Parashat Ki Tetze - Second Aliyah

Justice, property, help and mercy

The aliyah opens with the case of a man sentenced to death and hung after his death. The Torah rules that his body must not be left on the tree overnight, but buried that same day. Even when the subject is a man who sinned and was punished severely, there is a limit to how far his body may be degraded, and alongside that there is a concern for the purity of the land given to Israel as an inheritance.

From here the Torah moves to a person’s responsibility toward his fellow’s property. If a person sees his brother’s ox or sheep driven off, he may not ignore them. He must return them to their owner. And if the owner is not near him, or is unknown to him, he must gather the lost item in and keep it until its owner seeks it. The same principle applies to a donkey, a garment and any other lost object.

The responsibility does not end with a lost object. If a person sees his brother’s donkey or his ox fallen on the road, he may not ignore it. He must help raise them up together with the owner.

After this comes a prohibition on blurring the line between clothing and articles identified with a man and clothing identified with a woman, and the Torah defines the act in severe terms.

The aliyah ends with the commandment of sending away the mother bird. When a person comes upon a nest along the road with chicks or eggs in it and the mother sitting on them, he does not take the mother together with the young. He must send the mother away, and only then take the young. To this commandment is attached a promise of good and of length of days.

Insights from the aliyah

Human dignity remains even after judgment

The aliyah begins precisely after the death penalty has already been imposed. The Torah teaches that even in a place of grave guilt, punishment does not cancel every limit. There is a point at which the judgment ends, and the basic dignity of the body is preserved.

Not ignoring is a command about sensitivity

In the passage of the lost object one principle returns again and again: a person cannot see a small trouble of his fellow and carry on as though it has nothing to do with him. Responsibility begins with the seeing itself.

Returning a lost object is far more than handing back a thing

Sometimes there is no owner in front of your eyes, and no immediate solution. Then the responsibility actually grows: to guard, to hold, to wait, and to return when the time comes. This is faithfulness to another person’s property even when he is not present.

“hakem takim imo” - help that does not erase the other person’s responsibility

The Torah describes help given together with the owner of the animal. There is a fine balance here: not to ignore the difficulty of the other, but also not to turn him into a passive party. Healthy help lifts together.

Boundaries in dress belong to identity and not only to appearance

After the laws of the lost object and of helping comes a law that touches the distinction between a man and a woman. On the level of the idea, the Torah stresses that even in the external domain boundaries and identity carry meaning, and that not every blurring is taken as neutral.

Sending away the mother bird teaches restraint within taking

The Torah does not forbid taking the young, but it limits the way in which it is done. Even when a person is permitted to use the resources of nature, he is required to show restraint and not to take everything at once.

The aliyah connects justice, property, help and mercy

On the face of it these are very different laws, but there is a common line between them: a person’s power is limited. He may not degrade beyond what is required, ignore his fellow’s property, pass by someone who has fallen, or take without limit. The Torah builds a person who exercises power out of responsibility.

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