Video Study for Parsha Ki Teitzei : A parsha full of commandments

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Shalom JTF Reader,

It is Wednesday once again and time to post the video study thread again. I am pleased to be able to do this tonight as I was very close to holding a phone interview with google tomorrow morning (which I have since re-scheduled for after the High Holidays).

This weeks portion contains 74 (count them) mitzvot. The parsha opens with the command concerning the beautiful captive (which the Torah allows the warrior to take if he goes through with the proscribed procedure), the command to push away a mother bird when taking her eggs, forbidden mixtures... There are also commands concerning justice (handing cases of adultery and rape), not charging interest to our fellow Jews, and many more..

From Chabads 'Parsha in a Nutshell':

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2286/jewish/Ki-Teitzei-in-a-Nutshell.htm

Seventy-four of the Torah’s 613 commandments (mitzvot) are in the Parshah of Ki Teitzei. These include 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).

Also recounted are the judicial procedures and penalties for adultery, for the rape or seduction of an unmarried girl, and for a husband who falsely accuses his wife of infidelity. The following cannot marry a person of Jewish lineage: a mamzer (someone born from an adulterous or incestuous relationship); a male of Moabite or Ammonite descent; a first- or second-generation Edomite or Egyptian.

Our Parshah also includes laws governing the purity of the military camp; the prohibition against turning in an escaped slave; the duty to pay a worker on time, and to allow anyone working for you—man or animal—to “eat on the job”; the proper treatment of a debtor, and the prohibition against charging interest on a loan; the laws of divorce (from which are also derived many of the laws of marriage); the penalty of thirty-nine lashes for transgression of a Torah prohibition; and the procedures for yibbum (“levirate marriage”) of the wife of a deceased childless brother, or chalitzah (“removing of the shoe”) in the case that the brother-in-law does not wish to marry her.

Ki Teitzei concludes with the obligation to remember “what Amalek did to you on the road, on your way out of Egypt.”

It is my custom to post the latest video from Rabbi Richman and the Temple Institute. Unfortunately for us he has not posted a video for this year, so I will post his video from last year:

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Let us learn some of the Chassidic thought on the parsha from Rabbi Avraham Trugman.

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Rabbi Yehuda Glick of Otniel on the parsha...

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The irrefutable Rabbi Levi Chazen from somewhere in the Judean hills.

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I've always been intrigued by the commandment of sending away the mother bird. Here are some halachas and insights from the commentators.


http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5765/kiseitzei.html

The Mitzvah of Shiluach Ha-Kan

The mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan, commanded in this week's parashah, is a mitzvah which is quite difficult to understand: If one happens upon a nest where a mother bird is roosting on her young birds or eggs, he should not take the eggs or young birds while the mother is roosting on them. Instead, he should send the mother away and then take the young birds or eggs for himself. While the Torah says that fulfillment of this mitzvah is "good for you and will prolong your days," the Torah does not explain the rationale behind it, and indeed, Chazal(1) tell us that it is a gezeiras ha-kasuv, a Torah decree that we do not understand.

The Rishonim, however, offer a number of possible explanations as to why the Torah would command us to perform shiluach ha-kan. Among them:

* Rambam(2) explains that shiluach ha-kan shows G-d's mercy on His creations, similar to the prohibition against slaughtering a mother animal and her offspring on the same day, as animals instinctively love their young and suffer when they see them slaughtered or taken away.

* Ramban,(3) who rejects Rambam's explanation, writes that the concern is not for the animal's feelings, but rather to inculcate compassion in people; to accustom people to act mercifully to each other.

* R' Bechayei(4) writes that this mitzvah symbolizes the concept that people should avoid doing anything that will destroy a species, for to slaughter mother and children on the same day is akin to mass extermination.

* The Zohar(5) explains that this mitzvah is meant to awaken and intensify Hashem's mercy on His creations. The pain which the mother bird suffers when she is sent away and forced to abandon her young "awakens the forces of mercy in the world" and releases an outpouring of mercy from the heavens above which alleviates all kinds of human suffering.

While the explanations cited above give us some insight into the rationale for shiluach ha-kan, we are still left with many unanswered questions: If someone happens upon a nest but has no interest in the young birds or eggs, should he still send away the mother and take the eggs? Should one search for such a nest so that he may fulfill this mitzvah? What if the nest is in a tree in one's back yard? These and other issues will be discussed below.

QUESTION: How does one fulfill the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan - sending the mother bird away from her nest - correctly?

