From the Rabbi

In this week’s parsha the Torah describes how one has the obligation to return lost objects. If you encounter something lost on the road, you are not permitted to ignore the object; you must try to return it to its rightful owner. The Torah also describes in this week’s parsha how we are not allowed to charge interest to our fellow Jews. 

Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum notes that the Torah specifically emphasizes the word achicha– “your brother.” In describing the obligation to return lost objects to “your brother,” the Torah uses the word achica no less than five times. In describing the prohibition of charging interest to “your brother,” the word achicha is used twice. 

Every word in the Torah is precise– why does the Torah specifically emphasize how these mitzvos apply to “your brother?” The Torah could have used other words, like re’echa– “your friend”-- What is the lesson the Torah is trying to convey?

Rabbi Berenbaum answers that when someone chances upon something of value on the road, he might think, “How fortunate I am that this object landed in my lap, as if a gift from Heaven– who says I am obligated to return it to its owner? Clearly, it was destined for me.” And similarly, he explains that when a person is approached for a loan, he might think, “this money belongs to me, and just like I can rent out my home, or animal, I should also have a right to ‘rent out’ my money, and keep the interest.”

But Rabbi Berenbaum relates that Jews are required to relate to one another as brothers (and sisters). And when we feel like we are literally a sibling to our fellow Jew, when our brother or sister loses a precious object, we feel their pain, and would do anything to return the object to them. If my brother lost his signed Ozzie Smith baseball bat, which he got for his bar mitzvah, as his brother, the loss would greatly trouble me personally, and I would help him search for it and make sure it was returned to him.

 Similarly, when life circumstances dictate that our own brother or sister needs to take out a personal loan, that would be a painful reality for us siblings, we ourselves personally feel for them in the event that they need to pay extra money on top of the loan, and their difficulty and struggle would cause us pain.

Explains Rabbi Berenbaum, this is why we read this parsha in Elul– the month before Rosh Hashana. As if to exclaim to the Almighty, “Look how sensitive I am to the needs of my fellow Jews––how I grieve over their misfortune as if they were my own siblings. So too, You Hashem, be sensitive to our needs– in the way that we are so sensitive to the needs of our brothers and sisters.” I would add that one of the acronyms of Elul is ish l’reihu u’mattanos l’evyonim, which is the verse from Esther that obligates us to give gifts to our friends on Purim– to make sure their needs are met. 

Right now, our people are going through a lot. Our own brothers and sisters are still held captive in Gaza. Our sons and daughters are risking their lives defending our people. Now is the time to come together– and be unified as the close-knit family we are. 

History has proven time and time again that when we are divided, we are vulnerable. And when we relate to one another as brothers and sisters, we cannot be stopped. May our unity and brotherhood be a merit for a kesiva v’chasima tova, the immediate returns of all of our hostages, and the coming of Moshiach, b’mheyra b’yomeinu.