A Torah reflection from Louis Aiello, a member of the Team Friendship family.
Shabbat Shalom to y’all! This week we read Teitzei, “when you go,” with the second reading being Chapter 21, verse 22, to Chapter 22, verse 7.
Moshe continues his last address as he reveals the Torah and all its intricacies to the Israelites. He now explains examples of the treatment one must show his fellow man and the world. One should not disrespect his brother, nor should he enjoy seeing him suffer. Even when it comes to the lowliest citizen, one responsible for a reprehensible crime, still the person must be treated with dignity and buried at day’s end.
When it comes to livestock, the same rule applies. One must not abuse an animal, but instead must take care of it as if it were his very own. He must respect himself and show his brother compassion, helping him even if he doesn’t like him, when he and his animal are in distress. He must not disrespect a mother bird by taking her eggs while she is present.
This teaches us so much about the inner workings of the Torah, and how the functioning of our own world can best be achieved. These righteous laws are a recognition and a revelation that everything only exists in this universe because it is Hashem’s will. Hashem made the world for the Torah, and at long last it would now, on a national level, be implemented.
These are not just examples but ways to live, showing how man must respect his neighbor and his brother as he respects G-d. Truly, the world can’t exist without Hashem, for Hashem is woven into the world itself. In understanding that Hashem is present even in the lowliest places, we become able to respect ourselves. In turn, this gives us the ability to respect others, and eventually to bring greater understanding and purpose into our world, into places still unknown to us.
Sadly, today man isn’t trained to respect or love his brother as he loves himself. Instead he is trained to see himself as the only thing of central importance, with the frame of mind being, “If it doesn’t affect me directly, then why should I get involved?”
Even when he sees his brother in distress on the side of the road, instead of stopping and helping out, he may just laugh and go on his way. And when someone is suffering, one may not stop, and instead just state, “It’s not my responsibility.”
The twisting of our universal framework has only grown more perverse when it comes to caring for others’ possessions. Instead of taking responsibility to preserve a lost item, one may just use it and excuse it, thinking nothing of it, without any remorse: “Finders keepers.”
With these selfish actions the brokenness continues, yet as we each pick up shard after shard, we see the sapphire flooring come into view. Indeed, regardless of this crumbling, the Messianic Age is revealing itself in ways previously unimaginable, when all will love their fellow brother as they love themselves.
May these 25 hours of Shabbat be a reminder to all of us of the blessings Hashem has bestowed upon us in giving us brothers and sisters to depend upon in our times of need.
Personally for me, this matters a great deal. Once, when on the road with my mother, we spotted someone in distress. The police were there and all was taken care of, but their car had fallen off a ledge to an open area below.
As we saw them, crying and holding each other tightly, we both laughed, as we felt it was funny to see such a predicament. Then I stopped myself and explained to my mother that it wasn’t funny, because these people had lost their transportation. We knew nothing about them, but still, it wasn’t right to see them suffer.
“Mommy,” I then said, “do you think we’d be any better if it was us? Or would everyone just come by to look and laugh?”
She then looked at me and stopped laughing. May this Shabbat sow our hearts and uplift them with shalom. 😀