Kevin Bemel ·
How to Keep Your Self-Respect by Upholding Others
Shortly after arriving at my first duty station in Okinawa, early one morning at the gym, I observed a young corporal preparing his squad for PT (physical training) by SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS FOR THEM TO FORM UP. One of his Marines quietly told him he had a chit excusing him from PT. Rather than acquiescing the corporal shouted, “EVERYONE EXCUSED FROM #!*^%$ PT STAND OVER HERE!” Then he ran off with the rest of his flock, leaving behind humiliated people too injured to workout. This young corporal should have read the parsha for this Sabbath, Mishpatim:
“If a man will steal an ox or a sheep (goat) and slaughter it or sell it, five cattle he will pay in place of the ox and four sheep in place of the sheep.” (Shemos/Exodus 21:37).
This week’s parsha has 53 mitzvahs: 23 positive ones and 30 negative ones, which guide the conduct of the Israelites. They cover a broad range of institutions, crimes, activities, and celebrations. Toward the end of Mishpatim, G-d promises to lead the Children of Israel into the Land of Israel and conquer their enemies.
Notice anything interesting about the above verse? Someone who steals an ox and slaughters or sells it must pay a five-cattle penalty. However, if he steals a sheep or goat (the Hebrew word seh can mean either), the penalty is only four sheep.
Why the lesser penalty for stealing a sheep?
The Connection Between Dignity & Self-Respect
Chazal teach that when a thief steals an ox he will lead it away by a rope, however, a thief who steals a sheep will have to pick the animal up and carry it off. How silly will the thief look running down the road carrying a sheep? It brings to mind the Warner Bros. cartoons where the coyote steals a fat sheep.
The thief’s penalty is lowered because he suffers embarrassment by carrying the sheep. Hence true sensitivity to human dignity.
Even a lowly thief’s self-respect is important.
As for the young corporal, he treated his flock worse than a sheep thief, no way to build unit cohesion or trust in his leadership. It is a lesson I keep uppermost in my mind. If G-d is concerned for a thief, then the dignity of my family members and colleagues, even the people I meet doing everyday things, should be as dear to me as my own.
How do you suppress the urge to put someone down?
You can leave a comment on this question or ask another question below ↓
Every year beginning on Simchas Torah, the cycle of reading the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, ends and begins again. Each Sabbath a portion known as a sedra or parsha is read. It is named after the first significant word or two with which this weekly reading begins.
Do you have a question about the Old Testament? Ask it here and I will answer it in a future Parsha Nugget!
