years living with this family, we do not let him cepted for all generations that they would

would live the

Life in Prison forget that he is here because he transgressed the

prohibition not to steal.
commandments of the Torah. The experience of
hearing these words directly made a strong im-
Thus, we see that on one hand, we give the pact on their neshamos. Although they practi-
The Torah Outlook to Criminal Justice slave equal treatment and boost his sense of self, cally only heard the first two commandments
hoping that this will change his criminal mental- directly from Hashem, it was as if they had heard
ity. On the other hand, the degradation of living everything directly from Him. This impression
By Rav Moshe Shternbuch with a non-Jewish maidservant should make it stayed imbedded in every Jewish neshama for all
clear to him that he did not act according to the generations.
The following was written elevated ways of the Torah. We hope that by the
by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis time his stay with this family ends, the slave will JUSTICE PREVAILS
based on a drasha given on leil have internalized both of these outlooks and be The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos tells us that were
Shabbos by Rav Moshe Shtern- able to reenter society as an honest person. it not for fear of the government, people would eat
buch, Rosh Av Beis Din of the This outlook that the Torah teaches is crucial each other alive. Law and order is crucial; with-
Eidah Hachareidis of Yerusha- for those involved with bringing non-religious out it, chaos would prevail. However, man-made
layim. Jews closer to Torah observance. We have to el- secular law can never reach the infinite depths
••••• evate them so they can recognize their true great- that the Torah touches in its mishpatim.
ness as Jews. At the same time, we have to help The parsha of eved ivri is just one example of
PONZI SCHEMES them see the baseness of a non-observant life and the infinite wisdom that the Torah exhibits via
“If you purchase a Jewish slave, he shall work make sure that we do not learn from their ways. its methods of jurisdiction. Instead of offering
for six years and the seventh year he goes free” an arbitrary, man-made punishment, each one of
(Shemos 21:2). HARD OF HEARING the mishpatim penetrates deep into the human
Recently, Ponzi schemes and other similar As clear as this message is, some slaves might personality and identifies the root of what went
business frauds have taken center stage in world not be able to internalize the message that the To- wrong. The Torah cuts through to the cause of
news, and unfortunately, Jews have been some of rah is conveying to them. They might enjoy their that problem and rectifies the issue on all sides.
the key figures behind these frauds. Generally, stay with this family and the relationship with At times, it seems as if Torah law is not able
after the masterminds behind to deal with a particular prob-
these plans are convicted, the lem. Sometimes, we might
rest of their lives are spent In His infinite wisdom, Hashem designed a radically be missing witnesses or suffi-
in jail. Nobody benefits from cient proof to prosecute some-
this, as the victims are forced different penal system. Criminals are not allowed one with a monetary or physi-
to swallow the losses, and the cal punishment. Seemingly,
criminal is not in a situation to run away from the loss they caused to the people they stole from. in these circumstances, true
where he will change. justice cannot be carried out.
In His infinite wisdom, Hashem designed a rad- the non-Jewish maidservant. After his stay has Not so. On the verse, “These are the mishpa-
ically different penal system. Criminals are not concluded, an eved ivri may request to stay with tim,” the Zohar writes that “these are the laws of
allowed to run away from the loss they caused to his newfound family. gilgul.” In a case where we lack sufficient proof
the people they stole from. They must sell them- We dramatically show such a slave the error to decide the case, Hashem will set up circum-
selves as slaves and pay back the money they in his way of thinking. The Torah commands stances that cause justice to be achieved.
stole. his master to put an awl through his ear to the The appearance of new fraud cases every day is
Instead of being locked up with other hard- doorpost - reminiscent of the very doorposts that the clearest proof of the failure of the secular pe-
ened criminals, the thief finds himself in an en- acted as witness to the freedom of the Jewish peo- nal system. Only Hashem’s wisdom, as embodied
vironment that gives him an opportunity to see ple from their slavery in Mitzrayim. It should be by the mishpatim, can rectify these issues. May
healthy Jewish living. Even though he is a slave, clear to everyone that this Jew did not understand the day come quickly when the Torah law is the
we treat him like an equal, and further, at times what the Torah was trying to teach him by this only deciding factor in all judicial issues of Klal
when there is not enough for everyone, we give stay with this family. Yisroel.
him priority over other members of the house- Rashi tells us that the reason behind this prac- •••••
hold. The Talmud Yerushalmi, in fact, rules that tice is to punish the very same ear that heard on Rabbi Travis is a rosh kollel of Kollel Toras
if the master only has one pillow, he must give Har Sinai, “You should be slaves to Hashem.” Yet, Chaim in Yerushalayim, and is the author of
it to the slave to use and do without for himself. we only heard the first two of the Aseres Hadi- Shaylos U’Teshuvos Toras Chaim and “Praying
If the thief is married and has children, the new bros on Har Sinai, and Hashem did not explicitly With Joy - A Daily Tefilla Companion,” a practi-
master must provide for his family as well. We tell us not to be slaves. Furthermore, the mitzvah cal daily guide to improving one’s prayers, avail-
are so concerned with this robber’s welfare that to be sold as a slave to pay for one’s crime applies able from Feldheim Publishers. He will soon be
we treat him like any other husband: any money to all generations, even those who did not stand publishing Rav Shternbuch’s weekly shiurim
that his wife earns goes to him, in order not to at Har Sinai. on the parsha as a sefer entitled “A Voice in the
belittle his honor more than necessary. The To- When the Jewish people said, “Na’aseh ven- Darkness.” For more information about his work,
rah hopes that during his stay with this family, ishmah - We will hear and we will do,” they ac- contact dytravis@actcom.com.
he will absorb what a proper home should look
like and turn to other, more acceptable means
to support himself.
The Torah chooses a punishment that is
perfectly measured for this person’s crime. He
chose a career in theft and deceit, as it seemed
like the easiest, most fruitful way to support
himself. For six years, we make him engage in
honest labor to drive home the fact that there
are other, more elevated ways to earn a living.

A THIEF IN OUR HOMES

While this setup is certainly superior to
the secular penal system, at first glance there
seems to be a catch. Having a felon as part of
one’s household might not be the best situa-
tion for the rest of the members of one’s family.
How can we make sure that this criminal’s in-
fluence will not cause negative repercussions
in one’s own home?
The Torah brilliantly solves this problem by
allowing the master to force his newly acquired
slave to marry a non-Jewish maidservant. For a
religious Jew, there could be no greater disgrace
than living with a non-Jewish wife. This will
inevitably cause the master’s family to look
down at him and prevent them from learning
from his actions.
For this reason, the Torah calls him an eved
ivri. The word ivri comes from the root over,
which means to transgress. During his six

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