Ki Seitzei - August 21, 2026 / 8 Elul 5786
This parsha of Ki Seitzei (meaning “when you go out”) begins with a commandment pertaining to war but goes on to enumerate many more commandments, also called mitzvot. In fact, this parsha has more than any other! A whopping 74 (of a total 613) can be found in this parsha. I could talk about a lot of different commandments but I wanted to go personal with this one.
The commandment I am going to talk about is commonly referred to as Hashavas Aveidah, meaning “returning lost things” and it is full of details as to when a person is responsible to return items, how much effort a person needs to put into doing so, identifying markings on the object, etc. discussed at length in the Talmud and Halacha. The verse itself (22:1) states “…you shall not hide yourself from them…” referring to the lost animal (or item) you come across. Rather, you must return it to the one who who lost it. Not doing something in this context, is a violation of a commandment! Human inclination is that it is easier to ignore and walk on by than actively take the time and seek out the owner.
It happened not long ago that we went out for ice cream. We parked and the moment I got out of the car I stepped right next to a tiny purse. There was no one around, no other cars, no apparent store the person would have gone in to, and nothing to indicate where it came from or how long it had been there. It did however have some pictures on it, so there was a chance the owner could identify it. My first thought was maybe there was an ID inside. No luck, but there was nearly $200 in there and nothing else. After asking around in the stores if anyone lost anything, we gave up on ice cream and drove to the nearest police precinct to drop it off as a lost item., Only to find out it was closed. I don’t know how or why a police precinct would be closed but since it is all the same county, we drove to the nearest one that we knew would be open. Which was also at the other end of the county. Three hours later, we walked out of the police precinct, with smiles on our faces, impressed police officers who thanked us for our honesty, and no ice cream. Months later, they called us to pick it up (no one had claimed it) and we just donated the money to charity.
What is the moral of this story? Did we expend too much effort? Not enough? What was our reward, if any? For me, this mitzvah is about not benefitting from someone else’s loss. We need to do our best to ensure everyone has a fair chance in life, in property, in all our financial dealings. We do not need, want, or deserve anything that is not ours. We are only due what we earn through our hard work and G-d’s gift. Let’s keep this in mind for the new year and make an effort to ensure all our dealings whether financial or otherwise are fair to all involved.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
The commandment I am going to talk about is commonly referred to as Hashavas Aveidah, meaning “returning lost things” and it is full of details as to when a person is responsible to return items, how much effort a person needs to put into doing so, identifying markings on the object, etc. discussed at length in the Talmud and Halacha. The verse itself (22:1) states “…you shall not hide yourself from them…” referring to the lost animal (or item) you come across. Rather, you must return it to the one who who lost it. Not doing something in this context, is a violation of a commandment! Human inclination is that it is easier to ignore and walk on by than actively take the time and seek out the owner.
It happened not long ago that we went out for ice cream. We parked and the moment I got out of the car I stepped right next to a tiny purse. There was no one around, no other cars, no apparent store the person would have gone in to, and nothing to indicate where it came from or how long it had been there. It did however have some pictures on it, so there was a chance the owner could identify it. My first thought was maybe there was an ID inside. No luck, but there was nearly $200 in there and nothing else. After asking around in the stores if anyone lost anything, we gave up on ice cream and drove to the nearest police precinct to drop it off as a lost item., Only to find out it was closed. I don’t know how or why a police precinct would be closed but since it is all the same county, we drove to the nearest one that we knew would be open. Which was also at the other end of the county. Three hours later, we walked out of the police precinct, with smiles on our faces, impressed police officers who thanked us for our honesty, and no ice cream. Months later, they called us to pick it up (no one had claimed it) and we just donated the money to charity.
What is the moral of this story? Did we expend too much effort? Not enough? What was our reward, if any? For me, this mitzvah is about not benefitting from someone else’s loss. We need to do our best to ensure everyone has a fair chance in life, in property, in all our financial dealings. We do not need, want, or deserve anything that is not ours. We are only due what we earn through our hard work and G-d’s gift. Let’s keep this in mind for the new year and make an effort to ensure all our dealings whether financial or otherwise are fair to all involved.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
