This week we are in Parashat Ki Teitzei, which is the third Shabbat before our ascent to Rosh Hashanah day. In this parasha we also find the most amount of mitzvot, 72 of the 613 commandments, all having to do with how others should be treated in life, a common teaching that the Jews receive as they are about to begin a new life in a new land. In the last parasha the theme was about social consciousness, this week it is about individual consciousness. Going into Rosh Hashanah we are asked to reflect on both.
Examples of such instructions are the proper treatment of prisoners of war, treatment of spouses and children, compassion for both people and animals, interpersonal and family relationships, protection of a neighbor’s property and wellbeing, feeding the less fortunate and the stranger, fair business practices and justice, personal obligation and more; all these must work in concert for the community to endure and thrive. Regarding the idea to endure we read in Pirkei Avot 1:18, “On three things does the world stand/endure,” but why stand or endure? In some versions of Avot it uses the word omayd (stand) as opposed to kayaym (endure), and baring the reasons why, the use of one word over the other may make a difference how one reads Ki Teitzei. Still they are similar as well. Omayd just doesn't mean to merely “stand,” but it can mean to “stand up to something,” which can be understood as to “endure.” Yet kayaym, which comes from lakum, is a word that can mean to rise up, exist or be able to subsist. Still, another word derived from lakum, is t’koumah, which means rebirth, renewal or even uprising. Stashing up to something and standing up for something are slightly different.
So in this case to stand for something is what it means to “endure” (kayaym), yet what does that have to do with Ki Teitzei? The nature of such endurance is based on values (Torah and Din) integrity (ovodah and emet) and redemptive traits with others (gemilut chasadim and shalom), inner convictions of being and personal ethics of living that include the support of others as well. Yet enduring through life takes effort, follow through and not easy to do; not news by any means. Over the last few weeks our Parshiyot have focused on community obligations and consciousness, and this week it is about personal consciousness, not that it wasn't there before mind you. In community it is easier to reason, “someone else will do it,” but not so when an individual assumes ownership that is exclusive within the larger community, even if not isolated from it. Here, with personal obligation in mind, we want to take a look at a particular verse from Deuteronomy 22:8 that says, “When you build a new house, then you will make a parapet for your roof so that you do not bring blood upon your house if a person falls from there.”
At first the interpretation seems simple, we are our brothers keeper so to speak (cf. Genesis 4:8-9). In fact the Sfrono teaches that “if it were to happen that someone falls off that roof you could not have been the indirect cause, seeing you had put up a protective railing. Had you not done so; your family might bear part of the guilt for such a mishap.” Here it is not so much about protecting others but personal liability and the obligation attached to it. In Talmud (Shabbat 32a) it says that the one who falls from the roof met their destined fate whereas the homeowner finds merit because they built a ma’ahkeh, the parapet on the roof, to protect a life from harm. Yet this is just not about a roof!
Rabbeinu Bahya, a well know 14th century Rabbi, reminding us that the rabbinic interpretation of this verse is further applied also to a vicious dog or a shaky later, a version of a stairway, writes, “however, you (the homeowner) have the duty so that you will not be perceived to be the cause of his fall.” But this was not just a mere human expectation to value life but the very foundation of what Judaism calls Kiddush Hashem(“sanctification of G‑d’s name”); doing right by becoming the living embodiment of what is good and holy. Caring for another’s welling being and welfare is an act of Kiddush HaShem. Conversely, when we act in an irresponsible and/or hypocritical way that causes another harm it can be called chillul HaShem (“desecration of G‑d’s name”). In this case we must not turn our hearts and heads away from the plight of others, regardless of their fate, which is not for us to decide. This can be called chillul Hashem because we elected to not do our part to protect another. This is not meant to be a statement that condemns but from the perspective of Torah our actions have consequences for both the good and the bad. We see this is the Sefer HaChinuch with the 547 Commandment that is about, “the Prohibition against a Hazard.” This obligation, which applies to all things at all times for both men and women, teaches that we “may not leave stumbling blocks and hazards in our lands and in our homes so that people should not die or be harmed from them.”
In this Haftarah of consolation for this Shabbat Isaiah tells those who are entering captivity that although they will feel like a barren woman who has been forsaken because they cannot bear children, in the end their return from exile will be like having the children they thought they never may have. It also goes on to teach that God has not recused responsibility for the welfare for the people’s plight and freedom. The story of the homeowner is a reminder that we are not to recuse ourselves from the needs of others. In our country right now there are many needs, albeit from a tragedy like what happened in Maui to the on going need of the homeless, not to mention everything in between from the local food bank to the soup kitchen at the local shelter, reminding us there are always needs we must help with. But, it can be a burden, it can; regularly being asked for financial assistance every way we turn. So is there ever a time when our individual consciousness can take the day off? Ending with an often spoken quite from Pirkei Avot from 2:16 we read “You are not required to finish your work, yet neither are you permitted to desist from it.” We are always asked to build a parapet, how and when is for each of us to figure out.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam
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