Being There
This week’s portion, Ki Teitzei, reflects much of the “kitchen sink” sense of the Book of Deuteronomy as a seemingly random compilation of the Torah’s greatest hits. The generation born in the Wilderness on the cusp of the Promised Land needs reminding of the terms of the covenant to which their parents committed them and all of us. And so, a repetition of key principles and expectations is warranted.
But even amidst this portion’s wide-ranging listing of mores and laws, there is an overriding ethos that is one of Judaism’s most compelling. Tying together behavior ranging from returning lost oxen, humaneness in our treatment of animals, and ensuring the safety of guests in our home is the phrase Lo Tuchal L’hitalem. Literally translated as “You must not disappear yourself,” it joins with Leviticus’ “Don’t stand idly by the blood of your neighbor” as our tradition’s compelling obligation to act beyond our self-interest and personal comfort. It is anathema in Judaism to claim “it’s not my problem,” or “I’m minding my own business.” When we see injustice, privation, and vulnerability, and we have it in our power to act on behalf of the beleaguered and threatened, to absent ourselves in determined indifference is a severing of the core covenantal relationship with God.