Among the many mitzvot described in this week’s parasha, Parashat Ki Tetze, is the law of the ma’ake – a fence.
“When you build a new house, you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you shall not cause blood to be spilled in your house, that the one who falls should fall from it.” In this verse, the Torah commands us to build a fence around any exposed high area, such as a flat roof or deck, that is commonly used by human beings. Viewing this law as a positive commandment, the Rambam teaches that one must make a blessing when constructing a ma’ake.
The law of the ma’ake is one of many Torah laws that teach us to protect human life. Positive commandments such as ve’nishmartem me’od et nafshotechem (and you shall greatly guard your physical life) and ve’rapo yerape (and you shall surely heal) reveal the Torah’s appreciation of man’s vulnerability and the lengths that we must go to foster human safety.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik extends this concept of building a fence in order to protect human physical life to the Torah’s attitude towards protecting human spiritual life and the Rabbinic law to “build a fence around the law”. The Rav teaches that this dictum is,
rooted in the notion of the vulnerability of spiritual man. The spirit, the human intellect... are all exposed to all kinds of pressures and influences. That is why a fence is necessary. Man is vulnerable both as a physical being and as a spiritual personality. (Chumash Mesoret HaRav)
Safeguarding human life is aimed at promoting one’s spiritual life. Maimonides codifies in Hilchot De’ot (3:3) that the appropriate attitude towards one’s physical health is,
that one should direct his heart (towards understanding) that one (needs) to have a healthy body in order that his mind will be straight to know Hashem. It is impossible to understand and appreciate wisdom while one is sick or when one of his limbs are in pain…
Through the process of maturation, people come to understand human vulnerability and the precariousness of their own physical and spiritual health. As we grow up and gain life experience, we come to realize that where we find ourselves and who we associate with are two factors that are highly influential in how we act and who we become.
Children and teens often do not have the benefit of this perspective. In fact, part of the “condition” of childhood is a feeling of invincibility. Because they do not generally feel vulnerable, children and teens often underestimate the risks and dangers inherent in the physical world and in the spiritual world and do not understand the importance of proactively protecting their physical and spiritual well-being. Therefore, as parents, we are charged with building actual and metaphoric fences to protect our children from physically dangerous situations and building “fences around the law” to protect our children from spiritual risks. It is important to note that the Torah and the Rabbis do not instruct us to build a fence around ourselves or to never use a high place. Rather, the Torah and our Rabbis instruct us to appreciate physical and spiritual dangers and to do the minimum necessary to safely guard ourselves and our loved ones from these dangers. Our challenge is to build the right fences in the right places.
May we take the guidance of the Torah and our Rabbis to heart and be wise in promoting physical and spiritual health within ourselves and our loved ones.
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