Photo courtesy of Chabad.org
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT BY RABBI MORDY
This week’s Parsha (Ki Teitzei) is chock full of Mitzvot, 74 in all!
One of the many that I would like to focus on is both seriously practical, and also serves as a deeper lesson. We are commanded to “erect a fence around your roofs.” (Okay, admittedly I like this one because our building fulfills this command to the utmost!) A good lesson! You build a house, you may be inclined to have a flat roof (pun intended!) and the Torah tells us that we need to be cautious; someone could get hurt! So please build a fence to ensure the safety of all involved. A great lesson and easily applicable.
So what’s the deeper lesson? The Torah is telling us something amazing. You’ve built something. You’ve accomplished a great deal. You’ve set out for greatness and built for yourselves a house, a home. And what is the top of this fine edifice? The roof. Think of it, in a way, as the cherry on top. It is complete. Wrap it up and put a bow on it. So what does the Torah say? Build a fence around the roof. Maybe a little fence, it doesn’t have to be super extensive, but you can always go a bit higher. I know that when we moved into our building, the roof was just a roof until we started looking at completing it the way it is today—a concrete application of this lesson! So, as we go into the High Holidays, let us think of our successes, those things we do well; then let’s just think of where we can add that little fence. We don’t need to add a whole new floor or even ensure that it is fully finished; a minute amount to what we have done so well will truly put it – sorry folks – over the top! Good Shabbos.