A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parshah, Parshas Mishpatim. The first halachot in Parshas Mishpatim, which was said right after Matan Torah, talks about an עבד עברי. The pasuk says, \"כי תקנה עבד עברי\", if you will buy a Yid who is sold as an eved, and the halachot of this eved, what happens, how long he works, etc., etc. Now, as Rashi says, this is talking about a person who stole and didn't have money to pay, so then the beit din sells him as an eved, and the money they use to pay the one he owes the money. So the first halachah that was said to the Yidden after Matan Torah is the halachah of someone who stole and what you do to him to help him out in to fix the problem that he has, that you sell him and then the money is used to pay, etc., etc., that's his tikkun. But the question that the Rebbe asks is, why would the first halachah that the Aibershter is telling the Yidden right after Matan Torah be concerning such a case of somebody who stole and he's sold as an עבד עברי, etc., etc.?

And the Rebbe explains על פי פנימיות הענינים, which means על פי חסידות you could explain this like this: davka after Matan Torah, the Aibershter has to tell us the inyan of an עבד עברי, meaning of somebody who stole, and the tikkun that you do to sell him as an עבד עברי, because there's a possibility for a person to think that by Matan Torah, when there was גילוי אלקות, there was a great revelation of Hashem, then people knew that Hashem is watching, Hashem is close to you, and as long as that's taking place, you are careful not to do any aveirot, because you know the Aibershter is watching you and see what you do. But now that Matan Torah is over, and the גילוי אלקות, the revelation of Hashem is not there, one might think to himself that now really Hashem is not watching over me, He's not revealed, He's not here, and therefore He's not watching over me and I can do any aveirah I want. This concept is the concept of a ganav. What's the inyan of a ganav? A ganav goes to steal, afraid of people watching him. Oy, Hashem is watching him? He feels Hashem is not watching him, that's why he's not afraid of Hashem. People, he know are watching him, therefore he has to hide, but he thinks Hashem is not watching him, that's why he's able to steal. In truth, any person who does any aveirah is really in the same level of a ganav. How could you do an aveirah when Hashem is watching you? The answer is you feel that Hashem is not watching you. Actually, that's the meaning of the Gemara where it says, \"אין אדם עובר עבירה אלא אם כן נכנס בו רוח שטות\". A person will not sin unless certain spirit of stupidity falls into the mind of a person, that's the only way he can do an aveirah. What's this stupidity? Stupidity, according to one pshat is, that he thinks Hashem is not watching him, and that's why he's able to do it. So really, every time a person does an aveirah, he's similar to the ganav who feels that Hashem is not watching him. So, right after מתן תורה, when there was no גילוי אלקות, and that's when there is a possibility for a person to think that Hashem is not watching him, and therefore he could do any aveirah, which means he's similar like a ganav, that's why right after מתן תורה, the first thing the Aibershter was telling the Yidden, you should know there is a concept of a ganav, and a ganav feels that the Aibershter is not watching him. So I know it's possible now, right now starts the ability for you to think that way.

So the Aibershter says that if someone chas veshalom does think that way, don't give up hope, there is an eitzah. And the Torah goes on to tell us the dinim of an עבד עברי, that you sell him for six years, etc., so too, when a person does an aveirah, there is an eitzah, and the eitzah is basically to become an עבד עברי, to do teshuvah, which is the idea of becoming an eved of Hashem. Just like in pashut pshat you become an eved, you become an eved, an eved of Hashem, you mevatel yourself to the Eibershter, and that will be the tikkun for an aveirah, which basically is the concept of teshuvah. But that's the reason why the first thing that Eibershter said after מתן תורה is בנוגע a person who stole and becomes an eved, and that's the tikkun for him, to tell us that now starts the ability of a person chas veshalom becoming like a ganav, thinking that Hashem is not watching, and there is a tikkun, that you have to do teshuvah, which means be mevatel yourself, become an eved, and Eibershter will forgive you for all the aveirot.