Come out on Top

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

If a person gets taken advantage of or is wronged by another individual or business and then the person sees how much that other individual or business is flourishing as a result, he may begin to feel that it pays to do the wrong thing because those who do, get away with it and enjoy from it. But there could be nothing further from the truth. The Mishnah says in Pirkei Avot that Hashem who created the world and sees everything that goes on, He is also the Judge, the Witness and the Plaintiff. He never forgets anything. He does not show favoritism in judgment and He cannot be bribed. And for everything that people do, they are held accountable. The yetzer hara makes a person think that he can do wrong and get away with it, but the Mishnah warns, אל יבטיתך יצרך – a person should not let his yetzer hara convince him that he could escape, because Hashem is the most righteous and fairest Judge. Everybody will get what is coming to them. If someone was taken advantage of and was meant to have the money that was stolen from him, he'll get it back. And if it was not meant for him, then the one who took advantage of him was just acting as a messenger to take away what wasn't his. However, that messenger is fully held accountable for choosing to do wrong and will be brought to justice for the crime unless he makes teshuva . It may appear that people get away with things for years, but that does not mean that Hashem is not holding them accountable. When the goblet was found in the sack of Binyamin and the Shevatim had to return to the viceroy, Yehuda told him, "What can we say? האלוקים מצא עוון עבדיך - Hashem has found the sin of your servant." Why was Yehuda speaking about Hashem to this leader? Because Yehuda knew, everything happens only from Hashem. And if they were suffering this torment, it must be because of an avon they committed. He was regretting selling Yosef as a slave now, seeing that he and his brothers may also become slaves. This episode took place 22 years after they sold Yosef, yet Yehuda saw it as a clear consequence for that action. Sometimes Hashem brings kapara to a person shortly after he sinned, sometimes it takes years, sometimes decades and sometimes not until in the Next World, but every action that a person does is always taken into account and nothing ever goes unnoticed. Therefore, we should feel calm, knowing that no matter what other people do or try to do to us, we are always in Hashem's hands and He is the fairest, most righteous Judge. Moreover, we should never let our evil inclination convince us to do wrong or take revenge because there is accountability. Those who harmed us will not get away with it. And we should never harm others either. Our sole focus should always be doing the will of Hashem. And if we do, we will always come out on top.