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Ki Tetze - Deut 21:10-25:19 |
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D'varim/Deuteronomy 22:8 When you build a new house, and you shall make a fence to your roof
The word
hapax legomenon: a Greek phrase meaning "something said once"; a word that only occurs once in the Hebrew or Greek biblical texts
Targum Onkelos: An early (1st-2nd Century CE) translation/paraphrase of the Torah into Aramaic; attributed to a Roman convert to Judaism, Onkelos; used in Babylonian synagogues during the Talmudic era
, probably derived
from an unused root 
that has
the meaning 'to retain' in Arabic, is a
Explaining Terms ...
What Is ...
, 'bag', while
most English translations choose 'fence' or 'parapet'. Davidson even goes as far as 'battlement'. Whatever the precise
etymology, the meaning of the command is clear: you must protect the edge
of a flat roof on a new building with a fence or parapet, so that people
cannot accidentally fall off. Tigay points out that flat
roofs were used for drying and storing produce, strolling and
socialisation, and sleeping in warm weather, so that people were in
constant danger of falling of unless a protective barrier was built. The
halacha requires one to build a parapet also if one buys an already
existing house that does not have one; that the parapet must be ten
hand-breadths high and sufficiently strong that one may lean on it safely;
and one must recite a blessing when building it (Hilkhot Berachot 11:8,
Maimonedes).
Ramban: Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman of Gerona or Nachmanides(1194-1270CE), Spanish rabbi, author and physician; defended Judaism in the Christian debates in Barcelona before making aliyah
Who Is ...
G-d required a socially just society and many of the prophets speak at length when that fabric breaks down or is abused. "Woe to those who enact evil statues, and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, and rob the poor of My people of their rights, in order that widows may be their spoil, and that they may plunder the orphans" (Isaiah 10:2, NASB); "They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you" (Ezekiel 22:7, NASB). Even in Yeshua's time, His parable of the unjust judge (see Luke 1:8ff) - although told for a different reason - shows that this was not an unknown phenomenon.
Ya'akov makes sure that the believers understood their part in G-d's support system: "The religious observance that G-d the Father considers pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being contaminated by the world" (Ya'akov 1:27, CJB), while Rav Sha'ul makes it plain that "anyone who does not provide for his own people, especially for his family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8, CJB). When challenged by a Torah expert who asked "And who is my neighbour", Yeshua told the story of the Good Samaritan to show that our neighbour is anyone who needs our help and concluded, "You go and do as he did" (Luke 10:37, CJB).
Further Study: Luke 10:25-37; D'varim 16:20; Amos 5:14-15
Application: G-d doesn't call us all to be social campaigners, but He does require us all to display not only justice but also love and compassion in all our relationships, to stretch out a hand of care and concern to those who need to see G-d's love and have been let down by society. What part will you play today?
© Jonathan Allen, 2006
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