Parashat Ki Tetze, Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

What can lost property teach us about relationships?

by Rabbi Joshua Brumbach, UMJC Young Adult Liaison

Parashat Ki Tetze contains seventy-two different mitzvot, the largest number in any Torah portion. On the outset, it seems to be just a condensed list of random instructions. The format of this portion encourages us to take a wider view so as not to miss the forest for the trees. After looking through the entirety of the mitzvot listed in the parasha, we find a common thread - the relationship between our physical possessions and our human relationships.

Dr. John Fischer, rabbi of Congregation Ohr Chadash in Clearwater, Florida, and one of the founding leaders of the UMJC was honored with the UMJC Lifetime Achievement Award on the final night of this summer's conference in Seattle. Dr. Fischer has held many positions within the UMJC and beyond, most recently serving as UMJC vice president and currently president of the Union of Messianic Believers and the International Messianic Jewish Alliance. The author of numerous books and articles, John is an internationally known teacher who also serves as Academic Vice President of St. Petersburg Theological Seminary and Rosh Yeshiva of Netzer David International Yeshiva. The UMJC, the Messianic Jewish community, and the body of Messiah have all benefited greatly from his service. Congratulations Dr. John Fischer!

Actually, we have three new congregational leaders and a madrikh. Robert Bloch, Joshua Brumbach, and Jason Palmer all received s'micha, or ordination, at this summer's UMJC conference in Seattle, in recognition of their extensive studies and preparation for service. Joshua and Robert completed their studies at Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI), and Jason at Netzer David Yeshiva. Both MJTI and Netzer David are approved by the UMJC Credentials Committee. In the same ceremony, Nathan Joiner became the first candidate to receive licensure under the new UMJC Madrikh program, also studying under MJTI. Congratulations to all four!

Once on the New Moon of Elul [the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah], the zaddik Rabbi Levi Isaac of Berditchev was standing at his window. A Gentile cobbler passed by and asked him, "And have you nothing to mend?"

At once the zaddik sat himself down on the ground and weeping bitterly cried, "Woe is me, and alas my soul, for the Day of Judgment is almost here, and I have still not mended myself!"

I recently visited a rabbinic colleague who is battling cancer. We had been praying for several months for healing from blood clots, swelling of the extremities, gout, and other conditions that had left him totally immobilized before a chance visit to the emergency room, where an observant physician realized that the real problem was cancer, now in Stage 4. As we visited my friend said, with a touch of sad humor, "For months they were just treating symptoms—the gout, blood clots, swelling of the extremities, they were all caused by the cancer, which they weren't treating at all."