Guardrails of Care (Ki Teitzei)

In Parshat Ki Teitzei, the Torah offers a unique blend of ideals and the practical, guiding us on how to navigate the realities of our world. This portion contains a remarkable number of mitzvot—74 commandments, a sizable portion of the Torah’s total mitzvot, making it especially rich in practical guidance.

One such commandment concerns the ma’akeh, a parapet—a fence that must be built around the roof of a new home to prevent anyone from falling (Deut. 22:8). Even if someone accidentally falls, even if they had no permission to be on your property to begin with, their injury is your responsibility simply because you inhabit that home. The ma’akeh represents more than just a physical safety measure; it’s a call to take responsibility for others, even when the conditions that lead to harm are not of our direct creation.

The rabbis expanded on this concept, teaching that if you inherit or purchase a home, you are still responsible for the safety of those who might fall from the roof. In essence, it doesn’t matter if you built the house—you live there now, and so the responsibility is yours.

This concept applies far beyond the literal. We live in structures, societies, and systems we did not build, but we are still responsible for them. Whether it’s systemic injustice or vulnerable people in our midst, we are called to care. Rabbi Sharon Brous once powerfully noted that we now inherit the United States, a home whose foundational beams (see Talmud Gittin 55a) include slavery and systemic inequality. Even if we didn’t build these systems, we live here now. The responsibility is ours.

This mitzvah invites us to reflect on our personal and collective responsibilities. Even when we didn’t cause the harm or build the flawed system, we are obligated to protect those who are vulnerable within it. What does this look like today? Maybe it’s building safeguards in our communities, or speaking out against injustice, or ensuring that others are safe—physically, emotionally, or spiritually—even when they are strangers to us.

As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said, we are images of God, and that comes with great responsibility. And, as he famously taught, “In a free society, some are guilty – all are responsible.” With awareness comes obligation. The more we know, the more we are accountable for the world around us. We are called not only to tend to our own lives but to the lives of those around us—starting with those nearest to us, and rippling outward.

So, how will we carry this responsibility? The Torah’s teaching on the ma’akeh reminds us that our care must extend to everyone who comes near us, whether we invited them or not. May we, in the coming days, build strong parapets of care, support, and protection for all those around us. And while doing so, may we remember to tend to ourselves, for we too are among those we are called to protect.