Parashat: Ki Teitzei

Parashat: Ki Teitzei
Torah Reading: Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19

“If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen in the road, do not ignore it; you must raise it together,”

— Deuteronomy 22:4

This commandment, seemingly quite specific to a particular situation, is a much larger commandment that still applies in the modern day. No, we won’t see our neighbor struggling with their donkey or ox, but we will see them in distress, in need of help at different times. Maybe it’s a broken-down car, damage to their property from a storm, or someone who has a disability or is elderly snowed in after winter weather. This commandment instructs us not to ignore such people. It is a command that tells us, as Jews we have an obligation to help those in a moment of distress. It is not a commandment to put ourselves into danger to do so, or to go beyond our own capabilities, but to do what we can. To help get a car started, to help in post storm cleanup, even what is not on your own land, to look out for those who live close to you. It is a commandment about what it means to live in a community.

— Rabbi Daniel Plotkin