Our Oath to Hashem

Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

Parshas Noach details the breakdown of society which eventually led to Hashem’s decree of destruction. ”The world was corrupt before God, and the world became full of theft (Bereishis 6:11).” Rashi writes that the word ”corruption” refers to idolatry and immorality. It would seem that all three reasons led to the decree of the mabul (flood). However, when the cause of the flood is repeated later, only the crime of theft is mentioned (ibid. 13). There, Rashi quotes the Gemara (Sanhedrin 108a) which states, ”Though they transgressed all sins, their fate was sealed only over the crime of theft.”

This is puzzling. It is true that theft is a sin, but its punishment is far less severe than that of idolatry or immorality. Theft does not incur capital punishment (for Jews), nor is it among the three cardinal sins that a Jew must be willing to give up his life rather than transgress. If so, why was theft the catalyst for the mabul, and not idolatry and immorality?

The Ramban (ibid.) answers that every human being understands that theft is wrong and should be forbidden. In contrast, the sins of idolatry and immorality are not self-understood (at least without understanding the Torah’s logic for them). Theft had become rampant in the generation before the mabul — it had ”filled the world,” as the verse states (ibid). If such basic justice had become neglected by so many, it was clear that society as a whole had become utterly corrupted. This was the catalyst for the mabul.

Rabbeinu Yona (Shaarei Teshuva 3:24) explains the catalyst of theft differently. He writes that theft generates an outcry (in the spiritual realm) that causes punishment to come swiftly, even quicker than that of idolatry and immorality. Theft always has a victim, and what Hashem states about widows and orphans who are wronged applies to all cases of victimizing: “When they cry out to me, I will hear (and punish their oppressors) (Shemos 22:22).”

The Acharonim explain this idea as follows: The heavenly court operates in the same manner as worldly courts. The victim of theft files charges with the police and brings his case before the court. In the heavenly court as well, theft arouses the prosecuting angels, causing much swifter punishment. The crimes of idolatry and immorality may be worse, but because they do not arouse the prosecuting angels in the same way as theft, punishment does not arrive as swiftly. This is why theft sealed the fate of the generation of the mabul.

Rav Gedalia Schorr (based on Reishis Chachma 2( notes that theft is technically at the root of every sin. Hashem created man to do His will, and He provided him with gifts (such as a body, mind, talents and resources) for that purpose. If so, using one’s God-given abilities to commit a sin constitutes theft. Indeed, this concept is stated by the Sages explicitly (Brachos 35b(: “One who derives benefit from this world without first making a blessing steals from Hashem and from the congregation of Yisrael.” If forgetting to make a brachah is considered theft, then actively using Hashem’s gifts to defy His will is surely theft! In this way, when the verse singles out theft as the cause of mabul, it also alludes to all sins.

The Sages teach (Niddah 16b) that before a fetus is conceived, an angel declares what sort of person will develop from it; how strong, wise or wealthy he will be. Every person is given a unique set of abilities. Some are brighter, and others are granted greater wealth. The Sages also state (Niddah 30b) that before a person is born, he must take an oath to ”be a tzaddik and not a rasha.” Rav Eliyahu Dessler explains that this oath requires each person to utilize his unique array of abilities entirely in the service of Hashem. Being a tzaddik means using one’s God-given abilities righteously. He must not channel them towards selfish pursuits, and he must certainly not waste or ignore them. Thus, a person blessed with great intelligence must use it to pursue greatness in Torah. A wealthy person must use his wealth to help others.

This quality is what made Noach worthy of surviving the mabul. The Torah refers to him as a tzaddik. He used the abilities that Hashem gave him only in righteous service of Him.

This is an important lesson. There are many talented individuals who consider themselves upstanding Jews. They fulfill the mitzvos properly. Still, are they truly utilizing all of the abilities that Hashem gave them to serve Him? If a bright individual devotes a certain amount of time to Torah study but channels most of his intelligence and creativity in the direction of his livelihood or the pursuit of pleasure, he may be violating the oath that he took at birth. He may be guilty of theft!

The opposite applies as well. Many people conclude that they do not have exceptional abilities, and therefore, they are exempt from pushing themselves toward any accomplishments in Hashem’s service. This issue is particularly common regarding Torah study. How many students feel justified in giving up on learning because they are not “cut out” for it? These people should realize that the oath they took at birth includes all of the abilities that they were given, even if they seem to be small. Hashem gave them these “small” abilities to use in His service, and they are expected to put in the effort to develop them as much as possible. Were they to apply themselves (and consult a Rav for advice in how to do so), Hashem will surely help them reach their potential.

When the European yeshivos were beginning to reestablish themselves in Eretz Yisrael, R’ Shlomo Lorincz approached the Chazon Ish. In Europe, he said, there were various schools of thought regarding what a yeshiva should offer. In Hungary, yeshivos offered prodigies a way to develop into great rabbanim. They also enabled less talented bachurim to gain a basic familiarity with the halachos they would need in life, and reach a basic level of learning. Thus, they would continue to learn on their own even after they went out to earn a livelihood. In Lithuania, though, yeshivos were geared toward bringing out greatness in Torah.

”Perhaps it would be ideal to have both types of yeshivos in Eretz Yisrael,” he suggested, “and we could channel the more talented bachurim to Lithuanian yeshivos, and less talented bachurim to Hungarian yeshivos?”

The Chazon Ish was adamantly opposed to this idea. ”We have to give every bachur the opportunity to develop into a gadol!” he said. “We have no right to deprive them of this chance. Even if a bachur seems weak in his abilities, there is almost no limit to the greatness that he can achieve if he truly applies himself.”

The Chazon Ish was once told of a bachur who had concluded that he lacked the ability to become a talmid chacham, and was leaving the yeshiva. The Chazon Ish asked that this bachur be brought to him. The two learned together for an hour, and the Chazon Ish showed him that he was indeed capable of grasping the give-and-take of the Gemara. The bachur agreed, adding that he had felt satisfaction from this learning session and decided to remain in yeshiva. Eventually, he developed into a talmid chacham.

May we use our abilities to the fullest in Hashem’s service!

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