DISCUSSION: When one observes a mother bird roosting on one or more eggs [or young birds], one fulfills the mitzvah by performing the following two actions:

1. Sending away the mother bird. The Rishonim debate whether or not the mother bird must be lifted by its wings and then cast away, an act which is extremely difficult to perform, or if it is sufficient to scare her away by banging on the nesting area with a stick, throwing a stone in her direction or raising one's voice, etc. The basic halachah(6) and the prevalent custom(7) follow the lenient view that it is sufficient to send away the mother bird by scaring her away.(8)

2. Taking the eggs or the young birds. While a minority view holds that taking the eggs or baby birds is not mandatory,(9) most poskim rule that one does not fulfill the mitzvah if the eggs or baby birds were not taken. (10) After taking the eggs or baby birds and establishing halachic ownership of them, one is not required to keep them; they may be returned to the nest or thrown away.(11)

QUESTION: Is the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan obligatory or optional? In other words, if one observes a mother bird roosting on a nest but has no need for the eggs [or young birds] - is he still obligated to cast away the mother bird and take the eggs in order to fulfill the mitzvah?

DISCUSSION: A minority view holds that even one who has no need for the eggs [or young birds] is obligated to send the mother bird away and establish [at least temporary] halachic ownership of them.(12) According to this view, the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan is an obligation similar to the mitzvah of hashovas aveidah, returning a lost item to its owner.(13) But most poskim reject this approach and rule that one is obligated to send away the mother only if he wishes to keep the eggs or baby birds.(14) Still, while we rule that one is not obligated to send the mother bird away if he has no interest in the eggs or young birds, many poskim recommend that one do so nevertheless.(15) In addition to fulfilling a mitzvah for which the Torah promises the reward of longevity, there are many other additional benefits and rewards that Chazal associate with the proper fulfillment of the mitzvah. Being blessed with children,(16) finding the proper shidduch,(17) being blessed with the means to buy or build a new house,18 and hastening the arrival of Moshiach(19) are among some of the rewards that are promised to those who fulfill this mitzvah properly.

QUESTION: Does one recite a blessing when performing the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan? Does one recite the blessing of shehecheyanu?

DISCUSSION: Although there are several opinions on this issue,(20) the majority view(21) and the prevalent custom(22) is not to recite any blessings when performing this mitzvah. One who wishes to do so, may recite a berachah without invoking Hashem's name(23) using the following text: Baruch ata melech ha-olam asher kideshanu bemitzvosav le-shaleiach ha-kan.(24)

QUESTION: Does the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan apply to all roosting mother birds?

DISCUSSION: No. A number of conditions must be met before this mitzvah can be fulfilled:

* The mother bird must be of a kosher species, e.g., a sparrow, dove, or a pigeon.(25)

* The mitzvah applies only at the time that the mother bird is actually roosting on the eggs or the young birds. The mitzvah does not apply to a mother bird who is hovering over or feeding the young birds, but is not roosting on them.(26)

* While the father of the eggs or young birds also roosts on the nest, usually during daytime hours only, the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan applies to a mother bird exclusively.

* One does not fulfill the mitzvah if the eggs broke before the mother bird was cast away.27 If the eggs broke during the performance of the mitzvah, it is questionable if one fulfilled the mitzvah.(28)

* On Shabbos [and Yom Tov], shiluach ha-kan is not performed.(29)

QUESTION: Does the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan apply to birds that one owns?

DISCUSSION: No, it does not. Birds that are raised domestically, like chicken or turkey, are exempt from shiluach ha-kan, as the mitzvah applies only to birds that do not have an owner who cares about them.(30)

Contemporary poskim debate whether or not one fulfills the mitzvah with a nest which is on one's private property. Some poskim rule that the mitzvah cannot be performed since one's private property "acquires" (kinyan chatzer) the nest on his behalf and it is no longer ownerless.31 Others, however, hold that since the owner has no interest in owning the nest or eggs, his private property does not automatically "acquire" the nest on his behalf and the mitzvah can still be fulfilled.(32)

QUESTION: Based on the above information, how is the mitzvah of shiluach ha-kan actually performed?

DISCUSSION: The preferred time to perform this mitzvah is when the eggs are 1-2 days old, or when the young birds are 8-9 days old. But the mitzvah can be performed anytime there are eggs or young birds in the nest as long as the mother is still roosting on them.(33)

In order to be sure that the mother is the one roosting over the nest and not the father, shiluach ha-kan should take place between sunset and sunrise, since it the mother who roosts on the nest in the evening and night hours.

After ascertaining that the mother bird is of a kosher species and that the nest does not belong to anyone else, one should quietly34 approach the nesting area(35) and gently(36) chase the mother bird away from the nest by using one of the methods described earlier. If the mother bird comes back repeatedly before the eggs are taken, she must be repeatedly shooed away.

