Ben Azzai said: By your name they will call you, in your place they will seat you, and from your own they will give you. No one touches what is prepared for another, and no kingdom touches another even by a hair’s breadth.
One should not be concerned that others might usurp his livelihood and success, since at the appropriate moment, they shall call you to return to your previous position, and in your place, they shall seat you, and from your own they shall give you. Everyone has a portion designated for him by Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and the individual is privileged to receive what is coming to him; No person may touch that which is prepared for another by Hakadosh Baruch Hu; everyone receives what is designated for him.
The Gemara also says (Bava Batra 10a):
Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shalom taught: Just as a person’s entire livelihood is allocated to him from Rosh Hashanah, when G-d issues His judgments for the entire year, so too are a person’s monetary losses allocated to him from Rosh Hashanah.
The meaning here is that if it is decreed for you to earn 100,000 shekel this year, you cannot earn 120,000 shekel. And if you earn 120,000 through deceit, know that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has many ways to take from you the amount you earned dishonestly!
Chazal in the Gemara (Shabbat 31a) reveal the questions a person will be asked in the heavenly court after 120 years:
Rava said: When a person is brought to judgment for the life he lived in this world, they say to him: Did you conduct business faithfully? Did you designate times for Torah study? Did you engage in procreation? Did you await salvation? Did you engage in wisdom? Did you understand one matter from another?
A few years ago, I was in the United States and happened to be in one of the shuls there between Mincha and Maariv. At that time, the local rabbi was giving a shiur on Ein Yaakov about this Gemara, and he asked a very interesting question: Why so they ask a person all these questions after 120 years? It is known that they show a person all the years of his life in this world – from the moment he was born until his death. If there is an original hard-drive or USB key proving his entire life’s conduct, not only actions but, according to the Zohar, also thoughts – why ask the questions? Surely, the true answers are known already!
The rabbi then presented a wonderful parable: It is like a person flying abroad. An hour before landing, the flight attendants give him a form to fill out for passport control – name, address, the value of what’s in your luggage, and so on. After landing, you have a half day’s walk until you reach the immigration hall, and when you get there, a tall intimidating person awaits, and he says: “Those with an American passport go to the right line, and those with an Israeli passport go to the left line.” And what happens next? After waiting in line for a while, the Jew step up to the counter and presents his passport, and the officer asks, “What’s the purpose of your visit? Why are you here?” He answers, “I came for a relative’s wedding.” The officer looks at the Jew’s records and sees that he was here just a month ago, asks why he came the previous time, and the time before that, and so on, and starts interrogating him about every visit to the United States. Then he’s required to give a fingerprint, and finally, if everything goes smoothly, he lets him through. In contrast, in the American passport line, there are no such questions or delays. You reach the counter in a few minutes, and a smiling officer asks how your flight was and how you enjoyed your trip to Israel. He then stamps your passport and lets you in. What’s the difference between the two lines, since everyone eventually enters and meets up at the same baggage claim anyway? The difference is in one thing alone – the reception!
In one line, they smile and say “Welcome to America! Welcome Home!” and let you in quickly; you’re in the right place. In the other line, they are all serious, and they complicate your entry with all sorts of questions.
That rav of the shul said: “In Olam Haba, everyone will give an account for every moment of their life – whether in speech, thought, or action. The only question is, what will your reception look like? If you answer the questions positively, they will receive you with a smile: “Welcome to Olam Haba! You’re in the right place!” There are dinim to go through, and everyone must go through that process, but the question is how they’ll receive you and welcome you.
We’ll all make our way in, but for some reason, Chazal say the first question we’ll be asked is נָשָׂאתָ וְנָתַתָּ בָּאֱמוּנָה – did we conduct our business in good faith? Why is אֱמוּנָה the first question? Why not ask if we dealt בְּ צֶ דֶ ק – in fairness? Why not ask if we conducted our business בּ ְ דִ י ן – lawfully? There are supporting Pesukim for these expressions and definitions, so why ask about faith? Where in the Torah does it say one must conduct their business בָּאֱמוּנָה?
Rabbotai, the answer is that only a person imbued with faith can overcome all the obstacles in this world’s life! A person who believes that all his sustenance is fixed for him from Rosh Hashanah to Rosh Hashanah; a person who believes he does not touch what is prepared for another כמלוא נימא, by a hair’s breadth – such a person can conduct business with integrity, because he knows that all he has comes from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
The Yerushalmi relates (Peah, 7:3): Rabbi Chananya was selling bee honey, but he also had wasp honey, and by mistake sold it without knowing it was wasp honey. After some time, those who bought the honey from him passed by. He said to them: “So as not to mislead you, know that the honey I gave you was wasp honey. If you want, I will refund what you paid me.” They said to him: “We want the honey you gave us; it's perfect for the work we’re doing.” They did not want to take money back from him, but Rabbi Chananya did not want to benefit from money obtained by mistake, so he set aside that money and built the Beit Midrash of Tzippori with it.
