When you were a kid, did your mother ever tell you to pick up a piece of garbage on the floor in a room you had just walked out of?
“But I’m not the one who put it there!” you protested.
She shook her head. “Yes, but it doesn’t matter. You should always leave a place better than you found it.”
Someone stole something. The judge told them to return it. The thief said he couldn’t as the item was destroyed.
Judaism teaches us that the individual needs to make amends not only because they need to return the stolen item, but because they are living in a world where a person can steal. A world which they are essentially announcing has no leader, no higher power and no guide.
When someone steals in secret, they are saying that G-d doesn’t see them and they can do whatever they please. Why? Because I can!
The Talmud compares theft to idol worship. Idol worship is saying that there is something that is real and controls the world that is greater than G-d.
When we act in a way that allows theft, we are allowing ourselves to live in a world where G-d isn’t allowed.
The global pandemic showed us how suddenly and radically the world can be rewired because of a virus that originated in a bat.
Why not for the good?
We are each unique individuals but our actions have an effect on the world around us. Just like the thief creates a world where “G-d isn’t allowed”, we can create a world of goodness where G-d is in charge.
We do this by doing daily acts of goodness and kindness and/or by acknowledging the acts of kindness done by others and by judging people favorably.
What are you doing to create a better world around you?
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman