24Vehotzetem et shneihem el sha'ar ha'ir hahi uskaltem otam ba'avanim vametu et hana'arah al dvar asher lo tza'akah va'ir ve'et ha'ish al dvar asher inah et eshet re'ehu uvi'arta hara mikirbecha
The aliyah opens with the commandment of the roof rail. Whoever builds a new house is required to make “ve’asita ma’akeh legagecha” (a parapet for your roof, 22:8), in order to prevent a situation in which a person falls from it. The Torah places on the householder a responsibility not only for what he does with his own hands, but also for the dangers he leaves standing in the space under his control.
From here the Torah moves to a series of laws of separation: one may not sow mixed seed in a vineyard, one may not plow with an ox and a donkey together, and one may not wear shaatnez of wool and linen together. Alongside these prohibitions comes also the commandment of the twisted fringes on the four corners of one’s garment.
The central part of the aliyah deals with relationships, faithfulness, injury to a person’s good name, and sexual transgressions. The Torah describes a husband who puts out an evil name against his wife and claims that he did not find her a virgin. The matter is brought before the elders of the city, and if it emerges that the accusation was a false charge, the man is punished and fined, and he may not send her away all his days. If the claim turns out to be true, the Torah describes a severe punishment for the act.
Following this come laws concerning relations with a married woman and with a betrothed young woman. The Torah distinguishes between a case in which the act takes place in the city and a case in which the man seizes the young woman in the field. In the case where she was forced and there is no possibility that anyone would come to her aid, the Torah states explicitly that she bears no capital guilt, and the responsibility falls on the man who harmed her. After that comes also the case of a virgin who is not betrothed, and the man who harmed her bears severe financial and family consequences.
At the end of the aliyah come the laws of entry into the congregation of God. The Torah mentions among others “fetzua daka ucherut shofchah” (one wounded or maimed in his private parts, 23:2), “mamzer” (23:3), and the Ammonite and the Moabite. Regarding Ammon and Moab a reason is given, connected to their conduct toward Israel on the way out of Egypt and to the hiring of Balaam son of Beor to curse Israel. The Torah also mentions that God turned the curse into a blessing out of His love for Israel.
Insights from the aliyah
Responsibility begins before the disaster
The commandment of the roof rail teaches that it is not enough to say that you did not intend to cause harm. A person is required to identify in advance a danger that stands in his own domain and to prevent it. The Torah builds preventive responsibility, not only a reaction after someone has already been hurt.
Not every mixture is desirable
The mixed seed of the vineyard, plowing with two different animals, and shaatnez all deal with combinations that the Torah limits. On the level of the idea, the aliyah stresses that boundaries and distinctions carry value, even when from the outside a combination looks possible.
The fringes appear immediately after the laws of separation
After a series of prohibitions on mixture comes a commandment that sits on the garment itself. One may see in this an idea by which boundaries are not only things a person refrains from, but also something he carries with him as part of his everyday identity.
An evil name can damage a whole life
The Torah treats with severity a husband who tries to stain his wife by means of a false charge. Injuring a person’s name is not merely unpleasant speech. It can change standing, family and future, and therefore the law demands clarification and does not allow the claim to be left hanging in the air.
The Torah distinguishes between consent and coercion
In the part dealing with the betrothed young woman, when the description is of being seized by force in a place where there is no one to save her, the Torah removes the guilt from the young woman and places the responsibility on the man. This is a very important distinction in reading the parashah: a situation in which a person is harmed under coercion is not described as shared responsibility.
A society of holiness also needs a system of boundaries
The last part of the aliyah deals with the question of who enters the congregation and under what conditions. Here the Torah is no longer speaking only about a private act, but about the structure of the society and its public identity.
Ammon and Moab are measured also by what they did not do
The reason given in the passage is not only a direct act of harm, but also the fact that they did not come out to meet Israel “lo kidmu etchem balechem uvamayim” (with bread and water, 23:5) on the way. This underlines that indifference at a time of need can carry deep moral significance.
Three of the units stand as far from one another as possible: the roof of a private house, a field without witnesses, and a people that did not come out with a loaf of bread. In all three the Torah asks the same question, what was in your hands to do. In the roof rail and in Ammon and Moab it holds a person liable for what was not done, and in the field it exempts for exactly the same reason, because nothing was in her hands. The same measure, once to obligate and once to acquit.
More Questions on the Parsha
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