter concludes.

Rabbi Zamir Cohen - The Great Importance of Being Careful About Theft: