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Parsha Ki Teitsei teaches numerous Mitzvot such as; returning lost items to their rightful owners, loaning money to one’s fellow Jew free from interest, what one is permitted to or prohibited from taking from another Jew as loan security, Shatnes (wool and linen together), Tzitzit, and dealing fairly and truthfully with one’s fellow Jews in business. The Maftir Aliyah of our Parsha tells us collectively to remember, for all time, the actions of Amalek who attacked B’nai Yisrael when they were weak while blotting the rememberance of Amalek from the earth. We remember the Amelek without, as well as the Amalek within; lo nishcach v’lo Nislach — we won’t forgive and we won’t forget.
The parsha speaks about other Mitzvot such as sending a mother bird away before taking the young or the eggs, helping one’s fellow Jew load and unload a burden, fencing in a roof area and not harnessing together different species of animals on the same yoke.
In short, our Parsha emphasizes the unity which evolves from collective responsibility, kindness, caring and fairness for and with each other. Being fair, straight with, and caring for another person is kinder than the insensitivity, indifference and disunity of making up any and every excuse or non-reason under the sun for an action or kindness not done. Collective unity — responsibility, kindness, caring and fairness for and with each other negates the possibility of a kindness not shown whether the action relates to Shidduchim, to employment searching and interviews, to giving Tzeddakah, etc. or merely making the effort to hold a bus driver for another few seconds while his fellow huffs and puffs as he runs to catch the bus. This relates to each Jew individually and toward his fellow Jew.
At the same time, there is, as Rabbi Pliskin’s “Growth Through Torah” indicates, a differentiation between altruistic kindness and being taken advantage of.
Rabbi Pliskin quotes the posuk in our parsha, “You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide himself from them; you shall surely help him to lift (them) up again.” (Sefer Devarim, Perek 22, posuk 4.) He explains that, while we are obligated to help a fellow Jew whose animal has fallen under the weight of the heavy load on his back, Torah makes a stipulation in the words “help him” which indicates “with him”. Rabbi Pliskin then notes that Rashi cites the Sages in saying that if a person needing help tells you, “I’m going to rest now. You have a mitzvah to help me, so help me all by yourself,” that you are not obligated to help him.
Rabbi Pliskin then goes on to contrast the laziness of a person which leads him to take advantage of and manipulate another person with the mitzvah to lend another Jew what he sincerely needs, even though the other person always refuses to help or lend his things or does not reciprocate by helping you in case of need. Rabbi Pliskin states that “…the highest level of kindness, chesed shel emes (kindness which is true), is when you do a kindness when you know you will receive nothing in return.”
He goes on to explain that there are other situations where people ask their brother “…to do things for them when those people could do these things themselves without too much effort.” The other person does “…the favors because they tell themselves that they would feel guilty if they refused.” By internalizing a Torah perspective, a person will feel joy when helping another person who really needed help, even though the other person does not do him favors in return and expresses no gratitude.”
Torah distinguishes the mitzvah of helping one who is sincerely in need from a tendency of asking one to allow himself to become manipulated or taken advantage of by a lazy person. (Growth Through Torah, Parsha Ki Teitzei, pg. 437-438)
Shem Mishmuel writes quoting Rav Abba bar Kahana who said, “Hashem says, ‘Do not sit and weigh the Mitzvos of the Torah… Don’t say “Since a particular mitzvah is significant, I will do it because it’s reward is great, and since another mitzvah is less significant, I won’t do it.”‘
Shem Mishmuel then echos a concept which I have often written of, that “Hashem did not reveal to his creations the reward for any particular mitzvah. so they should perform each mitzvah with perfection.” (Shem Mishmuel on Parsha Ki Teitzei, pg. 409)
I have equated performance of mitzvot with the weight scale in previous writings by asking; who among us mortals can know which mitzvah, even the smallest “Eikev” mitzvah, might just tip the scales, both in terms of any particular individual or on behalf of the collective national redemption of B’nai Yisrael? In short, having just entered the Elul season, “the days of awe” and the run up to the Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement, we try honestly and objectively to look back, review and examine our actions over the past year and longer. Our lives and our hopes for a good year and good things to come hang in the balance — the Cheshbon, if you will, between our Mitzvot (good deeds) and our Aveirot (sins or violations of Divine law). Once again, it’s “Clutch time” and as the Coach says, “Our Mitzvot aren’t everything, they’re the Only Thing.”
May we, the B’nai Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently settled and be made totally whole, that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard and the 3 captive Chayalim and the other MIAs be liberated and returned to us and that we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nai Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Yom Hashem V’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v’yameinu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
Good Shabbos!
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Moshe Burt is an Oleh, writer and commentator on news and events in Eretz Yisrael. He is the founder and director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network and lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.