PARSHAS SHELACH 5779

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 “RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Shelach
       
25 Sivan 5779/June 28, 2019
Mevorchim Chodsh Tamuz – Avos perek 3
It’s one of those things that happens to someone else. When
you hear it you shake your head and express your sympathy and breathe a sigh of
relief that it was someone else, and not you. But last week it happened to me.
One morning last week, I checked my bank app and saw that
there was a $50 “counter withdrawal” from an account we haven’t used in a few
months. I went to the bank and inquired. The bank teller asked me if I knew
anyone in the state of Delaware. I replied that I knew that Delaware was the
first state of the union, but that was about it. The teller printed the bank
check which had been submitted and handed it to me. Sure enough, it had my
name, bank number, and signature. The only problem was that I hadn’t commissioned
it or signed it.
My bank contacted their Delaware branch and were informed
that the person who made the withdrawal had submitted ID with his picture and
all my information. He provided my address, social security number, and phone
number.
During the next few hours I was busy securing my bank account
and credit cards and adding whatever precautions and added security measures I
could. Then I went down to my local police station and filed a police report.
The officer who filed my report told me that I was the
seventeenth person in June to file such a report. Being that it was June 19th,
that meant that on average they dealt with one case of identity theft every day.
The bank had provided me with the driver’s license number
that the scammer had provided along with my ID. The police officer looked up
the number and saw that it was of a woman in Westchester. Her information had
been compromised as well, which she may not have even been aware of. The
expiration date the scammer provided didn’t match up with her license either,
which means he mixed and matched information from different people.
At the suggestion of the police and my bank, I also opened an
account with Experian to maintain constant monitoring of my credit.
It is a terrible feeling, not only when money is stolen from
you, but also to know that someone is using your name and information.
One’s reputation is one of the most precious commodities he
has. We all work hard to build and maintain a positive reputation, because that
serves as our identity in the eyes of others. When someone steals or
manipulates that identity it is a very personal violation and a terrible
feeling.
Who is the greatest victim of identity theft? Every one of
us. One of the greatest tactics that our evil inclination employs is to confuse
us about who we really are, and what defines us.
It is intriguing that we refer to a person who learns Torah
as a “Ben Torah” (a son of Torah), but a sinner as a “Ba’al aveirah” (a husband
of sin). Being a son is a permanent state, while a husband is based on
marriage, a matter of choice. When one learns Torah and performs mitzvos, it
becomes part of his essence. Being that one’s essence is his soul which is
nourished through spiritual pursuits, all spiritual actions energize his soul
and become part of his essence. When one commits a sin however, it has a
negative impact upon him, causing a spiritual dissonance. However, the sin does
not become part of his essence. Rather, it is like a cancerous growth that must
be removed. In that sense the one who sins isn’t the “son of the sin” but the
“husband of the sin”, who needs to divorce himself from the iniquities he
committed.
The problem is that there is an inner voice that tells us
that our mishaps and sins define us. It seduces us into believing that we are
as lowly as our misdeeds. That is identity theft at its worst. When we begin to
believe we are someone other than who we are, we become the victims of the most
cunning and egregious form of theft.
We too have security systems that can protect us. Works of
mussar and chassidus help us maintain perspective – not only of right and
wrong- but also of who we are and what defines us. We should take advantage of
those vital security measures. They don’t cost any money, only some serious
time and thought. But better safe than sorry.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum