22 Aug KI-TESEH: EMUNA AND HONESTY

Parashat Ki-Teseh
concludes with two
Misvot which, at first
glance, are entirely
unrelated. The first is
the command to use honest weights and
measures when conducting business. The
Torah strictly forbids deceiving people,
such as customers, by tampering with
the scales and other devices in order to
overcharge. This command is followed
by the Misva to remember Amalek’s
brazen, unprovoked attack against Beneh
Yisrael after the Exodus from Egypt, and
the requirement to obliterate the memory
of Amalek.
Rashi, based on the Midrash, writes
that these two Misvot are actually very
closely related. He writes: “If you lie in
regard to weights and measures, then
you must worry about the provocation
of the enemy.” The Torah links these two
commands to teach us that the punishment
for dishonest weights and measures is
coming under attack by enemies such as
Amalek.
However, in the Book of Shemot,
Rashi seems to view Amalek’s attack

differently. The story of the war against
Amalek follows the events that occurred
in Masa U’meriba, where Beneh Yisrael
complained about the lack of water, and
asked, “Ha’yesh Hashem Be’kirbenu, Im
Ayin” – “Is G-d in our midst, or not?”
(Shemot 17:7). Rashi (Shemot 27:8)
comments that it was because of this lack
of faith, the people’s wondering whether
Hashem was with them and caring for
them, that Hashem sent Amalek to attack
them. Whereas here in Parashat Ki-Teseh
Rashi attributes Amalek’s attack to the
sin of dishonesty in commerce, in Sefer
Shemot, Rashi writes that this event
served to punish the people for their lack
of Emuna.
Rav Shimon Schwab (1908-1995)
explained that in truth, these are one and
the same, two sides of the same coin.
The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat
(31a) teaches that each person, after
leaving this world, will be asked three
questions, one of which is, “Nasata
Ve’natata Be’emuna?” – whether or
not he conducted his financial affairs
“Be’emuna” – honestly, in a trustworthy
manner, without misleading or deceiving

people. Rav Schwab noted that
“Be’emuna” also means “with faith,”
meaning, conducting one’s business
affairs with faith in Hashem. These are
not two different meanings of the phrase
“Nasata Ve’natata Be’emuna,” but rather
two aspects of the same outlook. If a
person has faith in Hashem, and firmly
believes that regardless of his efforts, he
never receives more or less than what
Hashem decides he should have, then he
will naturally conduct his affairs honestly.
A person with Emuna understands that
in the long term, no benefit can possibly
be received from ill-begotten gains. If
we believe in Hashem, then we believe
that we will always have precisely what
Hashem gives us, and that if we obtain
money or other assets in ways which
He strictly forbids, such as through
dishonesty, we will ultimately lose it.
A person with Emuna will never try to
cheat somebody to earn money – because
he believes that his livelihood depends
solely on Hashem, who will clearly take
away anything he gains by violating
the Torah, and will reward him for any
sacrifices made for the sake of observing

the Torah.
Thus, Rashi’s comments are not at
all contradictory. Amalek comes as
punishment for a lack of Emuna, and
for this same reason, Amalek comes
as punishment for false weights and
measures, for deceiving people in
business. These are two sides of the exact
same coin.
Let us conduct all our affairs with firm
Emuna, so that we will not even be
tempted, or entertain a fleeting thought, to
“cut corners” or do anything even slightly
unethical. Let us reinforce our belief
that we have nothing to gain through
dishonesty, and we have everything to
gain by adhering to the Torah’s strict
standards of ethics and morality.