Art by Sefira Lightstone
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY
I know I’ve discussed this before but it’s a lesson worth repeating. This week’s Parsha, Ki Teitzei, contains 74 commandments—huge number! There are many and they span a vast number of topics but I will mention one that contains a profound life lesson. There is a commandment that if you build a house with a flat roof, you should build a fence around the top. Great. Good practical advice to avoid injury. Thank you Torah for this input into OSHA laws! Our sages tell us that, while these laws all teach the basic face value law, they also provide something more. A deeper lesson if you will that helps to guide us through life.
So, what’s the deeper meaning?
When we build a house, a home, a place of permanent dwelling, we have a feeling of accomplishment. “Look at me! I’m doing well! I’m established, I built my home, I have completed something and now it’s time for settling down. It may have been a challenge to get to this point but now I will take a moment to rest on my laurels. Let it sink in!” But the Torah provides this fence lesson to tell us to cut it out. Stop. As humans, we don’t have the right to just settle down. Sure, we’ve accomplished a great deal but we need to always seek the next opportunity. OK, maybe we aren’t ready to embark on an entire new project of don’t have the wherewithal to dive into something huge but, let’s at least build a fence around our roof. Let’s at least make a move in the upward direction so as not to complete the project in its entirety. You’ve finished your home? Build a fence. Who knows if one day that roof will be something you’ll want to utilize both physically or spiritually. You’ve completed this project and feel good, but if you are open to it, isn’t there a little more you can do to strive upward? Let us look for that next thing, let us always be open to seeing it when it comes our way and may we never be complacent! Good Shabbos!