Parashat Ki Teitzei
Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 (Fifth Haftarah of Consolation)
Elul 13, 5781 / August 20-21, 2021
Rosh Hashanah starts in less than three weeks!
For the past few years, I have created a Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet, to help get us ready for the spiritual side of the High Holy Days (sorry, no recipes or floral arrangements!). You can download it from my blog at:
https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2021/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-5782-edition.html
Also, some excellent on-line resources are available for your Rosh Hashanah preparations at:
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Elisheva bat Minnie Leah, Feigel bat Kreina, and D'vorah bat Feigel.
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about becoming a Chaver and our various programs, including the High Holidays, at:
https://bnaihayim.org/
Our Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen has a blog of Divrei Torah which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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LOST AND FOUND
"Do not watch your brother's ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them; you shall surely return them to your brother." Deuteronomy 22:1
Rabbeinu Bachya (Spain, 13th-14th C.) compares this verse with a similar verse at Exodus 23:4: "If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.” He continues: "This teaches us that it is not enough for you to merely return that which your enemy lost, but you must make every effort to change that enemy into a friend. (emphasis mine) The return of your enemy's lost object should be the basis for uprooting the hatred between you, so that by the time you have finished returning it he will be your friend."
What great insight! This mitzvah of returning lost property, like every other, is not properly observed if one does it grudgingly or with bad feelings. And it's not simply about returning lost property - it's about good fellowship. Even more, it's about repentance. For the words "hasheiv t'shivem" - you shall surely return them - come from the same root as "teshuvah" - repentance. In losing one's hatred, one performs teshuvah through the performance of the simple mitzvah of returning lost property. Try it – you have nothing to lose but your animosity! And you might just make a new friend!
Have a wonderful Shabbat!
Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
-----------------------------------------------
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
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