Dear Friends:
In the parasha we will read next week, Ki Tetzei (Deut. 21:10 - 25:19), we find the following commandment: “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt upon your house should someone fall from it” (Deut. 22:8).
A parapet is a low protective wall built around a rooftop or balcony. What is the reason that the Torah requires one?
In biblical times, roofs were flat and essentially were an extension of the living area, with people often sleeping on the roof when the summer nights were particularly hot. (This is still the case in many Mediterranean countries and other places with hot climates.) The Torah is concerned that someone might fall off the roof and therefore commands us to take precautions that this doesn’t happen.
The Talmud codifies exactly how this mitzvah is to be carried out. The parapet had to be a minimum of 10 handbreadths high, which is roughly three feet. In Bava Kama 15B, the Tanna Rabbi Nathan says that this law also means that it is forbidden to keep a vicious dog or a precarious ladder in or around your house.
On Wednesday, 14 year old Colt Gray allegedly shot up Apalachee High School in Georgia. Killing four people and wounding nine others. He is being charged as an adult with four counts of first degree murder.
Yesterday evening his father, Colin Gray, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, and eight counts of cruelty to children. While Mr. Gray is of course entitled to a fair trial and enjoys the legal presumption of innocence, it seems to me that charging parents when their minor children commit crimes with firearms is a perfect example of applying the law of the parapet to modern circumstances. Every gun owner knows the importance of keeping guns properly secured and out of the hands of children -- especially when the child has a history of making violent threats, as Colt Gray apparently did. If more states held parents responsible in these cases, perhaps we would see less of them.
I want to remind you once again about the talk we are sponsoring next Tuesday along with five other area Conservative synagogues. Yizhar Hess is Vice-President of the World Zionist Organization and a significant and thoughtful voice in Israeli society.
Yizhar’s talk is called “Between October 7 and 8.” He will be discussing the aftermath of October 7 and building the future of Israeli society. The talk will take place on Tuesday September 10 at Shaare Torah at 6 pm. While the talk had originally been scheduled for 7:30 pm, the rabbis of the sponsoring congregations decided to move it to 6 pm so that our congregants could attend the talk and be home in time to watch the presidential debate that same evening at 9 pm.
The link to register is here:
You may see that the link still says 7:30 pm but it is the right link and the lecture is at 6 pm. If Israel and its future is important to you, you’ll want to attend this talk.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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