Martin Buber, the German-Jewish philosopher, was once interrupted by a student while he was busy meditating on something in his study. Amid his spiritual reverie, he failed to give the visitor his time despite the distraught look on his student’s face. Buber was later informed that the student committed suicide. He realized that he should have been there for this person and subsequently spent the rest of life trying to give those around him his full attention.
Parshat Ki Teitzei contains the mitzvah of sending away the mother …

The passage of the ben sorer u’moreh, the rebellious son, is perhaps one of the most difficult passages in the Torah to understand. A rebellious child commits a few seemingly minor infractions and is put to death. His crime? Stealing his parents money and fressing on meat and wine.
Does his gluttony warrant such a harsh treatment? Does his punishment fit the crime?
To make things even more difficult, our Sages teach (Sanhedrin 71a): “The ben sorer u’moreh never existed and never will exist. Why is it …