The sefer Kav Hayashar writes (Chapter 46): I saw a tailor in the holy community of Brisk (Lithuania), who, before his death, instructed the Chevra Kadisha to make his coffin from the table in his house and to place the yardstick he used to measure clothes in his hand. The Chevra Kadisha asked him the meaning of this request, and he replied that the table and yardstick would testify for him, as two faithful witnesses, that all his life he never stole anything from his work. How can a person, after 120 years, on the first question they ask him – Did you conduct business faithfully? – receive a failing grade? The tailor said: “On the first question they ask me in the heavenly court, I want to answer positively!”
There is a Halacha brought in Bava Metzia (48a) regarding a person who bought a product and now wants to cancel the purchase; he only gave money for the product but did not perform a kinyan. The Gemara says about that person: He Who exacted payment from the people of the generation of the flood, and from the people of the generation of the dispersion, and from the inhabitants of Sedom and Gomorrah, and from the Egyptians in the Red Sea, will in the future exact payment from whoever does not stand by his statement.
And there, the Gemara discusses whether such a person can be considered trustworthy or not, and in practice, the Gemara says: He is among those lacking integrity, and the spirit of the sages is not pleased with him.
Chazal come and say that this is not the highest level in commerce; a person who does not renege on his word is not the pinnacle of honesty in business. The pinnacle of honesty in commerce is Rav Safra, who the Gemara (Makkot 24a) says is embodied by: תָּמִים וּפֹעֵל צֶדֶק וְדֹבֵר אֱמֶת בִּלְבָבוֹ – He who walks in wholeness, works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. The Gemara does not relate what happened with Rav Safra, but Rashi brings the incident that occurred. Rav Safra had an item to sell, and a person came into his store exactly as he began reciting Kriyat Shema and said, “I’ll take the item for one thousand shekel,” but he did not answer because he was in the midst of reciting Shema. The person thought he was ignoring because the offer was offensive, so he upped his bid, “I’ll take it for two thousand.” This went on a few more times, until after finishing Shema, when the offer was up to 10,000 shekel, Rav Safra turned to him and said: “No, no, no. Please take the item for the original one-thousand shekel you offered, as for at that price I intended to sell it to you.” The buyer was ready to pay ten thousand, clearly signaling the item held that value, but Rav Safra would take only one thousand, not even agreeing to keep one while giving nine to a local charity.
David HaMelech, in Tehillim (101:6) tells us: עֵינַי בְּנֶאֶמְ נֵי־אֶרֶ ץ לָשֶׁבֶת עִמָּדִי הֹלֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ תָּמִים הוּא יְשָׁרְתֵנִי – My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walks in the way of integrity, he shall serve me.
Rav Pam, in sefer Atarah L'Melech, brings a story from Midrash Shmuel as to why Shmuel – the colleague and disputant of Rav in the entire Talmud – was called by this name. Shmuel’s father was a merchant who sold silk, and once, Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira came to buy silk from him and asked that the merchandise be held for him despite not having paid for it or taken it yet. Shmuel’s father kept the silk for a long time and did not sell it until he met Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira and brought him the silk. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira was amazed and said, “Why did you hold the merchandise for me? There was only an agreement between us without any payment or kinyan.” Shmuel’s father replied: “Your words are more faithful to me than money.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira was greatly impressed by the integrity of this merchant and blessed him, saying: “You believed in me; therefore, you’ll merit a son like Shmuel HaNavi, about whom it is said 'ֵדַע כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל מִדָּן וְעַד בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע כִּי נֶאֱמָן שְׁמוּאֵל לְנָבִיא לַה' – And all Yisrael from Dan to Beersheba knew that Shmuel was faithful as a prophet to Hashem.” Therefore, he named his son who was born to him, Shmuel.
The Gemara relates (Bava Kamma 113b), similar to this incident, that Shmuel once bought a golden vessel from a non-Jew for four zuz, thinking it was copper, and due to an error, the price paid was off by one zuz. Rashi says this means he in effect only paid three zuz, but that is not the end of the story. The Gaon Rabbi Natan Adler, teacher of the Chatam Sofer, does not understand this episode. Here is a non-Jew selling gold at the price of copper, and Shmuel gives him even less – why does the Gemara tell us this story? He says, it is because the incident was exactly the opposite! Shmuel was walking in the street and saw a non-Jew selling an item for four zuz. There were two possibilities: either the non-Jew stole the item and wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible before being caught, or the non-Jew did not know the item he was selling was made of gold and thought it was copper. Therefore, the Gemara’s intent is not that Shmuel gave him one zuz less than agreed upon price, but the opposite – he gave him one zuz more! And what did he achieve by doing this? Very simple. He wanted to test whether this non-Jew was honest or not. He would give him five zuz instead of four and see what he’d do – if he returned the extra zuz and said, “Sorry, sir, this extra zuz isn’t mine,” it would be a sign he is honest, and thus a sign he does not know the item he is selling is in fact gold. But if he takes the extra zuz and pockets it, it is a sign that the non-Jew is a thief, and thus, the item must be taken from him and returned to its true owner! Therefore, Shmuel went and redeemed the item to fulfill the Mitzvah of returning a lost object. If Shmuel’s father was so honest in his measures, it is no wonder that his son Shmuel merited and performed such an act!
