“Because,” replied the teacher, “the highway robber treats the servant as the master.  He takes away violently in the presence of the servant, the despoiled man, and the master—­God.  But the sneak thief imagines that God’s eye is not upon him.  He acts secretly, thinking, as the Psalmist says, ’The Lord doth not see, neither will the God of Jacob regard it.’  Listen to a parable.  Two men made a feast.  One invited all the inhabitants of the city, and omitted inviting the king.  The other invited neither the king nor his subjects.  Which one deserves condemnation?  Certainly the one who invited the subjects and not the king.  The people of the earth are God’s subjects.  The sneak thief fears their eyes, yet he does not honor the eye of the king, the eye of God, which watches all his actions.”

Rabbi Meir says, “This law teaches us how God regards industry.  If a person steals an ox he must return five in its place, because while the animal was in his unlawful possession it could not work for its rightful owner.  A lamb, however, does no labor, and is not profitable that way; therefore he is only obliged to replace it fourfold.”

Rabbi Nachman dined with his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak, and upon departing after the meal, he said, “Teacher, bless me!”

“Listen,” replied Rabbi Yitzchak.  “A traveler was once journeying through the desert, and when weary, hungry, and thirsty, he happened upon an oasis, where grew a fruitful tree, wide-branched, and at the foot of which there gushed a spring of clear, cool water.

“The stranger ate of the luscious fruit, enjoying and resting in the grateful shade, and quenching his thirst in the sparkling water which bubbled merrily at his feet.

“When about to resume his journey, he addressed the tree and spoke as follows:—­

“’Oh, gracious tree, with what words can I bless thee, and what good can I wish thee?  I cannot wish thee good fruit, for it is already thine; the blessing of water is also thine; and the gracious shade thrown by thy beauteous branches the Eternal has already granted thee, for my good and the good of those who travel by this way.  Let me pray to God, then, that all thy offspring may be goodly as thyself.’

“So it is with thee, my pupil.  How shall I bless thee?  Thou art perfect in the law, eminent in the land, respected, and blessed with means.  May God grant that all thy offspring may prove goodly as thyself.”

A wise man, say the Rabbis, was Gebiah ben Pesisah.  When the children of Canaan accused the Israelites of stealing their land, saying, “The land of Canaan is ours, as it is written, ’The land of Canaan and its boundaries belong to the Canaanites,’” and demanded restitution, Gebiah offered to argue the case before the ruler.

Said Gebiah to the Africans, “Ye bring your proof from the Pentateuch, and by the Pentateuch will I refute it.  ’Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.’  To whom does the property of a slave belong?  To his master.  Even though the land belonged to ye, through your servitude it became Israel’s.”