The First Thief and the Root of All Sheker

How the Laws of Theft Illuminate the Deepest Secrets of the Universe

In Parashat Kedoshim, we are commanded not to steal (Vayikra 19:11): לֹא תִּגְנֹבוּ וְלֹא־תְכַחֲשׁוּ וְלֹא־תְשַׁקְּרוּ אִישׁ בַּעֲמִיתוֹ (You shall not steal, deceive or lie, one to another). Two pesukim later, we are told not rob (19:13): לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת־רֵעֲךָ וְלֹא תִגְזֹל לֹא־תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד־בֹּקֶר (You shall not defraud your fellow, and you shall not rob; you shall not keep the wage of a hired worker with you until the morning). What's the difference between someone who steals, i.e. a 'thief,' and someone who robs, i.e. a 'robber'?

The thief [גַנָב, ganav], mentioned in 19:11, refers to someone who takes something from another surreptitiously. The robber [גַזלָן, gazlan], on the other hand, mentioned in 19:13, refers to someone who takes something from another by force. The Torah treats these two criminals very differently. Without getting into a lot of detail, the ganav is required to pay back double the value of what he stole. Moreover, if he stole a sheep and then slaughtered or sold it, he must pay back four times its value, or if he stole an ox and then slaughtered or sold it, he must pay five times its value. On the other hand, a gazlan is required only to return the stolen item (or its value) along with an additional fifth. So we see that a ganav is treated much more severely than a gazlan.

At first glance, this seems counter-intuitive. Shouldn't the one who uses force to steal be treated more severely than the one who steals in secret? Thankfully, the talmidim of R' Yochanan ben Zakkai asked their Rav this exact question. Here is his answer (Baba Kamma 79b): זֶה הִשְׁוָה כְּבוֹד עֶבֶד לִכְבוֹד קוֹנוֹ, וְזֶה לֹא הִשְׁוָה כְּבוֹד עֶבֶד לִכְבוֹד קוֹנוֹ (This one [the gazlan] equated the honor of a servant to the honor of his master, while this one [the ganav] did not equate the honor of a servant to the honor of his master). Equating the honor of a servant to his master means that the gazlan neither respects man nor G-d. He steals from his fellow in the open – with force – caring neither for the welfare of his fellow Jew nor for G-d's laws. He treats both with equal disdain and contempt. On the other hand, the ganav defers to the honor of man. He steals, but only in secret. Although he isn't particularly concerned about violating G-d's laws or facing retribution from Heaven, he is concerned about being caught by man and having to face punishment dished out by man's courts. R' Yochanan ben Zakkai then illustrated the deeper wickedness of the ganav: כִּבְיָכוֹל עָשָׂה עַיִן שֶׁל מַטָּה כְּאִילּוּ אֵינָהּ רוֹאָה, וְאוֹזֶן שֶׁל מַטָּה כְּאִילּוּ אֵינָהּ שׁוֹמַעַת (As it were, he made the eye of the One Below [a euphemism for the One Above] as if it doesn't see, and the ear of the One Below [i.e. the One Above] as if it doesn't hear]. We will return to this idea later, but for now let's move forward.

R' Meir also explained this distinction with a parable taught by Rabban Gamliel. The distinction between the ganav and the gazlan is like the distinction between two people living in the same town who each made a big party. One of them invited the local townsfolk but didn't invite the king's sons, while the other one didn't invite anybody. Who should receive the greater punishment? Clearly, it is the one who invited the townsfolk but didn't invite the king's sons. He's like the ganav – more concerned with how he is judged by man than how he is judged by G-d.

Another distinction between these two kinds of criminals is that the ganav attempts to deceive people in addition to being a thief, whereas the gazlan is not interested in deceit – he's just a robber. The ganav pretends as if he didn't steal anything, thus trying to deceive people, but the gazlan struts around the community with complete brazenness, almost daring people to arrest him. Thus, if you go back and re-read the two pesukim with which we began this study, you will understand why the prohibition against גְּנֵיבָה [geneivah], the act of stealing associated with the ganav, is connected to the prohibitions against lying and deceiving, while the prohibition against גְזֵלָה [gezeilah], the act of stealing associated with the gazlan, is associated with the prohibitions against defrauding and withholding wages.

