B"H
Thursday, Elul 7, 5780 / August 27, 2020
This week's Parsha is Ki Teitzei. In this Parsha we find 74 of the 613 mitzvot. The 613 mitzvot fall into two general categories; 1) Mitzvot between one person and another person; and 2) Mitzvot between us and G-d. Most of the mitzvot in this Parsha concern behavior between people.
Parshat Ki Teitzei is always read in the month of Elul, whenwe prepare for the New Year. The Parsha teaches us that in order to ask G-d to be kind to us in the New Year, we must first be generous and kind toward our fellow human being.
The following mitzvah is in this Parsha: "You shall not see your brother's ox or sheep go astray and hide yourself from them.You shall bring them back to your brother.” This mitzvah is called, "Hashavat Aveidah"- "returning of a lost object."
This mitzvah can also be understood in a spiritual sense, to refer to "Teshuvah" (repentance). This is especially significant in this month of Elul (the last month of the year). Elul is the month of "Teshuvah" in which we must "return" and restore our soul, which may at times go astray, to its original form of holiness and purity.
Another mitzvah in the Parsha is, "You shall not see your brother's donkey or ox fallen down by the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall help him lift them up again."
The Torah also reminds us to be kind to animals. "You shall not plow with an ox and donkey together." The Iben Ezra explains the reason for this prohibition is out of pity for the donkey which is weaker than the ox and plowing together with the ox is beyond its strength.
The Chezkuni gives another reason: The ox chews it's cud while the donkey does not. If they will plow together, the donkey seeing that the ox is constantly chewing, will think that the ox is eating while it is not. Since this will cause it pain, the Torah prohibited it. We see how the Torah is concerned about the feelings of an animal.
Another mitzvah alluded to in the Parsha is the mitzvah to refrain from "Lashon Hara" - derogatory talk about others. The Torah states, "When you go out in battle against your enemies, you shall keep away from every evil thing ["Vnishmarta Mikol Davar Ra"] (Deut. 23:10)."
In the Torah, there are no vowels. So words can be read in various ways. In this case, the Hebrew "Davar Ra" can also be read as "Dibur Ra," which means, you shall keep away from "speaking evil."
The Talmudic sage, Rabbi Alexandrai, would make the following announcement, "Who wants life? Who wants life?" Everyone would gather and reply, "We want life. Give us life!" Rabbi Alexandrai would then recite the verse in Psalms 34: "Who is the man who desires life, who loves days of seeing good? Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceitfully."
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA.