Our parsha is a paradigm of the "old country" description "Power-packed."  It discusses Marriage and choosing the correct Marriage Partner as well as marital chemistry issues, Chalitza (ceremony regarding a childless widow whose deceased husband has a surviving brother<s> and Halachot concerning dissolution of a marraige and the "Get" (Jewish Halachic divorce).  It also covers the double-portion to be inherited by the Bechor (the first-born son), the rebellious son, as well as numerous Mitzvot such as; returning lost items to their rightful owners, loaning money to one's fellow Jew free from interest, what one is permitted to or prohibited from taking from another Jew as loan security,  Shatnes (wool and linen together), Tzitzit, dealing fairly and truthfully with one's fellow Jews in business and
to remember, for all time, the actions of Amalek who attacked B'nai Yisrael when they were weak while blotting the rememberance of Amalek from the earth.

The parsha speaks also about other Mitzvot such as sending a mother bird away before taking the young or the eggs, helping one's fellow Jew load and unload a burden, fencing in a roof area and not harnessing together different species of animals on the same yoke.

The overall theme of the parsha seems then to be kindness and attentiveness, yet self-control in one's interactions with others.  And perhaps, the message of kindness in the parsha, is that being straight with another person is kinder than the insensitivity of making up any and every excuse or non-reason under the sun for an action not taken whether the action relates to Shidduchim, to employment searching and interviews, to giving Tzeddakah, etc.   At the same time, there is, as Rabbi Pliskin's "Growth Through Torah" indicates, a differentiation between altruistic kindness and being taken advantage of.

Rabbi Pliskin quotes the posuk in our parsha, "You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide himself from them; you shall surely help him to lift (them) up again." (Sefer Devarim, Perek 22, posuk 4.) He explains that, while we are obligated to help a fellow Jew whose animal has fallen under the weight of the heavy load on his back, Torah makes a stipulation in the words "help him" which indicates "with him".  Rabbi Pliskin then notes that Rashi cites the Sages in saying that if a person needing help tells you, "I'm going to rest now.  You have a mitzvah to help me, so help me all by yourself," that you are not obligated to help him. 

Rabbi Pliskin then goes on to contrast the laziness of a person which leads him to take advantage of and manipulate another person with the mitzvah to lend another Jew what he sincerely needs, even though the other person always refuses to help you or lend you his things or does not reciprocate by helping you in return.  He states that "...the highest level of kindness, chesed shel emes (kindness which is true), is when you do a kindness when you know you will receive nothing in return."

He goes on to explain that there are other situations where people ask their brother "...to do things for them when those people could do these things themselves without too much effort."  The other person does "...the favors because they tell themselves that they would feel guilty if they refused.  By internalizing a Torah perspective, a person will feel joy when helping another person who really needed help, even though the other person does not do him favors in return and expresses no gratitude."

Torah distinguishes the mitzvah of helping one who is sincerely in need from a tendency of asking one to allow himself to become manipulated or taken advantage of by a lazy person. (Growth Through Torah, Parsha Ki Teitzei, pg. 437-438)

Shem Mishmuel writes quoting Rav Abba bar Kahana who said, "Hashem says, 'Do not sit and weigh the Mitzvos of the Torah... Don't say "Since a particular mitzvah is significant, I will do it because it's reward is great, and since another mitzvah is less significant, I won't do it."'

Shem Mishmuel then echos a concept which I have often written of, that "Hashem did not reveal to his creations the reward for any particular mitzvah. so they should perform each mitzvah with perfection." (Shem Mishmuel on Parsha Ki Teitzei, pg. 409)

I have equated performance of mitzvot with the weight scale in previous writings by asking; who among us mortals can know which mitzvah, even the smallest "Eikev" mitzvah, might just tip the scales, both in terms of any particular individual or on behalf of the collective national redemption of B'nai Yisrael?  In short, having just entered the Elul season, "the days of awe" and the run up to the Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement, we try honestly and objectively to look back, review and examine our actions over the past year and longer.  Our lives and our hopes for a good year and good things to come hang in the balance -- the Cheshbon, if you will, between our Mitzvot (good deeds) and our Aveirot (sins or violations of Divine law).  Once again, it's "Clutch time" and as the Coach says, "Our Mitzvot aren't everything, they're the Only Thing."  

In the Z'chut of our Kindness, our Tzedakah, of our just and honest dealings with our fellow Jews -- with each other, on an individual basis as well as collectively on a National, Governmental and Judicial basis, and of our Mitzvot done selflessly, with an open heart for our Jewish brethren, may we be Zocha to have our Tefillah reach Shemayim, unimpeded, ungarbled. May we know the end of Jewish bleeding, dying and starving, and the day when a Jew can live unencumbered in his land and when Jonathan Pollard is free to join his brethren in Eretz Yisrael.  May we be zocha to fulfill Hashem's blueprint of B'nai Yisrael as a Unique people -- an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with "the nations."
 
May we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge'ula Shlaima, "Yom Hashem V'Kol HaGoyim", the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v'yameinu -- speedily, in our time", -- Immediately; Achshav, Chik Chuk, Meiyad, Etmol!!!