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Drash
for Shabbat Ki Teitzei In this parasha, in which Rambam counted 72 mitzvot, Moses reviews a broad panorama of commandments that deal with family, animals, and property. Various civil and criminal laws are described, including those dealing with sexual relationships, how to deal with non-Israelites, loans, promises, and divorce. In addition, laws of commerce are presented. At the parasha’s conclusion, we are exhorted to remember the viciousness of Amalek’s actions against the Israelites as he attacked the old, the weak, and the infirm in the wake of their exodus from Egypt. The part of the parasha that I would like to focus on deals with a perennial problem. That problem is hunger: When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow—in order that Adonai your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat down the fruit of your olive trees, do not go over them again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not pick it over again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment. (Deuteronomy 24:19–22) We are admonished to care for the indigent. But surely, the poor cannot survive on only forgotten sheaves--what is left over after the harvest. If merely leaving those sheaves is a mitzvah, how much more of a mitzvah is it to give consciously to the needy? We are blessed to have the Community Food Bank to help feed Tucson’s needy. Our Jewish community is about to embark on its annual effort to assist the Food Bank’s efforts through Project Isaiah. Alexandra Delgado is coordinating those efforts at Temple Emanu-El, so be alert for information from her on how we can contribute and fulfill this commandment. Shabbat Shalom.
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