Divrei Noach
Honesty
"Hashem said to Noach, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them; and behold, I am about to destroy them from the earth." (Bereishis 6:14) The Gemara i(Sanhedrin 108a) explains the message: "Says Rabbi Yochanan, ‘Come and see the destructive power of robbery, for the Dor HaMabul sinned in every possible manner, yet their doom was not sealed until they stretched out their hands in thievery." In other words, these people had perverted their powerful bodies, their gigantic intellects, their centuries of longevity, and their beautiful world in order to commit the most heinous crimes of idol-worship and immorality (far beyond our nightmares). However, they might have been spared from the Mabul (and even been given their lost places in Olam HaBoh – see Sanhedrin 107b), if they had respected others’ property. We learn here that dishonesty creates a special destructive force.
In fact, we can sense this concept today, whenever we feel a certain outrage over hearing news of yet another scandal on Wall Street or on Capitol Hill.
What is the guiding principle? HaRav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zt"l explains in Horeb (pp. 226-227) that Hashem gave to people many various tools to use in accomplishing perfection. Just as He gave us bodies to utilize, so also did He give us property, which Rav Hirsch defines as "an artificial extension of the body." Therefore, just as a murderer deprives his victim of his primary tool of life – his body— so also does a thief take away from his victim other tools which Hashem has bestowed upon him – which are no less a part of him than his own body. Rav Hirsch also points out that just as even a small physical wound hurts, so also does a small theft cause tremendous damage, beyond its own value.
We especially must be careful in this matter. One of the nations’ chief accusations against us, legitimate or not, is that of dishonesty in business. For example, the Ku Klux Klan has published an article, "Have you ever read the Talmud?" While the author clearly has not (judging from his numerous silly lies and spelling mistakes), fully sixteen of the thirty-five "accusations" he levels against us are monetary. (Surprisingly, not a word is said about the ingredients of our matzos. Perhaps only Arabs are willing to believe that one.) Clearly, this noxious idea rings a bell deep inside, an echo of the Dor HaMabul’s evil ways.
The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 348:2) plainly spells out the halachah: "Anyone who steals even a tiny amount transgresses the sin of ‘Do not steal,’ and he must repay. It does not matter whether he steals money from a Jew or from a non-Jew, whether he steals from an adult or a child." On this halachah, the Be’er HaGolah (who normally gives us sources for the laws) devotes a lengthy discussion to the topic of taos akum, of taking financial advantage of a non-Jew’s mistakes. He declares: "I am writing this for future generations. I have seen many who enriched themselves through taos akum. [While they did enjoy a short-lived prosperity], they soon lost all their money, and left nothing over for their children. [On the other hand, I also witnessed] others who sanctified Hashem’s name and returned money which a non-Jew had erroneously given to them. They also saw great success and became very wealthy, but their money was blessed and stayed with them and their families." (See also the Tiferes Israel-Boaz on the Mishnah (Bava Kamma 4:3) for more discussion of this subject.)