(Sicha, Shabbos Parshas Beshalach, 5747)
The Four Guardians
Our Torah reading deals with four categories of guardians: the unpaid guardian, the paid guardian, the borrower and the renter. Maimonides summarizes the laws of each (Sources 1-5).
Guardians of the World
The Rebbe explains G-d chose the Jewish People to be the guardians of His world, as the verse says “to work it and preserve it” (Source 6). This guardianship comes in four varieties: Unpaid guardian: He serves G-d without desire for reward, as Maimonides describes one who serves G-d from love without personal motives (Source 7). Paid guardian: One whose primary driver is the service of G-d, but still expects reward. A borrower only wants to receive G-d’s goodness but not give anything in return. Their demand can be understood by the Mishna’s saying that a Jew deserves material goodness by virtue of being a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Source 8).
The Owner’s Presence
An exception to the laws of guardians is a case where thew owner of the object was present while the borrower used it. In suich a case, the borrower is not liable for damages (Source 9-10). The Sefer Hachinuch explains that the owner is expected to look out for their own property while in their presence (source 11).
In his personal writings, the Rebbe explains that G-d lends us our soul each morning, and we are expected to return it in the same pristine condition we received it, an no excuse can absolve us from that liability, not even circumstances beyond our control. What is the solution? We need to ensure that our use of the soul is in the presence of the “owner.” In other words, we need to allow G-d into our lives, and then the responsibility rests with Him. There is a condition to this, however: The request for the owner’s presence must be made at the outset of the borrowing period, and not after it has already begun. Likewise in spirituality: We must pray at the beginning of our day before going about our daily affairs.
