2 Mitzvot in Tehillim 102 and How to Merit Your Own Home
- “Shakadti va'ehyeh ke-tzipor boded al gag” - (I was diligent and became like a lone bird on a rooftop).
These lines allude to two mitzvot from Parashat “Ki Teitzei”. They are mentioned together in this verse of Tehillim for a reason: there is a connection between the mitzvah of “Shiluach HaKen” (sending away the mother bird) and the mitzvah of building a parapet on the roof”.
The mitzvah of “Shiluach HaKen” appears immediately before the mitzvah to “make a parapet [along the edges] of the roof”:
- “Let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, so that it will be good for you and you will prolong your days.
When you build a new house, make a parapet [along the edges] of the roof, so that no one will fall from it and you will not bring blood upon your house.” (Ki Teitzei 22:6,7)
Both of these mitzvot concern תקונו של עולם - Tikkun HaOlam (the rectification of the world).
If you have fulfilled the mitzvah of שלוח הקן “Shiluach HaKen” —sending the mother bird away from the nest with its young—then you will be granted the privilege of building a new home and fulfilling the mitzvah of “making a parapet.” Chazal say: “One mitzvah leads to another mitzvah.”
The mitzvah of honoring the mother by sending the mother bird away leads you to believe in the creation of the world and in the fact that G-d builds and renews everything; then you merit building a new home. What a special privilege it is to emulate the Creator by building your home in the Holy Land. By adding a parapet to the roof, you take part in the rectification of the world.
According to Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, both of these mitzvot are connected with Mashiach, who is compared to a bird sitting in a nest in the Garden of Eden, waiting to redeem the world. Similarly, Mashiach stands on the roof of the holy Temple in Jerusalem and addresses the Jewish people, saying: “Humble ones, the time of your redemption has arrived.” (Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshayahu 60:499)
The mitzvah of building a parapet on the roof applies only to people.
The reason for making a parapet is “so that you do not bring blood upon your house.”
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh explains that the Hebrew word for “blood” - דָּם - contains the final letters of the word אָדָם – Adam (human being). Only the letters “dalet” and “mem” require protection from falling off the roof. The letter “alef” is not subject to this danger. It is the inner, eternal “bird of the soul.”
In our time, we greatly need a spiritual parapet to ensure that when we reach lofty heights, we do not fall. Humility is a character trait necessary for creating such a spiritual barrier around the higher consciousness of Chochmah.
(According to the “Women on the Land” website of Rabbanit Chana Bracha Siegelbaum)
