Borrowing from G‑d or Partnering with G‑d

The basic theme woven within each and every one of my weekly columns is practically the same: Judaism and the Torah are alive, true, and deeply relevant to us - modern man.

So allow me to take just one of the dozens of the ancient civil laws described in this week’s Torah portion and unearth a layer of its inner truth and contemporary relevance:

Here is the sentence that describes our obligation to return an item that we borrow in the same condition we received it:

"If a man borrows from his neighbor and it is damaged … as long as the owner is not with him at the time, he must surely make restitution" (Exodus 22:13).

Now, there is nothing wrong with borrowing per se, but the Torah requires the borrower to return the object to its owner. If things go wrong, then the borrower must accept full responsibility. The owner was kind enough to lend it to you and allow you to use it. He surely deserves, at the very least, that you'll cherish it in return.

But the Torah gives us one exception: If the “owner was with him at the time” the object broke, the borrower is not liable. (So to avoid potential liability, try to persuade the owner to work for you at the same time that you borrow his possession!)

Now each of us has been given a loan. We are all borrowers. G‑d has loaned us our soul, our strength, our life, and allotted time on this earth. G‑d was kind enough to give us our lives, it’s only proper for us to not mess it up! We have the free choice to do with our lives as we please. But ultimately we will be held responsible if we return our soul to our maker with less purity and holiness than we got it.

Though each of us strive to fill our days and lives with holiness, mitzvahs, and Torah, how many of us can truly claim to have honestly and conscientiously guarded this gift of life to its fullest? How many of us can say that no moment of life has been wasted on foolishness? Don’t we all carry some stains?

And here comes this week’s Torah portion with a most moving and beautiful lesson: If the owner is next to us then we aren’t culpable.

Yes, we each have our flaws, but if we honestly try our very best and so much as allow G‑d to join us on our journey, then we no longer are borrowers. We are partners.

Fruma and our children join me in wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Raleigh Resnick