Of All Sins: Theft Accuses First

Our Sages said (Vayikra Rabbah 33:3): "A measure full of sins - which one accuses first? Theft!". This means that the sin of theft is the first to accuse a person on the day of judgment, and therefore a person must be very careful to keep his hands clean and be cautious not to have anything to do with theft. Below we will bring three stories that show us how strict the heavenly judgment is regarding theft:

Rabbi Yaakov Mutzafi of blessed memory related (Anaf Etz Avot page 125): In Baghdad, there were two good friends who helped each other at every opportunity. Once, one of them bought an apartment and needed a large sum of money as a loan. In his distress, he told his friend about it, and his friend willingly lent him the full amount. After some time, when the Jews of Baghdad were immigrating to Israel, the Baghdad government confiscated the apartment. The two friends moved to Israel, and after two years, the borrower passed away. A few months later, he appeared in a dream to Rabbi Yaakov Mutzafi and told him about the loan he had taken from his friend. He said that because he had not repaid his debt, he had no rest in the world of truth, and therefore begged the rabbi to invite the lender and explain to him that he had no way to repay his debt, and to ask him for complete forgiveness.

The next day, Rabbi Yaakov invited the lender and asked him: "Did you have a friend by the name of so-and-so?" He replied: "Yes, may his memory be blessed." The rabbi asked: "Did you lend him such and such amount for an apartment he bought in Baghdad?" "Correct," replied the lender. The rabbi said to him: "It's a lost debt anyway, since the borrower has passed away. Please, say after me with full intention: I hereby completely forgive the debt he owes me, and may he not be punished because of me." The lender repeated these words and went on his way in peace. That night, the deceased appeared again in a dream and happily told the rabbi: "Rest assured that you have put my mind at ease."

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On Saturday night, the eve of the 19th of Adar 5762 (2002), there was a terrorist attack in Jerusalem, in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood. Among the victims was a young man named Shaul Nehamad, may Hashem avenge his blood, from the Or Gaon Yeshiva, a resident of Rishon LeZion. Three days later, on Tuesday night, the eve of the 21st of Adar, the yeshiva supervisor Rabbi David Cohen dreamed that he saw the deceased young man and asked him, "How are you?" He replied: "Not good, because they still haven't judged me in heaven, since I still owe money to two students, and I ask you to pay them, and I will make sure that the money is repaid to you." In the morning after prayers, when the students were sitting in the dining room, the supervisor came in, spoke with the students, and told them about his dream. One of the students stood up and said: "I manage the yeshiva's charity fund, and the deceased still owes 10 shekels." While he was still speaking, a second student remembered that the deceased had borrowed 20 shekels from him privately.

Two days after the dream, the supervisor went to Shaul Nehamad's memorial service. After the sermon, he said to the father: "You should know that your son has a high soul." And he told him about the dream and what the students had said. The bereaved father responded and said: "Now I understand. I also dreamed that I saw my Shauli saying to me: 'Dad, we need to repay,' and I didn't understand. Now I understand." (Lehitgaber page 167)

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Here is a story, as published (in the "Kol Ha'Ir" newspaper of Bnei Brak) about a year after the bombing of bus line 2 in Jerusalem (19.8.2004): In all the yeshivas and kollelim, they have been extensively sharing the story of the amazing dream in which appears the figure of the veteran educator Rabbi Chanoch Segal, may Hashem avenge his blood, who was killed in the bombing of bus line 2 in the month of Av last year. All the supervisors and rabbis emphasize the powerful moral lesson in this special dream: awakening faith in the eternal life of the world to come on one hand, and how each of us must be careful and vigilant in monetary matters with others, on the other hand.

"That night will never be forgotten by that family member of the distinguished educator Rabbi Chanoch Segal, may Hashem avenge his blood, who was an educator in his very essence, a master pedagogue who skillfully instilled in his students the foundations of Torah and the acquisitions of the Talmud. He was the teacher of the seventh grade at the 'Torat Emet' Talmud Torah for decades. The dream in which he appears to one of his family members serves as a kind of continuation of his special education with a clear message to his descendants, about the great importance of being careful with others' property, something he was very strict about.

This happened before Lag BaOmer. Rabbi Segal appears in a dream to one of his family members. In the dream, he is standing next to a bookshelf in his home, and in his hand is a note with the number 5 written in large, clear letters. While presenting the note in the dream, Rabbi Segal tells his family member: This amount is worth 14 shekels today. Rabbi Segal also tells the family member that he owes this amount to someone named 'Wein'.

The family member woke up agitated from his bed, waited until dawn, and hurried to contact the widow, Mrs. Segal. He told her about the dream, and the two tried, without success, to find out the identity of the person Rabbi Segal said in the dream that he owed 14 shekels to. The presentation of the note with the number 5 only added a dimension of uncertainty to the whole matter, as it was clear that this was apparently a "very old" debt and that the number 5 written on the note referred to lira, Israeli currency that had become obsolete about half a jubilee ago.

After frantic inquiries, they arrived at the synagogue of Slabodka graduates located in the Halperin Kollel, where an acquaintance of the deceased named "Wein" was studying. He was surprised and clarified that he had no debt with Rabbi Segal, but took the amount, said "I forgive you," and donated it to charity. The father promised to check the matter with his four sons who had studied over the years at the "Torat Emet" Talmud Torah in Bnei Brak.

A few days passed, the man began to inquire specifically with the youngest son and continued until he reached the second son. He immediately replied that he still remembers the incident to this day, in which Rabbi Segal took from him twice a payment of 5 Israeli lira from the time he was studying in the seventh grade. One payment too many. And this is how it happened: It was 24 years ago. The seventh grade was organizing a Lag BaOmer trip, and Rabbi Segal collected money for the trip. The child Wein approached to pay, but Rabbi Segal, who was busy with something else at that moment, did not notice. The day before the trip, Rabbi Segal approached him and asked him to pay for the trip. Rabbi Segal, who was known as a very organized person, clarified to his student that nothing was recorded in his list. The student paid again 5 Israeli lira. The event was, as mentioned, 24 years ago for a Lag BaOmer trip.

Family members say that Rabbi Segal, may Hashem avenge his blood, was extremely careful in financial matters. That's why he came in a dream before Lag BaOmer to settle this small debt and to awaken his family members and thousands of students, who studied with him over the years, to faith and the importance of being careful with other people's property, which should be as dear to you as your own.