How a Traffic Ticket Inspired a Torah Tip
Ever get a parking or traffic ticket you wish you hadn’t? Maybe there’s a spiritual lesson in it.
Imagine if a city eliminated traffic tickets. Sounds great, right? But what if this required that the city also stopped enforcing all traffic laws? The result would be chaos—accidents, injuries, even death.
For society to function, we accept countless rules and ordinances. Running a red light at 3 a.m. may seem harmless—but prohibiting it protects the greater good.
Now think about the Torah’s 613 mitzvot. People sometimes say, "That’s too many." But this is much less than the thousands of laws a city has. While some Torah commandments may seem irrelevant, a deeper study reveals that they refine our moral character and build a stable society.
Moreover, in this week’s portion, Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:17 teaches: "You have selected the Lord this day, to be your God, to walk in His ways, and to observe His commandments."
Here, the Torah repeats "His" four times, highlighting that every mitzvah is not merely an obligation but a divine opportunity.”
A mitzvah isn’t simply a "good deed," it’s a “divine commandment." Furthermore, the word mitzvah comes from the Aramaic word tzavta meaning "connection."
Every commandment is an opportunity to connect spiritually—with God—and to serve a higher purpose.
For thousands of years, Torah has guided humanity with clarity and morality. But beyond wisdom, it offers something greater: the chance for the finite to connect with the Infinite.
I wish you a safe, healthy, and spiritual Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz
© 2025 Jews for Judaism
This Dvar Torah is dedicating in honor of Elchanan ben Dvora for a Refuah Shelamah—a complete and speedy recovery
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