Davar Torah 5769

Ki Tetze
Torah: Deuteronomy 21.10-25.19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54.1-10
“Defining and Strengthening Our Communities”

This week’s parasha, Ki Tetze, contains over seventy laws

covering a wide variety of topics including the following:

•Respect for parents

•Caring for others property and returning lost items
•Appropriate dress
•Concern for animals
•Care of crops and fields
•Sexual purity and marital integrity
•Protection for unloved wives and children
•Individual responsibility to care for those in need
•Just laws and punishments
•Honest business practices
•Loans, interest and vows
•Proper treatment and payment of workers

This is quite an assortment and it's not even a complete list.

Despite their diversity, most of the laws covered in Ki Tetze
do have something in common: They are laws governing
personal life rather than communal worship and functions.
However, as John Donne wrote, "No man is an island, entire
of itself." Communities are made up of individuals and even
those actions we view as personal or private affect the
community as a whole, even if the link isn't immediately
apparent. Or, as the rabbis of the Talmud put it in Shavuot
39a, "all Jews are responsible for one another." Even those
laws that apply to our personal lives are important to the
strength of the community as a whole.

This is no less true today, whatever the community: whether

families, nations, professions, or the Jewish people.

Laws define a community, giving it structure and unity. And

the laws people choose to follow and respect help define
which communities they consider themselves a part of as
well. Whether it's following "house rules" as part of a family,
keeping civil laws as responsible citizens, or adhering to high
standards in our professions; the laws we keep show others
what we are proud to be part of.

As Jews we have laws that define us as well - like those in

our parasha.

As we look at the laws in Ki Tetze, we see some that clearly

set the Israelites apart from the nations around them; such
as not wearing wool and linen together, separating crops
from one another, and not charging a fellow Jew interest.
But many of the laws seem quite common and universal:
respecting parents, being honest in business, and returning
lost objects. Both the distinctive and the general laws were
important to Israelite society as a whole.

It is the same with us as a Jewish community today.

Whether we think of them as laws, mitzvot, or halakhah; the
laws of our community give it structure and strength. Some
make us distinct and different such as lighting candles and
taking a break from our everyday activities on Shabbat,
keeping kosher, and observing Jewish holidays, festivals and
lifecycle events.

Others are not so distinctive. They reflect the values and

actions that are expected from all in our society. However,
when we keep even these laws as Jews, because they are
mitzvot and not just as general principles, we identify
ourselves as part of the Jewish people. Societal issues such
as care for the disadvantaged, fair labor practices and
concern for the environment offer us opportunities to look at
distinctly Jewish sources for guidance and inspiration as we
address them. One of the strengths of Judaism is that it has
a lot of wisdom to offer in dealing with concerns such as
these. For the ancient rabbis, as well as us today, Judaism is
about much more than just ritual and connection to God.
Though covenant with God through Torah is the foundation,
Judaism is also about how we connect to one another and
the world around us. As Jews, we are not an island either.
This is one of the things I appreciate most about Judaism in
general, and Conservative Judaism in particular.
Conservative Judaism, with its particular approach to Jewish
law, allows our faith to both strengthen us as a distinct
Jewish community as well as inspire us to touch the world
around us rather than just staying isolated on our own.

When we choose to respect and embrace mitzvot as

Conservative Jews -- both those that make us distinct as Jews
and those that allow us to have an impact on the world
around us in a distinctly Jewish way -- we define and
strengthen both our ties to God and our own Jewish identity
along with strengthening our synagogue and the greater
Jewish community. As we read the mitzvot in today’s
parasha, I invite you to join me in considering how many –
both public and private, distinct and common - are part of
your own life.

As we are now in the month of Elul, when we reflect on the

year past in preparation for the fast approaching holidays,
now is a good time to both recognize all we have
accomplished as well as set goals for more growth in the
year ahead. Even the smallest change will make us stronger
both as individuals and as a community.

Shabbat Shalom

Karla Worrell
kjworrell@gmail.com
Delivered at Temple Beth-El Richmond VA 29 August 2009