Once the mother is gone, a wooden spoon should be used to carefully lift the eggs out of the nest, making sure not to break them. One should then lift up the spoon approximately 10-12 inches, in order to halachically "acquire" the eggs. [If the nest contains young birds, one should use his hands to gently lift them out.(37)] He then may return the eggs to the nest. The mitzvah has been completed.

FOOTNOTES:

1 Berachos 33b.

2 Moreh Nevuchim 3:48.

3 See also Rashbam, Ibn Ezra and Chezkuni for a similar approach.

4 A similar explanation is offered by the Chinuch (545) and Ralbag.

5 Quoted by R' Bechayei and by Chavos Yair 67. See explanation in Beiur ha- Gra to Mishlei 30:17 and in Imrei Noam, Berachos 33b.

6 Chazon Ish Y.D. 175:2.

7 Many contemporary poskim, among them the Satmar Rav, Harav Y.Y. Kanievsky, Harav Y.Y. Weiss, Harav S.Z. Auerbach, Harav E.M. Shach and Harav S. Wosner were all seen performing shiluch ha-kan by banging on the nest with a stick until the mother bird flew away. See also Teshuvos v'Hanhagos 1:329.

8 If, however, no action was taken to cast the mother away but she flew off on her own, the mitzvah is not fulfilled.

9 Chacham Tzvi 83.

10 Beis Lechem Yehudah, Y.D. 292; Chasam Sofer O.C. 100; Aruch ha-Shulchan Y.D. 292:4; Chafetz Chayim (Sefer ha-Mitzvos, 74) Chazon Ish Y.D. 175:2.

11 Harav Y.S. Elyashiv and Harav C. Kanievsky, quoted in Shaleiach Teshalach, pg. 48.

12 Chavos Yayir 67 and Mishnas Chachamim, quoted by Pischei Teshuvah Y.D. 292:1; Aruch ha-Shulchan Y.D. 292:1-2.

13 In other words, just as one may not ignore a lost object that he happens to see but rather is obligated to return it to its owner, so, too, one who happens to see a mother bird roosting on its eggs or young birds is obligated to send it away and take ownership of her offspring.

14 Chasam Sofer O.C. 100; Avnei Nezer O.C. 481; Meromei Sadeh, Chulin 139b; Chazon Ish Y.D. 175:2.

15 See Birkei Yosef Y.D. 292:6 and Aruch ha-Shulchan 1.

16 Medrash Rabbah and Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei, 6:6.

17 Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim, 925.

18 Medrash Rabbah and Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei, 6:6. See Klei Yakar, ibid.

19 Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim, 930.

20 See Pe'as ha-Shulchan (Eretz Yisrael 3-20) and Aruch ha-Shulchan Y.D. 292:10 who rule that a berachah is recited. See also Pischei Teshuvah Y.D. 292:2 that some recite shehecheyanu as well.

21 See Pischei Teshuvah Y.D. 292:2 and Binyan Tziyon 14.

22 As recorded by all of the contemporary poskim mentioned earlier in note 2.

23 Beis Lechem Yehudah, Y.D. 292 and Maharam Shick 289-291.

24 Harav C. Kanievsky, quoted in Shaleiach Teshalach, pgs. 32-34. Aruch ha- Shulchan, however, quotes the text of the berachah as al shiluach ha-kan, while Maharam Shick writes al mitzvas shiluach ha-kan.

25 Y.D. 292:1.

26 Y.D. 292:11.

27 R' Bechayei, Ki Seitzei 22:7.

28 See Shaleiach Teshalach, pg. 54, for the various views on this subject.

29 Chasam Sofer O.C. 100.

30 Y.D. 292:2.

31 Harav S.Z. Auerbach (Minchas Shelomo 2:97-26); Harav Y.S. Elyashiv, quoted in Shaleiach Teshalach, pg. 61. [In the atypical case, where the mother bird did not leave the nest for even one moment from the time she laid the eggs, then all views agree that shiluach ha-kan could be performed with a nest which is found on one's private property; Y.D. 292:2.]

32 Igros Moshe Y.D. 4:45; Harav N. Karelitz and Harav C. Kanievsky, quoted in Shaleiach Teshalach, pg. 61.

33 Chazon Yechezkel, Tosefta Chulin, pg. 38; Harav Y.S. Elyashiv and Harav C. Kanievsky, quoted in Shaleiach Teshalach, pg. 56. See Kan Tzippor, pgs. 313-315 for an elaboration.

