Weekly Torah Portion

Parashat Ki Teitzei contains more mitzvot than any other Torah portion. Among them is a commandment that speaks with extraordinary power to our lives today: “Lo tuchal l’hit’alem — You must not remain indifferent.”

In its original setting, this mitzvah concerns returning a lost animal or possession. If we find something belonging to another person, we may not turn away or pretend that we did not see it. Yet this teaching reaches far beyond lost property. It asks what we will do when we encounter someone who is suffering, frightened, lonely, forgotten, or treated unjustly.

We live in a time when images of pain surround us. I fear that many of us have become numb—even complacent—in the face of the inhumanity we witness each day. Sometimes the suffering feels so overwhelming that looking away seems like the only way to protect our own hearts.

Judaism does not demand that we solve every problem or repair every broken heart by ourselves. But it does demand that we notice. We must care. We must speak. We must reach out and do whatever lies within our power. Perhaps, as Elie Wiesel taught, the opposite of love is not hatred, but indifference—the decision that another person’s suffering is simply not our concern.

If you have seen the movie Avatar, you may remember the beautiful words spoken by Neytiri to Jake Sully: “I see you.” As the story unfolds, we come to understand that these words mean far more than merely seeing someone with our eyes. They mean: “I see beneath the surface. I recognize your spirit, your pain, your dignity, and the truth of who you are.”

As we approach the gates of a New Year, may we refuse to look away. May we truly see one another—with compassion, courage, and love. And may we be blessed to recognize the beauty, wisdom, and sacred humanity within every soul.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Rachelle Nelson