August 31 –
September 1, 2012 / 14 Elul 5772
Shabbat Ki
Tetze
Torah
Portion: Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 /
Haftarah Portion: Isaiah 54:1-10
“Finders
Keepers”
Dear Friends,
‘Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers’ is profoundly not
Jewish. I have no idea of the origin
of the rhyme, but one thing I do know, it’s not found in Jewish teaching. In fact, just the opposite is
true. The Talmud, tractate Bava
Metzia, begins with a large section devoted to the injunction that we return
lost property. Here are two
examples from the discussion.
Rabbi Hanina related this story: “Some old Rabbis
bought a pile of wheat from some soldiers and found in it a purse full of
dinars, and they returned it to them.” The soldiers said, “Blessed be the God
of the Jews.”
Abba Oshaya of Tiraya was a laundry-man. Once the
queen came to wash in a pool of water and lost some articles of clothing. Abba
Oshaya found them and returned them to her. She said to him, “They are yours.
What use do I have for them? Of what importance are they to me? I have better
ones and I have many more.” He
responded to her, “The Torah decrees that we must return lost property.” She
said, “Blessed be the God of the Jews.”
From this week’s Torah portion we learn that if you
see your neighbor’s ox or sheep gone astray, you may not ignore it. You must take it back to him. And if you live far away or you do not
know who owns it, you must take it home and care for the animal until it is
claimed. This teaching applies to
all property belonging to your neighbor.
You may not remain indifferent to the return of lost property.
We are in the month of Elul, the month preceding
the High Holidays. It is month of
preparation for the important work we do to self-correct and return to a path
of righteous behavior.
What do you have that belong to your friends,
relatives and neighbors? Do you
have books, tools or DVDs that were borrowed long ago? Do you have clothing or household items
laying around that you haven’t gotten around to returning? Now is the time to give it all back.
What else do you have that belongs to your friends,
relatives and neighbors? Do you
have any apologies that belong to them, but you haven’t shared. Do you have any favors to return in
exchange for help and assistance they once gave you? Now is the time to offer them in order to set the record
straight.
Why is the law of returning lost property so
important in Judaism? Because with
it, trust and confidence abounds.
If we all pledge to care for and respect each other’s lost property,
then an atmosphere of support and interdependence thrives. In the Jewish worldview, Finders become
Returners and Losers become Thankers.
Shabbat Shalom,
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