Serving as a Proper Guardian

In Parshat Mishpatim we encounter a myriad of laws relating to damages, as well as precepts relating to shomrim (guardians). The Torah dictates the level of responsibility one has when asked to watch over another’s items:

If a man gives his neighbor money or articles for safekeeping (Shemot 22:6).

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik extends the intricacies of shomrim, that seemingly would be categorized as a mitzva ben adam l’chaveiro (between man and fellow man), as being pertinent as well to man’s overall perspective in his relationship with God. As we assert in Selichot ךלש ךוגהו ךל המשנה - the soul is Yours and the body is Yours. Man’s body and soul belong to God and are in a sense “deposited” with us. Therefore, as with deposits of personal property, the way in which we conduct ourselves must be in conformity with what our “Depositor” desires.

On Yom Kippur, man finds himself in a situation that is analogous to what the following pasuk describes when an item is missing:

(the homeowner shall approach the judges, [to swear] that he has not laid his hand upon his neighbor’s property). Man must convince God that he has not misappropriated the deposit –that man conducted himself in accordance with God’s directive. In Neila we recite:

– we should cease from misappropriating ourselves. Any transgression committed is essentially an act of larceny – theft from God.

There is a story that appears in the Yalkut Shimoni on Mishle that highlights this point. Rabbi Meir and his wife Beruriah were proud parents of twin boys who died of an illness on Shabbat. Beruriah did not want to inform her husband of the loss on Shabbat so as not to ruin his oneg Shabbat. After Havdalah, Beruriah informed Rav Meir of the loss by posing the following question to him. She asked: some time ago a certain man came and left two diamonds in my trust (pikadon), now he called for them. Shall I return them to him or not? Only after Rav Meir replied in the affirmative did Beruriah reveal to him the awful news.

The Rav explains that Beruriah understood that her children were a gift from God. However, when one deposits something with another and does not demand its return, after a while it seems like the depositor decided to leave the object with the other individual permanently. Yet, the depositor has the absolute right to retrieve the object at any time.

We must comprehend that God gives many items for safekeeping (pikadon). It can be health, wealth, wisdom, children etc. We begin to think that these items are gifts and belong to us. Only later, and often under tragic circumstances do we come to understand that God does not give us these items outright, but they are entrusted to us for our safekeeping. If we guard them properly, God may enable us to keep them for longer. If we do not acknowledge God as the owner of the pikadon, He may come and claim them sooner.

When Yaakov Aveinu is left alone to contend with the angel, it is after he retraced his tracks to recover small vessels (pahim ketanim, Bereshit 32:25, Rashi). Was Yaakov so miserly that he was so concerned with seemingly non valuable objects? The Be’er Yosef explains that Yaakov believed that all his possessions were entrusted from God. Therefore, he could not forgo even the smallest item entrusted from God. That is why he sought to recover the small vessels.

Yaakov had the attitude of appreciating that every single item he owned was entrusted to him by God and so he had to care for it properly. All the more so, we ought to be careful in the manner in which we view our possessions, raise our children, and conduct our lives so that we constantly serve as loyal guardians.

Mazal Tov to Yossi & Leba Klavan and family on the engagement of their son

Eitan to Shir Zev of Modiin