Shalom Everyone, I hope you all have had a good, productive, and happy week. It is nearing Shabbat once again and it is time to start studying the weekly portion of the Torah. I look forward to a restful Shabbat with my Chabad Rabbis family and our communities services.
This week we are reading Parasha Ki Teitze. It is a mitzvot packed portion because it contains 74 {count them} of the 613 commandments. A short summary of them : the laws of the beautiful captive, the inheritance rights of the firstborn, the wayward and rebellious son, burial and dignity of the dead, returning a lost object, sending away the mother bird before taking her young, the duty to erect a safety fence around the roof of one’s home, and the various forms of kilayim (forbidden plant and animal hybrids). The laws of adultery and the suspected adulteress {The Sotah}.
Basically many of the laws which were already explained in the first four books are re-enumerated to us, with some additional explanations for some. I was not aware of the fact but just last week someone asked why we say "Yemach Shemo" to curse people. I explained it had to do with the commandment to 'remember to erase the memory of Amalek'.... Well this command occurs in our Portion, no coincidence intended.
Here are some videos which discuss some of the lessons we can learn from this incredible, mitzvah packed, portion:
Let's start with the animated G-dcast portion: