When you go forth to war against (literally "above") your enemies (Deut. 21:10)
When you go forth into battle with complete trust in the G-d of Israel, secure in the knowledge that G-d stands by your side to assist, you are automatically "above" your enemies as soon as you embark on your mission.
(the Rebbe)
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together (Deut. 22:10)
G-d has mercy on all His creations, big and small. The smaller donkey is unequal in strength to the mighty ox, and is unable to pull a plow with the same force. Yoking them together would cause the donkey to exert itself beyond its natural capacity, and is therefore forbidden.
(Ibn Ezra)
You shall not give interest to your brother...anything that is lent upon interest (literally, "anything that bites") (Deut. 23:20)
Usury is likened to the bite of a serpent. Just as it takes the body a few minutes to react to a snake's poison, so too it takes time for the full effect of the compounding of interest to be felt by the borrower.
(Baal HaTurim)
You shall surely lift him up (Deut. 22:4)
When a person helps his fellow Jew, he is thereby elevated. Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad, wrote that when one does a spiritual favor for another, "his mind and heart are purified one thousand-fold"; his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, added that this is no exaggeration!
And the firstborn son is hers who was hated (Deut. 21:15)
The "firstborn son" is an allusion to King Moshiach and his sovereignty in the Messianic era, as it states in Psalms, "I have found David My servant...also I will make him my firstborn," while "hers who was hated" refers to Leah, the mother of Judah, from whom Moshiach descends.
(Ohr HaTorah)
From our Sages & Moshiach Now! reprinted from LchaimWeekly.org - LYO / NYC
