Ki Tetze
Every Act Is Significant
by Rabbi Irving
Greenberg
Parshat Ki Tetze
has the largest concentration of mitzvot
(commandments) of any weekly Torah portion. Seventy-four out of the traditional
613 commandments are found in it. Many of the commandments are puzzling. One of
the most famous ones teaches:
"If [walking] along the road,
you chance upon a bird's nest . . . and the mother is sitting over the
fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let
the mother go and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have
a long life" (Devarim/Deuteronomy 22:6).
The Talmud, ancient collection of
Jewish law and lore, labels this the "lightest" of all the
commandments. It takes little effort to perform. Sending away the mother might
well involve merely walking close by or making a loud noise.
Commentators in every generation
have wondered why there is so extravagant a reward (a good, long life) for so
"light" an act! Indeed, Torah specifies the same reward specified in
the Torah for honoring parents. Yet fulfilling that commandment takes a lifetime
and often involves money, emotion and effort without limit. What is the answer
to this puzzle?
Through this puzzle, Torah teaches
that every act is of immense significance. No act is inherently trivial. A
single word of encouragement can motivate a person to move mountains. A single
thoughtful choice about eating can model reverence for life.
The next action you do- -however "trivial"--can
tilt you and the whole world toward the side of good and life or to the side of
evil and death. Choose life!
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