During the plague Choshech, it says (10:23) ולכל ימים שלשת מתחתיו איש קמו ולא אחיו את איש ראו לא במושבתם אור היה ישראל בני, "They did not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days, but for all of Bnei Yisrael, there was light in their dwellings."
B’derech remez, we explain this pasuk in two ways. One is that if people don't look at each other and don't care to help their fellow man, that is darkness, חושך מכת. Or we can explain the pasuk that if people don't look with jealousy at their fellow man, במושבתם אור היה ישראל בני ולכל, there is light and happiness among the Jewish nation.
Reb Zelig Weinberg (son of the Beis Avraham zt'l) lived in Teveria with his wife and children, and they needed a larger home, but he couldn't afford it. Once, he saw many people outside a house. He heard that the owner of this home couldn’t pay the mortgage, so the bank put up the home to be sold to the highest bidder. The highest bidder, so far, was an Arab, who offered to pay two hundred thousand for the home, which was half its actual value.
"This is my opportunity," Reb Zelig told himself. "I offer to pay 220,000," he said to the auctioneer, and he earned the right to buy the house.
He came home and told his wife the good news. She replied, "I will not live there. The previous owner is certainly distraught that he lost his home, and I don't want to gain at the expense of another person's suffering."
He said, "But would it be better if the Arab bought it?"
"I don't care. I am not moving there!"
"I will ask Reb Moshe Klirs," he told his wife. "He will certainly agree that I did the right thing by buying the house."
Reb Moshe Klirs zt'l was the Rav of Teveria and the leader of the Slonimer chasidim, at the time. Surprisingly, he said that his wife was correct. "I will tell you a story," he said:
"Your uncle, Reb Noach Wienberg, was a close follower of the tzaddik Reb Hersh Michel zt'l. He knew that Reb Hersh Michel needed thick towels, and when Reb Noach saw a widow selling thick towels near her home, he bought one and gave it to Reb Hersh Michel before he went to mikvah. When Reb Hersh Michel returned from the tevilah, he thanked Reb Noach for the wonderful towel and asked him where he got it. Reb Noach told him that he bought it from a widow selling some odds and ends from her house.
"Give it right back to her," Reb Hersh Michel demanded. "She certainly needs the towel for herself; only she is poor, and she has to sell it to buy food or other necessities. I don't want to use a towel a widow was forced to sell!"
Reb Moshe Klirs concluded, "So, according to halachah, you did nothing wrong. You have a right to buy the home. However, Reb Hersh Michel wouldn't want to live in such a home. He wouldn't want to benefit when your gain is another Yid's sorrow."
Reb Zelig didn't move into the home, and caring community members pitched in and repurchased the house for the original owners.
The Chinuch (Mitzvah 505) teaches, "The entire shevet Levi may not take a portion from the spoils of war that Yisrael will take when they enter the land, and what they will take away from their enemies afterwards..."
"The reason for this obligation is because the Levites are Hashem's servants. It isn't proper to use utensils that were stolen from others. In their homes, there should only be utensils taken in peace and honesty, not utensils that caused the hearts of men and women to be upset about their losses."
The Chinuch teaches us this sensitivity. One should not want to gain from another’s loss.
At the end of Pesachim, the gemara discusses that when one does the mitzvah of Pidyon Haben, he says the bracha of Shehechiyanu. But the Gemara doesn't say that the kohen says Shehechiyanu. Why doesn't he say Shehechiyanu?
The Meiri replies that the kohen doesn't say shehechiyanu because there are other kohanim who didn't get the money. He shouldn’t be totally happy with the money he received, knowing that others are upset that they didn't receive it.
