This Shabbat we study the Parsha Ki Teitzei, meaning “when you go out” (Deuteronomy 21:10). Seventy-four of the Torah’s 613 commandments (mitzvot) are in the Parsha, as well the judicial procedures and penalties for various transgressions. Our Parsha also includes laws governing the purity of the military camp; the prohibition against turning in an escaped slave; the duty to pay a worker on time and to allow anyone working for you—man or animal—to “eat on the job”; the proper treatment of a debtor, and the prohibition against charging interest on a loan; the laws of divorce, the penalty of thirty-nine lashes for transgression of a Torah prohibition; and the procedures for yibbum (“levirate marriage”) of the wife of a deceased childless brother, or chalitzah (“removing of the shoe”) in the case that the brother-in-law does not wish to marry her. Ki Teitzei concludes with the obligation to remember “what Amalek did to you on the road, on your way out of Egypt.”

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Chabad.org

Our Parsha begins by speaking of war: “When you go out in battle against your enemies” (Deuteronomy 21:10) –and the Sages explain that these verses apply to our inner spiritual battle, as well. The goals in this conflict are set by the Torah: to make Gdliness a part of our daily lives through keeping G-d’s commandments, and to create homes and families where the atmosphere is harmonious and wholesome, expressing the values of thousands of years of Torah teachings.

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There are all kinds of threats. Some of them are very simple issues such as convenience and self-indulgence. Others are more problematic obsessions, which seem to haunt us continuously. In this life-long situation we are each called on to go to war. Like a good strategist fighting a battle on a difficult front, the Torah takes into consideration where to make concessions to the frailties of man, and where not to. Guidance by rabbis and rebbetzins today is often given precisely for subtle borderline issues.

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However, there is an interesting comment by the sages which illuminates the paradox of life. Two kinds of battle are described in Jewish law: a battle which is a duty (such as to save the lives of the Jewish people) and a battle which is optional, such as King David’s battles to extend the territory of the Land of Israel. The Sages describe the battle in our Torah portion as “optional.” How can the spiritual battle of life, struggling to keep the Torah properly, be described as optional? Surely it is imposed on us by the very fact that we are born? Chassidic teachings give an interesting answer. The sages say that Gd consulted the righteous before He created the world. Furthermore, every Jew is considered to be righteous. Hence creation in general, and consequently the fact of each person being born, has been approved by each individual soul.

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This means that on a profound level, each of our souls has chosen to be here… to face the spiritual and indeed material battles involved, because it was confident it would come out on top. The battle is “optional” because this is the option we chose. We chose to be here, and on every front, we are going to win.

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From an article by Dr. Tali Loewenthal

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Who are your enemies? Confusion. Depression. Mindless obsessions. And other wild beasts.Where do they live? Inside you.

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Why are you fighting them? Not to destroy them, but to tame them, to harness their energies and transform them into trustworthy domesticated creatures.

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How will you engage them? From above. Because you must know that you are not them. You are not your confusion. You are not your depression. As madly as those wild beasts may drive you, they are not you. You, at your very core, stand beyond them, in another realm altogether.

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Believe in your own true self. From there you will be able to pull those beasts upward.

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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At the end of the Messianic battle, the people of Israel will find restored all the precious spoils that fell into the hands of the nations of the world during the time of the galut (exile), and which the latter have kept all these years. This means essentially the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple of Jerusalem). The nations pursued the Jewish people throughout the times, and their primary objective has always been the dwelling-place of our spiritual center, the Beit Hamikdash. They did indeed achieve their goal, in fact twice, by the destruction of both the first Beit Hamikdash and the second Beit Hamikdash. For as long as the third Beit Hamikdash (to be restored by Moshiach) is not yet rebuilt, the Beit Hamikdash remains in their hands! When Moshiach will succeed with his battles, we shall regain the enemy’s capture by the restoration of the Beit Hamikdash.

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From an article by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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It happened on Thursday evening, as I was working through Shabbat cooking. I was listening to a stimulating Torah class while my hands moved through greens and challah dough. Rabbi G. was giving a lecture to shluchot (female Chabad emissaries) about the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s vision. “We are not in the business of expert outreach,” he began, “we are in the business of passionately loving Gd. If you love G-d, you’ll naturally love His children. As passion tends to be infectious, if you’re into Him, the people you love will eventually share your passion.” In this organic process, we are to reach out to our fellow Jews and “share our love” of Gd with others.

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I needed to pinpoint the difference between the two modalities. After all, the end result of both was Jewish outreach. This was a paradigm shift that I needed to process, and it rested anxiously on my cerebral cortex for days. I needed to pinpoint the difference between the two modalities that Rabbi G. had described. After all, the end result of both was Jewish outreach. Then I learned about a fascinating commandment in Deuteronomy (22:8): When you build a new house, you shall make a guardrail for your roof, so that you shall not cause blood [to be spilled] in your house, that the one who falls should fall from it [the roof].

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Like people, the mitzvot are multi-dimensional and operate on many planes simultaneously. At its primary plane, the obligation to build a rail around a roof teaches the fundamental importance of personal liability and responsibility. On another plane, this same commandment is talking of metaphysical rails and roofs. Let’s hang out in the metaphysical and explore the same commandment again. “When you build a new house, you shall make a guardrail for your roof.” There are houses made of wood and bricks, and houses built of effort and accomplishment. One can “build” up a friend to be a solid edifice of Gd-centered living, or build a network that develops into an oasis of spirituality. Although these houses have noble engineers, the Torah cautions these “home builders” to make a guardrail for their roof!

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There are houses made of wood and bricks, and houses built of effort and accomplishment. One can “build” up a friend to be a solid edifice of Gd-centered living, or build a network that develops into an oasis of spirituality. Although these houses have noble engineers, the Torah cautions these “home builders” to make a guardrail for their roof!Idealist drives can easily become enmeshed with self-promotion. The ego will surreptitiously enter into the psyche, camouflaging itself as the drive to help and inspire others. I may aspire to be an influential mentor or an outreach expert only in order to feel great about myself and get my name out there. So Gd asks me to be conscious of this tendency, and advises a spiritual home builder to “make a guardrail for your roof”—to keep my ego in check. Strive for altruism. The question is: who cares? As long as good work is being done, houses are being built, why the scrutiny? If self-promotion will inspire outreach, then perhaps it is a good thing. Addressing this doubt, the Torah writes: “. . . so that you shall not cause blood [to be spilled] in your house, that the one who falls should fall from."

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The surest way to touch the life of another person is to talk to him or her from your heart, with tender sincerity. Ego talk may speak the same words, but those words can’t penetrate hearts. When the ego goes unchecked, the house that’s built is tenuous, and the people will fall off. In other words, it’s irresponsible to let your pride go unchecked, because other people are depending on you guidance, and your guidance is potent only when you can let go of your own hidden agenda. The magic way to inspire others is to communicate from the heart, sharing what is real and meaningful to you. That’s not something that comes from outreach training, but from loving Gd, trying to draw yourself close to Him, and inviting the people you love to join you in your process.

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From an article by Rochel Holzkenner

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