There is another aspect of theft which is important to our study, and that is the prohibition against גְּנֵבַת הָדַּעַת [geneivat ha-da'at] 'stealing the awareness' of someone else. What does this mean? The Rambam explains the idea very well (Hilchot De'ot 2:6): אָסוּר לָאָדָם לְהַנְהִיג עַצְמוֹ בְּדִבְרֵי חֲלָקוֹת וּפִתּוּי. וְלֹא יִהְיֶה אֶחָד בַּפֶּה וְאֶחָד בַּלֵּב אֶלָּא תּוֹכוֹ כְּבָרוֹ וְהָעִנְיָן שֶׁבַּלֵּב הוּא הַדָּבָר שֶׁבַּפֶּה. וְאָסוּר לִגְנֹב דַּעַת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וַאֲפִלּוּ דַּעַת הַנָּכְרִי (It is forbidden for a person to conduct himself with smooth [i.e. flattering] or seductive speech. He shouldn't have one thing on his mouth and another thing on the heart. His inner aspect should be like his outer aspect, and that which is in his heart should be what comes out of his mouth. It is forbidden 'to steal the awareness' [lignov da'at] of others, even a non-Jew). We will also come back to this idea, but for now, let's continue moving forward.

Who do you think was the very first thief? Think about it. Who was the first thief?

Discussing the laws of geneivah, it is written in Likutei Halachot (Choshen Mishpat, Hilchot Geneivah 5:10): כִּי הַגַּנָּב בָּא בְּהֶעְלֵם וּבְהֶסְתֵּר בְּעָרְמָה וּמִרְמָה גְּדוֹלָה וְשָׁרְשׁוֹ מֵהַבַּעַל דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא הַגַּנָּב הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁבָּא עַל הָאָדָם בִּגְנֵבָה וּבְמִרְמָה (For the ganav comes in secrecy and concealment, with cunning and great deceit, and his root is from the Ba'al Davar [i.e. the Satan or Yetzer Ra] who is the Great Thief, who comes upon a person with thievery and trickery). This fits well with what we read about the Nachash in his first interaction with Chavah in Gan Eden (Bereshit 3:1): וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְיָ אֱלֹקִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה אַף כִּי־אָמַר אֱלֹקִים לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן (And the Nachash was more cunning than all the beasts of the field which Hashem, G-d, made. And he said to the woman, Did G-d really say, Don't eat from any tree of the garden?). Read the rest of the account on your own and you will see further aspects of his deceit and trickery. This is all well known. So it seems like the Satan, the Nachash, was the first thief. But was he really the first?

Let's continue reading from Hilchot Geneivah: וְשֹׁרֶשׁ הַבַּעַל דָּבָר וְהַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא הוּא מִתְּחִלַּת הַצִּמְצוּם שֶׁל חָלָל הַפָּנוּי שֶׁה' יִתְבָּרַךְ, כִּבְיָכוֹל, הֶעְלִים וְהִסְתִּיר אוֹר חָכְמָתוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל הַבְּחִירָה (And the root of the Ba'al Davar and the Sitra Achra is from the beginning of the tzimtzum of 'the empty space' [chalal ha-panui], that Hashem, may He be blessed, so to speak, hid and concealed the Light of His wisdom for the sake of free will).

Above all else, Hashem wanted to create a world for the pinnacle of His creation, i.e. Adam, in such a way that he would have free will – bechirah. Hashem wanted to give Adam a real choice to decide between truth and falsehood, good and bad, light and darkness, emunah and heresy. But how could He do that considering that He is infinite and His Light is infinite? In a process that, quite frankly, is not possible for our minds to comprehend completely, Hashem accomplished this seemingly impossible feat by constraining, contracting, constricting or withdrawing Himself and His light, through a process we call tzimtzum, in order to create a certain 'space', i.e. a chalal, that would be 'empty' or vacant, i.e. panui, of His infinite Light. But let's not misunderstand. The chalal panui wasn't actually devoid of Hashem's infinite Light. Not at all. After all, Yeshayahu ha-Navi testified that he witnessed the fiery angels, the seraphim, declare (Yeshayahu 6:3): מְלֹא כׇל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ (The whole earth is full of His glory). Rather, the subtle truth is that the chalal panui was created in such a way that it would appear as if it was empty of His Infinite Light without actually being empty.

Therefore, R' Natan in Likutei Halachot is writing an astonishing chiddush. Hashem didn't just create the chalal panui in an unknowable process known as tzimtzum in order to create a world where man could have bechirah, but more importantly, the very act of tzimtzum itself is the root for the power of the Satan. If it wasn't for the fact that Hashem, so to speak, hid and concealed Himself in the chalal panui, the Satan and all forces of impurity from the Sitra Achra would not be able to deceive anyone. In short, without tzimtzum, evil would have no credibility. Likutei Halachot states it this way: וְהַהַעֲלָמָה וְהַהַסְתָּרָה הִוא בְּחִינַת גְּנֵבָה, כִּי בָּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ יֵשׁ שָׁם ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ רַק שֶׁהוּא מַעְלִים וּמַסְתִּיר עַצְמוֹ, כִּבְיָכוֹל, בִּשְׁבִיל הַנִּסָּיוֹן וְהַבְּחִירָה (And the hiddenness and the concealment is the aspect of geneivah [deceptive theft], for the real truth is that Hashem, may He be blessed, is there, except that He hides and conceals Himself, so to speak, for the sake of the test and bechirah). If that doesn't shock you, then we're not sure you're grasping what he's revealing. The Satan wasn't the first thief at all. Hashem was! Hashem was the very first ganav, a deceptive thief, someone who steals surreptitiously. What did He steal? He stole the awareness of Adam. He committed an act of geneivat ha-da'at. He tricked Adam and has been tricking mankind ever since. But it had a holy purpose. It was geneivat dik'dusha, holy thievery. He hid and concealed Himself, so to speak, in the chalal panui to give man bechirah in order to test him whether he would believe, i.e. whether he would have emunah, in His existence or not.

