Good things are brought about through good people, and the opposite is true as well.
When something negative must occur, G d finds the type of person who ignores the mitzvah of building a protective fence around his roof, and the person destined to fall to his death falls specifically from that person’s roof.
Separation and Sensitivity
The mitzvah of kelayim includes the prohibition against having animals of two different species work together in the field, such as jointly plowing, threshing, or pulling a wagon. “You shall not plow with an ox and donkey together.”
One reason for this mitzvah is to maintain the separation of the pure from the impure. An ox is a kosher animal, while the donkey is non-kosher; the pure should not mix with the impure.
This principle also applies to human relationships. Righteous people, or those striving to be righteous, should not assimilate with wicked people unless they are certain they can influence them without being influenced themselves.
Another reason we avoid plowing with an ox and donkey together is out of sensitivity. The ox, being a kosher animal, chews its cud, while the donkey, a non-kosher animal, does not. When the donkey sees the ox chewing, it may mistakenly think that the ox has just been fed while the donkey has not, causing distress to the donkey. This is considered insensitive and cruel.
If G d is so concerned about the feelings of an animal, imagine how careful we must be with the feelings of our fellow human beings.
Happy Wife, Happy Life
Another mitzvah in this parshah is the commandment for a groom to remain with, and not apart from, his bride during the first year of their marriage. As such, he is exempt from military service during this time.
When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, nor shall he be subjected to anything associated with it. He shall remain free for his home for one year and delight his wife, whom he has taken.
What is the newlywed husband to do during this first year of marriage, when he is not supposed to leave his house?
“Vesimach et ishto.”
The word “et” can either introduce the direct object, namely, “his wife,” or it can mean “with.”
There are two ways to interpret the verse: One is that he shall rejoice with his wife; they should have a year of partying. But that’s not the correct interpretation.
“Vesimach et ishto” means that he must make his wife happy. A husband is not meant to focus on his own happiness; that is not his obligation. The primary obligation of a Jewish husband is to ensure that his wife is happy.
If his wife is happy, his children are happy, and his family is happy, chances are he’ll be happy as well. But his happiness is not his job; it is the by-product of doing his job well!
Appropriately Balanced
Another mitzvah in this Torah portion is be honest with weights and measures:
You shall not keep in your house two different ephah measures, one large and one small. Rather, you shall have a full and honest weight, and a full and honest ephah measure, in order that your days will be prolonged on the land which the L-rd, your G d, gives you.
This mitzvah is directly followed by the commandment to never forget what Amalek did to the Jewish People:
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt, how they surprised you on the road and cut off all the weak people at your rear, when you were parched and weary from the journey, and they did not fear G d.
G d enables good people to do good things. When a poor person is destined to be fed and cared for, G d finds good people—those who seek to do good deeds—and allows them to be the ones to help.