Ateret L’Melech continues: אִישׁ אֱמוּנוֹת רַב בְּרָכוֹת – A man of faith has many blessings; one who is truly faithful merits many blessings, וְאָץ לְהַעֲשִׁיר לֹא יִנָּקֶה – But one who hastens to grow rich will not go unpunished. If one cannot wait to succeed through Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s blessing and seeks to grow rich immediately, he will not go unpunished.
Thus, Parshiot Behar and Bechukotai are ones where most of the Mitzvot deal with monetary matters, because most of the trials a person faces in this world relate to monetary matters. The Midrash says (Shemot Rabbah, 51:1): “A man of faith” refers to Moshe Rabbeinu, who is the faithful one of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as it says: לֹא כֵן עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה בְּכָל בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא. Thus, “A man of faith has many blessings,” for all the matters he was treasurer over were blessed because he was faithful.
In the Midrash, it is recounted that scoffers would turn to Moshe and say: “חָמֵי קְדַל דִּבְרֵיהּ דְּעַמְרָם – Look at the son of Amram’s backside – how much he has gained in weight!” In other words, look at how rich he’s become! And his friend would respond, “A person who controlled the work of the Mishkan – don’t you expect him to be rich? I don’t want to speak negatively about Gedolei Yisrael, chas vshalom, but you know, they don’t issue receipts for donations made to the Mishkan, so no wonder he...” When Moshe heard this, he said to them: “By your lives, when the Mishkan is completed, I will give you a full and detailed accounting,” and so we later read: וְאֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן – These are the accountings of the Mishkan.
The Gemara says (Chullin 92a): וּצַדִּיקִים כֶּסֶף אֵל – silver refers to the righteous. By way of homily, Chazal say: There are people we know as Torah scholars, who fully fear G-d, up until the test of money. But when the test of money comes, even the great fall! Not for nothing does the Gemara say (Eruvin 65b): Rabbi Elai said: In three matters a person’s true character is ascertained; in his cup, in his pocket, and in his anger.
Rashi explains, כִיסוֹ – his pocket, refers to whether he conducts business with integrity or not.
The Torah requires the farmer to relinquish his field once every seven years – an immense test of בִּטָּחוֹן, of trust. And a person in business goes through this same test every day! But if he has faith in the Boreh Olam, that no one touches what is prepared for another כמלוא נימא, by a hair’s breadth, then all his commerce and dealings will be with integrity!
The Alter of Novardok comes and says: Look what Lavan the Aramean did. Lavan sees that Eliezer, Avraham’s servant, arrives with ten camels loaded with all good things, but he knows he will not enter his house as long as his idolatry is there. So, what does he do? He rushes home and clears out all his idolatry, as we’re told: וְאָנֹכִי פִּנִּיתִי הַבַּיִת וּמָקוֹם לַגְּמַלִּים – And I have cleared the house and a place for the camels. Rashi explains, this means he cleared the house from idolatry.
Rabbotai, what kind of “believer” throws his gods out of the house so quickly?! You bow to it four times a day because you believe it provides you with health and prosperity – why throw it out? The answer is very simple, says the Alter of Novardok. Lavan said: “Here, from Eliezer, the livelihood and prosperity will surely come. But from the idolatry, it’s not certain.” If there’s cash now, you can go with the sure thing and throw out the idolatry.
The Alter of Novardok continues: The danger is that we too might become like Lavan Ha’Arami. How many people face a test of faith in their work and livelihood, and suddenly they forget the trait of trusting in the Boreh Olam? As the Chazon Ish writes: זִמְרַת הַבִּטָּחוֹן עַל שְׂפָתָיו – The song of trust is on his lips.” He knows how to sing trust... until he faces a test!
Parshiot Behar and Bechukotai are the Parshiot that conclude the sefer of Torat Kohanim, preparing us for the re-enactment of Matan Torah on Shavuot. מָה עִנְיַן שְׁמִטָּה אֵצֶל הַר סִינַי – What does Shemitah have to do with Har Sinai? What is the connection between Shemitah and receiving the Torah? The answer is מִדַּת הַבִּטָּחוֹן – the attribute of trust. It is incumbent upon us to strengthen ourselves in the trait of Bitachon. Those “mighty in strength” who relinquish their fields for an entire year will, in two weeks, need to face the test of Na’aseh Ve’Nishma again! All of us will stand once again and evaluate ourselves, whether we again accept upon ourselves to listen and then do – do we accept Na’aseh Ve’Nishma upon ourselves once more. Parshat Behar, and its learnings on the Dinim of Shemitah, and the obligations of one to be wholesome in their dealings, lead us to be complete with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. One whose Avodat Hashem is wholesome will relinquish his fields and property with complete faith and trust in Hakadosh Baruch Hu and is the one worthy of Matan Torah, haba aleinu l’tovah.
May Hakadosh Baruch Hu grant us, through strengthening the middah of Bitachon, to merit the complete Geula the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days!
