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Why does Ki Seitzei repeat mitzvos from earlier parshios with different details - stricter hashavas avedah but with new exemptions, expanded ribis laws, additional worker protections? These mitzvos teach letzaref es habrios - personal perfection beyond basic interpersonal obligations. While Mishpatim covers what we owe others based on their rights, Ki Seitzei demands character refinement through emulating Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
Rav Zweig begins by examining a puzzling Midrash that opens Ki Seitzei discussing circumcision of a child born already circumcised, connecting it to the covenant of Avrohom. This introduces the fundamental thesis: Parshas Ki Seitzei reveals mitzvos designed for letzaref es habrios - personal perfection - beyond interpersonal obligations found elsewhere in the Torah (תורה). The Ramban (רמב"ן)'s analysis of seemingly redundant laws in Ki Seitzei supports this framework. Laws of hashavas avedah (returning lost objects) here are more stringent than in Mishpatim - covering objects that are nidachim (very far away) versus merely toah (slightly lost), including sheep and garments, not just oxen. Yet it also introduces the leniency of v'hisalamta - situations where one isn't obligated to return items. Similarly, laws of ma'akeh (protective fencing), ribis (usury), and paying workers expand both stringencies and leniencies compared to their appearance in Vayikra.
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Parshas Ki Seitzei
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