34 So that the mother bird does not fly off before you have a chance to send her away.

35 Some recite a special l'shem yichud before performing the mitzvah; see text in Kan Tzippor, pg. 138.

36 Otherwise the mother bird may panic and break the eggs or take them away with her.

37 If the young birds fit snuggly into one's hands, there is no need to lift them up 10-12 inches, since, halachically speaking, one's "hand" acquires the young birds for him; Beiur Halachah 366:9, s.v. zurich.

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Rabbi Chazen Levi brought up a Talmud idea which I have heard before. But I think he stated it somewhat incorrectly (according to my recollection he said 'If someone says the reason for the mitzvah of sending a mother bird away is because of mercy')...

Here is the idea as explained from Aish.com:


http://www.aish.com/tp/i/btl/48965206.html

Ki Tetzei(Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)
by Rabbi Abba Wagensberg

Reward of Long Life
Greetings from the holy city of Jerusalem!

This week's parsha discusses the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen - sending away the mother bird. The Torah states (Deut. 22:7) that on chancing upon a bird's nest on the way, "you should send the mother bird away and take the young for yourself - in order that it will be good for you and that you will have a long life." This guarantee of longevity is found elsewhere in the Torah concerning another mitzvah, that of honoring one's father and mother (Exodus 20:12). Why do these specific commandments share a common reward?

Furthermore, the Talmud (Brachot 33b) instructs us to silence a person who, in his prayers, requests, "Just as Your mercy, God, has reached the bird's nest, so may it reach us as well," as this is considered an improper way to pray. The Talmud, on the same page, asks why this is so. According to one opinion, the reason is that he is wrongly referring to God's commandments as merciful, when in fact they are simply decrees. Why is this mitzvah regarded as merely a decree from God, as opposed to a merciful instruction from God? Is it not a fact that we are being sensitive by sending the mother bird away prior to taking her young?

The Vilna Gaon explains that a person's completeness in serving God is established only when he masters two diametrically opposed character traits, for instance the antithetical attributes of compassion and harshness. If a person possesses only one of the traits, for example in this case, compassion, it does not necessarily determine his righteousness - because the individual may simply be a naturally kind person and need not have worked on managing the emotion and directing it appropriately. If, however, he possesses both opposing traits and displays control in utilizing these conflicting emotions correctly, it proves that he has worked on managing his emotions, and for this he is considered a righteous person.
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I will share a personal question of faith I have. It may come as a shock to some, maybe not to others, that I too have questions of faith...

My biggest question concerns the 'other' commandment which is supposed to guarantee or promise a 'long life'. Oddly enough this command is the one to honor your mother and father. Well, in my family my brother honored my mother and father a LOT more than I ever had. While I was the 'bad son' my brother became 'someone' in the financial field, working his way up, and helping support my mom and step-dad. To this day my brother is idolized by my mother... But the promised reward was a long life. My brother died at age 33, not exactly a long life in my opinion. Even if you take into account the sins I know of, my sins way out-weighed my brothers, and thus why was he taken from this world and I was allowed to make teshuva?

I don't expect an answer, it is one of those questions of faith...

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My own question of faith mirrors a similar situation in the Talmud:


http://ohr.edu/1721

Immunity from Danger

When does involvement in performing a mitzvah provide Divine protection from danger?

This is a question that arises from an incident related in our gemara. Rabbi Yaakov witnessed a scene in which a father asked his son to climb a ladder to a high perch and there fulfill the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird before taking her fledglings, the commandment which is the central subject of this the final perek of Mesechta Chullin. The son did as requested and sent away the mother bird. But as he proceeded down the ladder with the fledglings in hand, he fell off the ladder to his death.

How could this happen, asks the gemara, when we have a guarantee that those performing a mitzvah are safe from danger both coming and going, and here we have a boy who was doing the double mitzvah of honoring his father and sending away the mother bird?

The answer given is that the ladder used was a rickety one which presented a high risk for anyone climbing it, and when such high risk is involved one cannot rely on the protection of a mitzvah.

The source for this is the response of the Prophet Shmuel to G-ds command to anoint David as King of Israel after His disappointment with the performance of Saul in that role. "How can I go", said Shmuel, "when if Saul hears of this he will slay me." (Samuel I 16:2) Although Shmuel was certainly involved in doing the mitzvah of obeying G-ds command, he hesitated to rely on the protection it provided when there was such a high risk. G-d agreed with his caution and provided him with a cover for his mission.

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On the spiritual Amalek which resides in our yetzer hara. I know that there is an Amalek in each Jew and this one explanation for the phenomena of self-haters. One of the gematrias of Amalek is Safek which means doubt, and once a Jew starts to doubt the special connection the Jewish people have to our L-rd, he is on the road to destruction.

