5775 Selichot Restitution & Repentance

(1) Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep driven away, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely bring them back unto thy brother. (2) And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, and thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother require it, and thou shalt restore it to him. (3) And so shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his garment; and so shalt thou do with every lost thing of thy brother’s, which he hath lost, and thou hast found; thou mayest not hide thyself.

(7) If one described the lost object but not its markings, one should not give [it] to him. And the deceiver, even though he described its markings, one should not give [it] to him, as the Torah states, (Deuteronomy 22:2) "Until your brother sought darash it": Until you investigate tidrosh [whether] your brother is a fraud [or] if he is not a fraud. Anything which does work and eats, one may use it [to do work] and feed it. Something which does not work but does eat, [the finder] must sell it, as the Torah states, (Deuteronomy 22:2) "You shall return it to him": See how you shall return it to him. What should be [done] with the money? Rabbi Tarfon says, one may use them - therefore, if [the money] was lost, he is responsible for them. Rabbi Akiva says, one may not use them, therefore if [the money] was lost, he is not responsible for them.

(8) If one found books, one should read from them once every thirty days and if one does not know how to read, he should roll them. However, one should not learn from them for the first time, nor may one read [from them] with someone else. If one found clothing, one should shake it once every thirty days, and spread it out [according] to its need, but not to honor himself [by hanging it in his home]. Utensils of silver or bronze, one should use them [according] to their need, but not to wear them out. Utensils of gold or glass one should not touch them until Eliyahu comes. If one found a bag or a box, or anything which is undignified to pick up - one should not pick [it] up.

(1) If a thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him. (2) If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be bloodguiltiness for him—he shall make restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. (3) If the theft be found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall pay double. (4) If a man cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. (5) If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field are consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. (6) If a man deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, he shall pay double. (7) If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall come near unto God, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. (8) For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, whereof one saith: 'This is it,' the cause of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double unto his neighbour. (9) If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep, and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it; (10) the oath of the LORD shall be between them both, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. (11) But if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. (12) If it be torn in pieces, let him bring it for witness; he shall not make good that which was torn. (13) And if a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.

(3) מיטב שדהו ומיטב כרמו ישלם, the quality of the restitution must consist of the best of the field or vineyard, seeing that animals wandering off to feed elsewhere is such a widespread phenomenon.

(5) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: (6) Speak unto the children of Israel: When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to commit a trespass against the LORD, and that soul be guilty; (7) then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty. (8) But if the man have no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made shall be the LORD’S, even the priest’s; besides the ram of the atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for him.

(1) 'המושב לה, when the original owner of the stolen property no longer exists, it is proper to make restitution to the “boss” of the person from whom it has been taken, his “boss” being none other than God.

(4) Anyone who confesses verbally and does not commit in his heart to abandon [sin], this is like a person who immerses [in a purity pool] while holding an unclean creature in his hand, so that the bath is not effective until he sends away the unclean creature, and so it says, One who admits and abandons is given mercy (Proverbs 28:13). And he must specify the sin, as it says, This nation has sinned a great sin and made a golden god for themselves (Exodus 32:31).

(6) It is very praiseworthy for the penitent to confess in public and disclose his sins to them, and reveal interpersonal sins to others and tell them: “I surely sinned against so-and-so and did such-and-such to him; but today, behold, I return and regret.” But anyone who is prideful and does not disclose, but rather hides his sins – his teshuvah is not complete, as it says, One who covers his transgressions shall not prosper (Proverbs 28:13).

(11) Teshuva and Yom Kippur only atone for transgression between man and God, such as one who eats a forbidden food, or has a forbidden sexual relationship, etc. But transgressions between man and his fellow, such as hurting his fellow, or cursing his fellow, or stealing from him, etc, those are never forgiven until he gives his fellow what he owes him, and [his fellow] is appeased. (12) Even if he returned the money he owed his [fellow], he must appease him and ask him to forgive him. Even if he only perturbed his fellow verbally, he must make amends and meet with him until he forgives him.

(15) Someone who sins against his fellow, and the fellow dies before he can ask him for forgiveness, he should bring ten people and stand them by his grave and say in front of them, “I have sinned against the Lord, God of Israel and against this certain person because I did such-and-such to him.” And if he owed him money, he should give it to his heirs. If he does not know who the heirs are he should give it to the court and confess.

(3) Five of them are things from which a person can not return in complete teshuvah. This is because they are interpersonal sins for which the sinner does not know which person has been sinned against and thus can not make restitution, nor ask forgiveness, and they are: (1) Someone who curses the masses – he has not cursed a known person from whom he can ask atonement. (2) Someone who does business with a thief – since she does not know to whom the stolen property belongs, as the thief steals from many people and brings it to her, and she takes [the collected goods]. Furthermore, she supports the thief in his sin. (3) Someone who finds a lost object but does not announce it in order to return it to its owner. (4) Someone who embezzles the property of the poor, orphans, and widows. These unfortunate people are not well-known and famous, and wander from city to city where people will not recognize them, so [the sinner] will not know whose property she has taken such that she might return it. (5) Someone who accepts a bribe in order to skew a judgment – he can not know how far his skewed judgment has traveled, or the extent of its force in order to retract it, since the matter has a basis. Furthermore, he supports [the briber] and leads him into sin.

(9) One who says, "I will sin, and then repent, I will sin [again], and then repent," will not receive an opportunity to repent; [for one who says] "I will sin, and Yom Kipur will atone," Yom Kippur will not atone. Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between a person and God, but for a transgression against one's neighbor, Yom Kipur cannot atone, until he appeases his neighbor. Thus R. Eleazar ben Azariah expounds the text, "From all your sins before the Lord shall ye be clean": For transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones, for transgressions against one's neighbor, Yom Kippur cannot atone, until he appeases his neighbor. R. Akiva says, Happy are you, Israel! Before whom are you purified, and who purifies you [of your transgressions]? Your Father Who is in heaven. For it is said, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean"; and it is also said, "The ‏ritual bath‎ [lit. Hope] of Israel is the Lord"; even as a ritual bath purifies the unclean, so does the Holy One, Blessed be He, purify Israel.

(2) Return, O Israel, unto the LORD thy God; For thou hast stumbled in thine iniquity. (3) Take with you words, And return unto the LORD; Say unto Him: ‘Forgive all iniquity, And accept that which is good; So will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips.

Great is the Teshuvah that brings the man closer to the Shechina, as it is written, "Return, Israel, unto the Lord your God