SEPTEMBER 8 • 2022 | 43

W

e are deep into the 
Hebrew month of 
Elul when many 
Jews spend time preparing for 
the Yamim Nora’im — the Days 
of Awe. 
Some will spend the time pre-
paring ritually with additional 
slichot (prayers of penitence) or 
reflection; some will be prepar-
ing culinarily, and many who 
work in synagogues will be put-
ting the final logistics together 
for the annual homecoming 
pilgrimage of congregants back 
to our sanctuaries. 
We often become so 
engrossed in our own prepara-
tions we sometimes overlook 
something important that we 
learn in this week’s Torah por-
tion. 
The Torah tells us: “Since the 
Lord your God moves about in 

your camp to protect you … let 
your camp be holy; let [God] 
not find anything unseemly 
among you and turn away from 
you.
” (Deuteronomy 23:15) 
The Torah has already 
told us that we are a holy 
people and are to act in 
a manner reflecting our 
designation as a nation of 
priests. However, here the 
Torah is taking this con-
cept and adding on two 
new layers — our camp 
is to be holy; and should 
God find something 
“unseemly” amongst us, 
then God would, at least 
in that moment, remove 
His holy presence. 
The word for “unseemly” is 
ayrom coming from the Hebrew 
word for nakedness. At its base 
— this means that we must not 

fall to the lowest levels of ani-
malistic behavior where we act 
without the proper coverings 
of compassion and genuine 
concern for one another. It is 
in those moments, the 
moments when we aban-
don our sense of connec-
tion to one another, that, 
regardless of our clothing, 
we are, in fact displaying 
such nakedness; in that 
moment, when we lose 
the ability to care for one 
another, then God’s pres-
ence is driven away. 
Yet the Torah tells us 
that it is not enough for 
us as individuals to act 
as holy people; we must 
ensure that our camps are also 
places of holiness. So how, espe-
cially as we prepare our “camps” 
for the High Holidays, do we 

ensure that they are indeed plac-
es of holiness where God will 
not find that which is “unseem-
ly” amongst us? 
Let us all work together 
to ensure that nobody is left 
behind, nobody is left outside 
the doors, nobody is left without 
a place and community with 
whom to celebrate the new year. 
Let us find that extra seat in our 
sanctuaries and at our tables; let 
us reach out to those who are 
lost and help them find their 
way; for those who are hungry, 
let them fill themselves next 
to us so that as “God moves 
through our camps,
” there will 
be nothing but holiness and joy 
as we move into the new year. 

Rabbi Shalom Kantor is the rabbi of 

Congregation B’nai Moshe in West 

Bloomfield.

As God Walks With Us

SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION

Rabbi 
Shalom 
Kantor

Parshat 

Ki Tetze: 

Deuteronomy 

21:10-25:19; 

Isaiah 54:1-10.

Supported through the generosity of The Jewish Fund and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Family Foundation.

 
 
 
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