When you go forth to war against your enemies...and have taken them captive (Deut. 21:10)
In the spiritual "war" against the Evil Inclination, it isn't enough to merely subdue it; it must also be "taken captive" and utilized in our Divine service. There are many positive lessons to be derived from the Evil Inclination, among them alacrity and devotion. In the same way the Evil Inclination is completely dedicated to fulfilling its mission to cause us to sin, so too should we show the same commitment and enthusiasm in serving G-d. (The Baal Shem Tov)
And the firstborn son is hers who was hated (Deut. 21:15)
The "firstborn son" is an allusion to King Moshiach and his ultimate 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 is descended: "And when L-rd saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb." (Ohr HaTorah)
But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated as the firstborn, by giving him a double portion (Deut. 21:17)
The "son of the beloved" is symbolic of the first Tablets of the Ten Commandments, which G-d gave to Moses before the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf. The "son of the hated" refers to the second set of Tablets, which were given after the Jews repented and became baalei teshuva. The first set of Tablets contained only the Ten Commandments, but the second set contained a "double portion" - not only the Ten Commandments, but all of the minutiae of halacha (Jewish law), Midrash and Aggada. (Ohr HaTorah)
You shall not watch your brother's ox or his sheep go astray... you shall surely help him to lift them up again (Deut. 22:1-4)
When a person helps his neighbor and returns something the other has lost (either physical or spiritual) the benefit is mutual, as our Sages stated: "The advantage extended to the benefactor by the poor man is greater than the advantage extended to the poor man by the benefactor. (Sefat Emet)
Reprinted from the Parshas Ki Teitzei 5760/2000 edition of L’Chaim Weekly.
