Parshat Ki Teitzei contains the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird before one takes the young. The Torah even promises that one who performs this command will merit long life.

In instructing us to shoo the bird away, the Torah employs double language, “shaleach tishalach et ha’em- you shall surely send away the mother.” (Devarim 22:7)

Why the repetition?

The Talmud (Chullin 141a) teaches that one may think he need not send away the mother should he need her young for a mitzvah. The Torah employs the double language to remind us that even for a mitzvah we must “surely” shoo her away.

A Mitzvah gives you no right to trespass on others. In fact Nachmanides, in his comments to our parsha writes that the mitzvah to send away the mother bird, as well as the mitzvot that surround it, teach us the importance of being sensitive.

This world is full of oppression for the sake of religion. Is that really religion? Certainly not holiness. Our Tradition teaches us to be both sensitive to halakha and to be sensitive to our fellow man.

This message became clear for me several years ago when I was singing with a large group of students in the common room of a JTS building. We were having a kumzits: speaking words of Torah, playing guitars, banging djembes and singing loudly. We were sharing an intense spiritual experience, but the hour was getting late. Soon, students who wanted to sleep or to study began to show up and express their concern. As much as I wanted to continue, we had to stop. We were impinging on the rights of others.

There is a famous story about the holy Ba’al HaTanya, Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812). It was the middle of the night and he was immersed in Torah study in his son’s home. He was interrupted when he heard the crying of a child. The Ba’al HaTanya proceeded to enter the child’s room and pick her up. Upon his return to his studies, he noticed that his son too was awake studying Torah. He remarked, ‘if you can’t hear the crying of a child, there must be something wrong with your Torah study.’

The mitzvah of shiluach haken teaches that one’s spiritual experience, no matter how profound, can never come at the expense of others. If it does, it wasn’t so spiritual after all.

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 recorded in our holy Torah? Study it and receive reward.”

But there is so much to study! The Sea of Talmud is vast, with its many laws, details, and particulars. Certainly there is no shortage of material to “study” and “receive reward.”

Why does the Torah offer this hypothetical case? What message can we glean from the ben sorer u’moreh?

The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 8:5) states, the ben sorer u’moreh is “nidon al shem sofo- judged now for his end.” In other words, he is put to death for what he will ultimately become. It is better that he “dies innocent, rather than guilty.”

In Parshat Vayeirah, however, when Yishmael was dying of thirst, Hashem had pity upon him and judged him “ba’asher hu sham – in his present state.” (Bereishit 21:17). Rashi (ad loc) cites Bereishit Rabbah 53:14, in which the angels in Heaven protest:

Master of the World! He whose descendants are destined to put your children to death by thirst, You cause a well to rise up for him? And He [Hashem] answered them, “What is he now? Righteous or wicked? They answered, “Righteous.” He said to them, “I judge him according to his deeds at the present.

In fact, based on this account, the Gemara (Rosh HaShana 16b) states that a person is only judged according to their actions at that very moment.

So why don’t we apply this princple to the ben sorer u’moreh? Why is he judged for what he will ultimately become as opposed to where he stands now?

One could only be deemed a ben sorer u’moreh during the first three months after turning thirteen. He was only formally obligated in mitzvot for three months. Yet, his short life already testifies to what kind of a person he will become. He is put to death because already at the beginning of adulthood we see his self-destructive traits emerge.

The ben sorer u’moreh is a hypothetical case, yet the Torah teaches it to stress the importance of beginnings. In the Jewish tradition, we realize the importance of laying a sound foundation.

Our sages in the Mechilta teach: kol hatchalot kashot – all beginnings are difficult. Beginnings are hard, but according to the effort is the reward.

The month of Elul is a time when we focus on new beginnings. As the Days of Judgment quickly approach, we turn inwards and ask ourselves how to make this year different. The beginning of the New Year sets the tone for the entire year. We try our best to start it off on the right foot.