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Ok, so Rabbi Richman just posted his latest Dvar Torah (40 minutes ago) and here it is:

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Wow, I like what rabbi Richman said... Here is rabbi Chaim Miller with his Torah In Ten class:

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This talk is about the 'hanged criminal' which I have referred to in various threads over the years. Rabbi Spalter's dvar Torah from last year:

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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15619#.VAnqd3Wx3UY

Go in Strength, Go Together

The Talmud describes the situation today, after the war, before the Messiah.
From Moshe Kempinski


The war against terror is far from over but the battle lines are clearer than ever before. The enemy is more obvious than ever before. In the overall picture, the people of this land sense in their beings that the plan of destiny is moving forward and that Hashem’s eyes are on this land from the beginning of time until the end.

Yet there are serious pitfalls and challenges still ahead of us.

One of the major issues is how we deal with each other. The last war in Gaza has seriously damaged the livelihoods and lives of many people living in the south and the periphery. |The Israeli government cannot turn a blind eye to their predicament, and all the outpouring of love that so characterized the days of the summer of 2014 cannot cease.
 
This is in fact what the Talmud predicts will be one of the dangerous pitfalls of the “last days”. In describing the dangers and failures that can surface in the days preceding the arrival of Moshiach, the Talmud tractate Sotah includes the following.
 
“In the footsteps of the messiah insolence will increase and honor will dwindle; the vine will yield its fruit abundantly but wine will be dear; the government will turn to heresy and there will be none to offer them reproof; …and the dwellers on the frontier will go about [begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them…”.( sotah 49b)
 
The dwellers of the frontier near the Gaza strip have become our front line. They cannot be ignored or forgotten.

In this week's Torah portion of Ki Teitze, we read the following;

"Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the way, when you left Egypt. They met you along the way and attacked the weak members of the nation at the back of the pack, and you were exhausted. and did not fear G-d”. ( Velo Yareh Elokim).. And it will be, when G-d gives you rest from your enemies round about, in the Land that G-d has given to you as an inheritance, you are mandated to wipe out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heavens - Do not forget!" (Deuteronomy 25:17-18)
 
The question that needs to be asked is who did not fear G-d?

Rashi teaches the following on the words”  Velo Yareh Elokim - and did not fear G-d” and writes; He did not fear [G-d]: that is  Amalek did not fear G-d so as to refrain from doing you harm. —

The Ktav Sofer,Avraham Shmuel Sofer (1815-1871) understood  the words to mean  "undeterred by fear of G-d" (Deut. 25:18). If Amalek attacked the Israelites immediately after G-d redeemed them from Egypt with signs and wonders, it shows that that they had no fear of G-d. That is why read in  Exodus the following;
 
“And HaShem said unto Moshe: ‘Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. ‘And Moshe built an altar… And he said: ‘the hand upon the throne of HaShem: HaShem will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’”   (Exodus 17:14-16)

That is to say that  G-d will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation because  in essence, it is a war between G-d and Amalek.

Yet the Mechilta understands the words differently. According to this view,  the words are pointing at the Israelites who were “exhausted and did not fear G-d”. Amalek always appears when the people of Israel become spiritually weary and fearful.
 
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said: 'Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?'....7 And the name of the place was called Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tried Hashem, saying: 'Is Hashem among us, or not?' 8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. ( Exodus 17:3-8).

How was that “weariness” most clearly displayed?

Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the way, when you left Egypt. They met you along the way and attacked the weak members of the nation at the back of the pack, and you were exhausted and did not fear G-d”.( (Deuteronomy 25:17-18)

The fact that the Israelites could have allowed for the weak stragglers to be exposed and vulnerable and easy prey for Amalek, is the clear indication that they had lost the fear of G-d. When people lose their sensitivity to each other and lose the power of compassion, they cease become the vessel of G-d’s ultimate plan.

This will be the ultimate test in the near future as the spiritual heirs of Amalek continue to kill each other in preparation for their battle against Hashem’s people and plan. Yet those ultimate desires will be thwarted as well as we see clearly promised by G-d.

"And it will be when G-d your G-d, gives you rest from all of your enemies from your surroundings in the land that G-d your G-d gives you as an inheritance to inhabit, blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens, don’t forget.”( ibid)

That is the promise

” When G-d your G-d, gives you rest from all of your enemies from your surroundings in the land that G-d your G-d gives you as an inheritance to inhabit”..

Do not forget
 
 
 
Lerefuat Yehudit bat Golda Yocheved

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Rabbi Mizrachi on a lot of the ideas from our portion...