The Gemara in Masechet Ta’anit (7b) tells us that a drought usually occurs as a result of the neglect of the commandments tithing one’s crops as well as because of the sin of stealing. This means that there are several reasons why Hashem decrees a shortage of rainfall; however, the aforementioned ones are the primary causes for this severe punishment. Even in our times when sea- water purification technology exists, a drought is still considered detrimental because most trees still depend on rainwater, plus these trees usually blossom early due to the warm summer weather and this in turn can cause the price of produce to rise. Thus, even in our day and age, a drought is serious punishment.
Regarding what we mentioned earlier that a drought comes because of the sin of stealing, the Gemara further asks, “How can a thief mend his ways?” to which the Gemara answers, “He should increase his prayers,” which means he should pray to Hashem for rain. The Gevurot Ari writes that this means that he should pray only after he returns the stolen object for otherwise, his repentance and prayers are worthless, since it is like one who immerses himself in a Mikveh while holding a dead rodent in his hands. This idea is also mentioned in the Talmud Yerushalmi: Rabbi Abba expounded the verse, “We raised our hearts to our palms, to our G-d in Heaven.” Is it possible to place one’s heart in the palm of one’s hands? Rather the verse means that we shall pay attention to see if we have any stolen items in the palms of our hands so that we may return them to their owner, and only then will we be able to pray to our G-d in Heaven, for the sin of stealing is the greatest impediment of prayer.
Alternatively, the Sefat Emet explains that the Gemara’s advice of “increasing prayer” does not refer to the thief at all, for his prayers are meaningless until he repents; rather, it refers to the righteous people of that generation. They should be the ones to increase their prayers in order to offset the prosecution created by theft.
Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l writes that even if the thief has not yet returned the stolen object, for instance, because he has not yet had the opportunity to do so, as long as he accepts upon himself to return the object and he repents fully, his prayers will be accepted. The Gemara likewise writes in Masechet Kiddushin that one who marries a woman by telling her “Behold you are betrothed to me provided that I am a completely righteous man,” the woman is considered to be doubtfully betrothed even if the man is known to be wicked and evil, for we suspect that this man may have accepted upon himself to finally repent from his evil deeds. We see that even without physically returning the stolen object, as long as the thief makes up his mind to return it and he has not done so yet for a technical reason, he is considered to be a complete Ba’al Teshuva (repentant man).
In any event, we have learned that stealing is a grave sin which impedes prayers and causes droughts. Therefore, every person must probe himself to make sure that he is clean of this grievous sin. For instance, if one damages another’s car and does not notify the owner, one is a thief. One who sells defective merchandise to a customer and then tries to avoid him is also considered a thief. Furthermore, if one is a paid worker in his fellow’s house and he does not work in a professional, serious manner, one is also a thief. In all these situations, one must repent and notify one’s friend of how he has wronged him so that he may reimburse him.
We were once asked about a military judge who would single-handedly judge court martial proceedings and would fine soldiers who broke military law, at will. He confessed to the fact that he would not always rule properly, and at times he would subject certain soldiers to higher fines just because they did not find favor in his eyes. Now after several years, he wished to repent, and he asked what he could do to atone for his sins. We posed this question to Maran zt”l, and he answered that this military judge would have to gather all the soldiers that he fined in a heavier manner than usual and would have to reimburse them. However, if he is unable to find them, he should donate the sum of money that he would have had to compensate them to public institutions such as yeshivot and synagogues, as is the Halacha for anyone who must return a stolen object and does not know to whom to return it.
