“When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it.”
(Deuteronomy 22:8)
This verse taken from this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetze, is one of the seventy-two distinct Mitzvot enumerated by the Rambam to be found in this Parashah. As is the case with many of these Mitzvot, this one has to do with one’s obligations to society, to members of the community, who, in this case, are guests in one’s home.
Flat roofs in many parts of the world are treated as an extra living space on which to entertain guests in large and in small numbers. This particular Torah, or instruction, brings an awareness of the dangers of gathering on the roof of a structure, even a home a single story in height. Homeowners building such homes with flat roofs are instructed to take precautions in order to protect guests from injury or death. Rather than simply teaching that signs should be posted warning people of the dangers of coming too close to the edge of the roof, the Torah enjoins the homeowner to construct an actual structure that prevents anyone from falling from the roof. It is certainly an additional expense, and it is certainly a limit to freedom of the homeowner, but the parapet is an obligation and not a choice.
So, what is the takeaway from this teaching in terms of life today? Most of us do not have flat roofs, and frankly St. Louis it too hot and humid in the summer for entertaining outdoors. So, what can we learn from this verse? There are other ways in which we can protect those who enter our personal spaces, whether that in our homes, in our offices, on public transportation, or simply in face-to-face encounters. In this time of COVID-19 and its variant strains, there are measures we can take which parallel those enjoined by the Torah. The modern day parapet consists of the face mask, social distancing, and the choice of three vaccines which have proven effective against the virus. Our bodies are our homes, if you will, and we can build these parapets around them so as to protect those with whom we come into contact. These are not really choices to be left up to the individual; rather they are obligations that the individual takes on by living in a community.
Presumably a roof on a house built isolated from all other human beings would not require a parapet. However, since most houses are built in communities, and since most people are social and invite guests, a parapet is required. So, too, someone who resides as a hermit, eschewing any contact with other human beings requires no mask, is already social distanced, and may even be fine with a vaccination. However, most people live in community, and so most are required to do what they can to protect themselves, surely, but also the other members of the community.
As the High Holy Days approach, and as we take our individual inventories of the past year, may we consider what we have done to protect ourselves, our families, and our community. May we incur no bloodguilt upon ourselves because we failed to do what we could to prevent the spread of this virus plaguing our world. The New Year can be a good, sweet one if we but remember that our rights have concomitant responsibilities.
Leshanah Tovah Tikatevu!
-Rabbi Josef Davidson
