Community Magazine April 2012

is one bird let free as part of this procedure? Why does the messora take two birds and allow one to fly away? Judgment and “Calculation” The answer to this question emerges from an important insight into the concept of accountability in Torah tradition. A famous Mishna in Pirke Avot exhorts us to be ever mindful of “ lifneme ata atid liten din veheshbon – beforewhomyou are destined to make an accounting.” As one of the primary strategies to avoid the pitfall of temptation, the sages of the Mishna urge us to remain cognizant of the destiny of every human being to stand in judgment before the Heavenly Tribunal after our brief sojourn in this world. The eventuality of this judgment, and its eternal consequences, serve us well as a crucial motivator to measure our conduct every day of our lives, and as a powerful source of resistance to the forces of temptation that we so frequently confront. The Gaon of Vilna (Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) noted the Mishna’s formulation in referring to the final judgment – “ din veheshbon .” The word din means “judgment,” and the term heshbon generally refers to “calculation.” Seemingly, the sequence of this phrase should be reversed. First, a calculation is made of our merits and demerits, and then, after all our actions throughout our lives are evaluated and weighed, the judgment is issued. We would thus have expected the Mishna to speak of “ heshbon vedin ” – calculation and judgment – rather than “ din veheshbon .” The Gaon explained that the terms “ din ” and “ heshbon ” actually refer to two levels of accountability for wrongdoing. “ Din ” refers to the more obvious and intuitive level of responsibility we bear for wrongdoing. Quite simply, if we committed a forbidden act, we are liable to punishment for what we did. But in addition to this “ din ,” to the sentence that is issued for the wrongful act, a “ heshbon ,” or calculation, is made of what we could have done at the time we committed the sin. This marks an important distinction between the Heavenly Tribunal and human criminal courts. A human court sentences a criminal only for the crime he committed. The judge has the authority to sentence a thief, for example, for the robbery he perpetrated, but has no jurisdiction over the thief’s failure to utilize his skills and time for meaningful and constructive purposes. But Gd, lehavdil , makes both a “ din ” and a “ heshbon .” He holds us accountable not only for the wrongful acts we commit, but also for the time, energy and resources that we squander which could have been spent helping a friend in need, spending meaningful time with family, becoming involved in important community projects, studying Torah, and so on. We are therefore held liable not only for the wrongs we commit, but also for the lost productivity for the potentially constructive activities that we didn’t do. This insight explains another Talmudic passage which Dedicated inmemory of Mr.&Mrs. Jacques&Rachel Gindi  Fax 888-789-4631 www.exclusiveconsultatnt.com sales@exclusiveconsultant.com We have a state of the art computerized system so you could track our work 24/7 WE WILL REPAIR YOUR CREDIT LIKE NEW AND WE WILL SETTLE ALL YOUR DEBTS NO MATTER YOUR SITUATION You’ll only hear: “Your Approved” AFTER WE REPAIR YOUR CREDIT LIKE NEW Call for a free consultation Attorneys in House LATE PAYMENTS COLLECTIONS CHARGEOFFS JUDGEMENTS REPOSSESSION FORECLOSURE BANKRUPTCY 14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE