Moshe expressed his consent to the tribes of Reuven and Gad, emphasizing that they must uphold their commitment by joining the other tribes in the battles to conquer Eretz Yisrael. If they fulfilled this promise, Moshe said, then: והייתם נקיים מה' ומישראל -” you shall be innocent before Hashem and before Yisrael” (32:22).
The Mishnah in Maseches Shekalim (3:2) cites this pasuk in reference to a halachah requiring the treasurers of the Beis HaMikdash to avoid all suspicion. When the appointed official would enter the treasury to remove the money donated by Bnei Yisrael to purchase animals for the korbanos, he was not allowed to walk in with anything in which he could hide coins, in order to avoid suspicion of stealing public funds. The Mishnah teaches: שאדם צריך לצאת ידי הבריות כדרך שצריך לצאת ידי המקום – “a person has to not only fulfill his obligations to Hashem, but also ensure his innocence in the eyes of other people.” We must not only act honestly, we must make it clear that we act honestly, so that people recognize our integrity. This is derived from Moshe’s pronouncement to Reuven and Gad, והייתם נקיים מה' ומישראל – that they must be “innocent” not only before Hashem, but also in the eyes of their fellow Jews.
R’ Efram Goldberg relates: I recall that a member of our shul’s executive board would say during board meetings that the board must not do anything that they wouldn’t do in the presence of the entire congregation. If it is even slightly questionable, to the extent that it would need to be hidden from the membership, then it should be avoided. This board member gave the example of marriage: Doing anything that one would not do in the presence of his or her spouse is cheating. By the same token, a shul board should not do anything behind closed doors that they wouldn’t do in front of the people they represent.
R’ Goldberg adds that he tells his accountant the same thing: “Save me as much money as you can, but don’t do anything you wouldn’t do if there was IRS agent standing right next to you watching.”
We need to be נקיים in every sense of the word, both in the eyes of Hashem, who sees and knows everything we do, and also in the eyes of other people, ensuring to not even appear to do something morally objectionable.
