The Penny Thief | Rabbi Elimelech Biderman

It is written down in the name of the Roke’ach, he is one of the Rishonim, that we say every morning, יהי רצון שתצילני, we say, Says the Roke’ach: What is המשחית? Why is it called המשחית? Says the Roke’ach, When HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants to bestow good on a person, HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants to bestow good on a person, a Shidduch or a child or wealth or honor, the Satan says to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Are you going to do him a favor for free? First give him a Nisayon. Right away, the Satan takes the keys of תאוה in his hand and he tests him in his eyes, why? Because he wants to destroy the good that HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants to give him. This is called, משטן המשחית. In Yerushalayim, they would say, there was an Arab porter who was carrying sacks into a Jew’s yard. And how did they know how many sacks he would have to pay him for? They put a cup in the middle and for every sack the Arab unloaded, they put a shekel in the cup. This Arab, besides for him being an Arab, a nation resembling a donkey, he was blockheaded and thick, so he didn’t understand what the shekels were for. There were a lot of shekels, for all of the sacks. So he wanted to steal it, so he waited till the Jew turned his eyes away, and then he stole a few shekels, stole as much as he could. He thought he gained, he doesn’t know how much he lost. Every shekel is for a sack. So they would say in Yerushalayim, that this Arab sits in the heart of a Jew, and he’s waiting for the Jew to turn his eyes. He thinks he’s gaining, he doesn’t know what he’s losing. On the flip side, when a Jew guards his eyes, what profit! Such great profit! So it’s worthwhile to listen every day to a little bit on Shemiras Einayim so that we can make good business deals.