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DEUTERONOMY — 22:8 fence

DEUT1153 Build a fence (parapet) on your roof. Included in the mitzvah is that we must repair any wall, fence or other standing object (e.g. a tree) that is no longer sturdy and threatens to fall. Our Sages enacted many laws and prohibitions in order to prevent accidents, property damage and other harm, for as intelligent beings, it is inappropriate to leave ourselves open to danger and injury. A person not only must be aware of objects and situations that present a potential danger to him; he also must take care that neither he nor his property endangers others. Key concept: Divine Providence reaches down to every individual, which means that Hashem is intimately aware of every person’s every deed, and whatever happens to us, good or bad, is a result of His decree, based on our merits and sins. Nevertheless, we are not exempt from watching out for “natural” occurrences. Hashem created the world in such a manner that fire burns, water extinguishes fire, a large boulder that falls on a person’s head will crush his brain, and someone who falls him a great height will die. The Creator, blessed be He, blows into a person's nostrils a living soul that knows to protect from harm the body that houses it. The Torah, as well, explicitly commands us to beware of natural events that might hurt or kill us, and the Torah forbids us to place ourselves in dangerous situations and rely upon miracles to save us. We are not allowed to trust that the Almighty violate His laws of nature in order to save us from our own negligence. [True, some people are so saintly and cling so tightly to Hashem, they are masters over nature. Avraham Avinu, for example, was thrown into a blazing furnace and emerged unharmed. Clearly, however, most of us, because of our sins, are not on such a high level, so nature poses real threats to our safety, and we cannot rely on miracles to save us from them.]

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DEUTERONOMY — 22:8 parapet

DEUT1155 ... a man is required to make certain investments in his property so as to prevent it from causing physical harm to other individuals when they are within its confines. The Shulhan Arukh is quite clear and emphatic on this obligation. “It is a positive commandment for a man to make a fence around his roof, as it is written in the Torah: ‘And you shall make a fence on your roof [in order to prevent somebody from falling from the roof]” [Deuteronomy 22:8]. He who does not make such a fence disregards this positive commandment and is also guilty of violating the negative commandment ‘And you shall not spill blood in thy house’ [Deuteronomy 22:8]. And so it is with every obstacle [even in a public thoroughfare] that is liable to cause damage to the human body: it is a positive precept to remove it [stones, garbage, even seemingly harmless items] and to do so diligently. Is written in the Torah, [and you shall surely pay heed and beware.’” Choshen Mishpat, Hilkhot Shmirat Hanefesh, section 427.

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DEUTERONOMY — 22:8 railing

DEUT1158 We must remove all potential pitfalls from our property. The Torah obligates us to remove all pitfalls and obstacles from our property to prevent people from getting hurt. Below are the basic laws of this commandment: [Author provides list of details, including "You are obligated to remove anything from your property that might cause a fatal injury (For example, a faulty electrical outlet) (Choshen Mishpot 427:8). Therefore, you are forbidden to keep a vicious dog or defective ladder in your house (Shaarey Tshuvah 3:101).

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DEUTERONOMY — 22:9 mixed seeds

DEUT1160 Do not eat of produce grown from “mixed seeds” (kila’yim) in your vineyard. The more that any given thing is likely to be a stumbling block, the more Hashem places restrictions on it and puts us at a distance from it. Without question, wine presents a great number of stumbling blocks, and untold number of souls have been led to ruin by it. As is known, wine awakens man's yetzer hara (evil inclination) and pushes aside his noble aspect--the yetzer hatov. Man’s evil inclination-- the baseness in him-- wants him only to eat, drink, lounge around and sleep. Wine is a major cause for this style of life. On the other hand, because wine does have some benefits, Hashem allows us to drink it when necessary. At the same time, since it is permitted only for certain essential purposes, if any trace of sin is associated with it at its outset--at the time of the planting of the vines--we are not to derive any benefit from it. Is enough that wine is a powerful stumbling block, so we certainly should not partake of it when a sin was committed in the original planting of the vine.

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