This idea is similar to what we read in Sanhedrin 39a where a heretic approached Rabban Gamliel and said, 'Your G-d is a ganav!' His proof was Bereshit 2:21, the pasuk which says that Hashem took, i.e. 'stole', a part of Adam without his knowledge while he was sleeping. According to the heretic, this epitomized the very definition of geneivah. So what did Rabban Gamliel say to counter the heretic's accusation? Absolutely nothing. Rather, the heretic's daughter defended Rabban Gamliel and said to her father, 'Yes, although it is true that Hashem acted as a ganav, it was for a good purpose!' In other words, it was geneivat dik'dusha, holy thievery. So the heretic was technically correct, yet still a heretic.

So we see that falsehood, sheker, has to exist in order for bechirah to exist. But R' Natan doesn't stop with this important point. He goes one step further: כִּי ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ הָאָרֶץ נָתַן לִבְנֵי אָדָם וְנָתַן כֹּחַ לְהַבְּחִירָה כָּל כָּךְ שֶׁעִקָּרָהּ עַל יְדֵי הַשֶּׁקֶר כַּנַּ"ל עַד שֶׁיֵּשׁ כֹּחַ לְהַשֶּׁקֶר שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת גְּנֵבָה לְהַעֲלִים הָאֱמֶת גַּם לְמַעְלָה, כִּבְיָכוֹל (For Hashem, may He be blessed, gave the earth to mankind, and He gave such power to bechirah that its very essence is through sheker, as mentioned above, to such an extent that sheker, which is an aspect of geneivah, has the power to conceal the truth also from the One Above, so to speak). To hide the truth from Hashem Himself? Yes, so to speak. How so?

Let's return to the case of the ganav planning on stealing from his neighbor in the middle of the night. What's going on in his head? R' Natan explains: אַךְ עִקַּר הַחִלּוּק שֶׁהַגַּנָּב בָּא בְּמִרְמָה וּבְעָרְמָה כָּל כָּךְ עַד שֶׁמַּטְעֶה אֶת עַצְמוֹ…וְלֹא דַּי שֶׁמַּטְעֶה אֶת עַצְמוֹ עַד שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהַטְעוֹת גַּם אֲחֵרִים בִּגְנֵבַת עָרְמָתוֹ וְלֹא דַּי בָּזֶה עַד שֶׁכִּבְיָכוֹל יָכוֹל לְהַמְשִׁיךְ הַסְתָּרָה כָּזֹאת כְּאִלּוּ ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ מַסְכִּים עִמּוֹ בִּבְחִינַת גַּנָּבָא אַמַּחְתַּרְתָּא רַחֲמָנָא קַרְיָא (However, the main difference [between the ganav and the gazlan] is that the ganav comes with deceit and cunning so much so that he fools himself…But not only does he fool himself, he is also able to fool others through his cunning geneivah. But not only that, he is able to draw down such concealment, so to speak, as if Hashem, may He be blessed, agrees with him, in the aspect of, 'A ganav calls out [in prayer] to the Merciful One while he's tunneling [in order to break into a house to steal]' [see Ein Ya'akov 9:54 on Berachot 63a]). Now that's shocking. The ganav has the audacity to pray to Hashem for his success. What chutzpah! It is as we read above from R' Yochanan ben Zakkai, i.e. the ganav makes 'the eye of the One Below [i.e. the One Above] as if it doesn't see' – literally.

In conclusion, the essence of our own bechirah is whether we will choose truth or sheker, whether we will believe that the chalal panui is really devoid of Hashem's infinite Light or whether we will choose to have the emunah and the knowledge to realize that the chalal panui must be full of Hashem's divine presence. Bechirah pretty well boils down to that. Only truth can peel back the darkness and reveal the Light. And every single minute of every single hour of every single day, we have the power to illuminate the darkness with the truth and to reveal Hashem's presence, bringing Him out of hiding and concealment, so to speak, not only for us as individuals but also for the whole world.