Parashat Ki Teitzei contains more mitzvot than any other parashah in the Torah—traditionally counted as seventy-four. Its commandments cover an astonishing range of life: the laws of warfare; the obligation to pay a worker on time; the requirement to leave portions of one’s harvest for the vulnerable; the command to use honest weights and measures; the prohibition against taking a mother bird together with her young; and laws governing family life, marriage, and responsibility for animals.

The sheer variety of mitzvot in Ki Teitzei teaches that Torah is not limited to the synagogue or the Beit Midrash. Torah accompanies us into our homes, workplaces, fields, streets, and relationships. It shapes not only how we pray, but how we treat people—especially when no one is watching and when it would be easy simply to walk away.

Among the mitzvot near the beginning of the parashah, the Torah says:

“You shall not see your fellow’s ox or sheep gone astray and ignore them; you shall surely return them to your fellow… So shall you do with his donkey, so shall you do with his garment, and so shall you do with any lost article of your fellow that he has lost and you have found—you may not hide yourself.” —Devarim 22:1–3

“You shall not see your fellow’s ox or sheep gone astray and ignore them; you shall surely return them to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)