The Midrash teaches that the members of that generation were no ordinary thieves. They made sure to steal less than a shavah perutah, value of a penny, which, according to Jewish law, is not accorded judgment in bais din. Therefore, they were punished by Heaven as a bnei Noach, who are treated differently by law. A ben Noach has seven Noachidic commandments. One of them is the prohibition against stealing. A ben Noach, however, is punished even for stealing less than the value of a perutah. A Jew must steal a perutah in order to be punished. Why is this? In his commentary to Eiruvin 62a, Rashi writes: “A Jew is mochel, forgives/overlooks, anything less than a perutah. A non-Jew does not.” Money means so much to him that every fraction of a cent has meaning. Thus, if he steals less than a perutah – he pays.
The Alter m’Slabodka, Horav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zl, derives an important practical lesson from this Halachah. Let us step back a moment and cogitate upon the difference between a Jew and a ben Noach: less than the value of a penny! The Jew overlooks what he considers an insignificant amount of money; thus, he forgives whoever takes it from him. The gentile neither overlooks, nor does he forgive. Half a penny divides us! For half a penny a person belittles himself to descend to the level of a ben Noach.
The lesson goes deeper. It does not take much to elevate oneself. The smallest upward movement makes a spiritual difference which goes beyond our ability to understand. Likewise, a backward movement – regardless how insignificant – is a negative spiritual drop. The eminence of the great is not to be measured only in the great steps. Every step forward, regardless of its size and significance, is a giant spiritual step. The barometer of spiritual excellence by which they are measured is much different from ours.
