By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — When I was a counselor at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, the director was Dr. Walter Ackerman, a well-known and formidable educator. He was not the easiest man to approach and the staff was in awe of him. He seemed second only to God in stature and authority.
One of my strongest memories of him was of his attention to the cleanliness of the camp. He always insisted that we counselors keep our bunks tidy and neat, but more important, he took a personal interest in the entire camp’s neatness. When “Acky” walked around the camp, if he saw some trash on the ground he wouldn’t call a camper, counselor, or maintenance worker to pick it up. He would bend over himself and place it in the trash can.
Parashat Ki Teitzei discusses the mitzvah of hasheivat aveidah, returning a lost object: “If you see your fellow’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your fellow…You shall do the same with his ass, you shall do the same with his garment; and so too shall you do with anything that your fellow loses and you find: you must not remain indifferent.” (Deut. 22:1-3)
According to Jewish law, if you find a lost object you do not have a choice whether or not to seek its owner. You have an obligation not only to pick it up and seek its owner, you must protect it and take care of it while it is in your possession.
In Hebrew the phrase “you must not remain indifferent” is literally translated, “you are not able to hide [from your obligation].” Rabbi Mordechai Cohen questions the grammar of the phrase.
He asks, “Why does the Torah say ‘you are not able to hide’ when it should have said in strong commanding language, ‘you must not hide [from your obligation]?'” His answer? What the Torah is telling us is that while we think we can hide from our religious and societal obligations, this is not the case. Even if we can hide our apathy from our neighbors, it is impossible to hide from the One Who Sees All.
The Chafetz Chaim was once traveling from city to city by wagon to distribute books. He happened to pass a garden filled with luscious fruit and fresh vegetables. The driver stopped the wagon, climbed down, entered the garden, and began gathering its bounty. The Chafetz Chaim shouted out to him, “Someone sees you! Someone sees you!”
The driver dropped everything he had collected and rushed back to the wagon wheezing and short of breath. When he had recovered, he looked around and said to the Chafetz Chaim, “Why were you shouting? There is no one around.”
“You are wrong,” replied the Chafetz Chaim, “there is always someone watching who sees but cannot be seen!”
“Acky” knew his obligations to the camp. When he walked around the camp cleaning it up, whether or not campers and staff were around, he knew he was being watched.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue. He may be contacted at leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com