Parashat Ki Tetze

Summary

If we were writing an outline of the Torah, this section would probably be called “Miscellaneous Laws,” subtitled “Things that don’t fit anywhere else.” The order makes no sense to the logic of a modern mind. First we’re talking about lost things, then suddenly, there’s a verse about not cross-dressing. Later on, we are reading about shooing a mother bird away form a next, then suddenly we’re told to build a parapet on our roofs so that no one should fall from them. So what’s going on here?

This odd sequence shows us the extent to which the Torah was originally part of an oral culture, not a written one. These are indeed a miscellany of laws, but they are linked by the principles of mnemonics, or memory recall. Thus, because one of the lost items mentioned in the beginning of this section is a garment, another teaching about garments is added at this point. Similarly, having made mention of the commandment to shoo away the mother bird before taking the chicks or the eggs, the text appends a law connected to it not by theme but by physical location. Birds generally nest in trees or on rooftops. These are dangerous places from which a person might fall. Hence, a teaching is brought that we must build a parapet.

Recognising the oral nature of parts of the text can help us to see these curious sections afresh. They provide a fascinating insight into a world both alike and so unalike from our own.

Commentary

The Torah understands so well what some psychologists are inclined to call “the shadow side” of our human nature. Simply put, the shadow side of us is all too prepared to “adjust” reality to suit our own needs or convenience. We see what we want to see, and not what actually appears before us. Two weeks ago, we had a good example of how the Torah acknowledges this when we were reading about the remission of debts. We were warned against judging our needy neighbours unfavourably, against making them appear evil in our eyes. Why might we do such a thing? To justify shutting our hearts and hands because of the approach of the shmittah year. We would all like to think that we rise above such base attitudes, but we do not – not any of us, if we are honest with ourselves. That’s why we need the Torah to remind us of our responsibilities.

The book of Deuteronomy, in particular, regularly anticipates our psychological resistance to demands being placed upon us. It anticipates that we might wish to duck our responsibility to return lost objects, and in particular, wandering animals to their owners. By taking in a lost creature, we take the risk that we might incur considerable cost or trouble by that act. It is natural to try to avoid this, but the innocent animal cannot help itself. Thus, we have an obligation to help. We are told, quite firmly, that we must not ignore them. Actually, the verb translated as “ignore” is lehitalem, which translated literally would be something like, “Do not make them disappear for yourself.” I suppose the idiomatic English phrase would be, “Don’t turn a blind eye.” Inherent in both these expressions is the notion that the first step in taking responsibility is to see what needs to be done. Once we truly see, we will surely act in accordance with our yetzer hatov, our good inclination – or, if you like, our “higher selves.”

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