Parashat Ki Tetze

In this week's portion, 'Ki Tetze,' we encounter the prohibition of shatnez: 'You shall not wear shatnez, wool and flax together.' Rav Kook explains that the foundation of the prohibition lies in the essential difference between them: flax comes from the plant world, wool is taken from the animal. Mixing them blurs the gradations of reality and dulls our sensitivity to distinguish between different worlds: the plant lacks sensation, the animal bears feeling and pain. If we ignore the difference, we lose the ability to develop deep moral responsibility toward life. The distinction between wool and flax is an ongoing lesson in respect for all living and growing things, and in attentiveness to the orders of creation, which trains us to see in every encounter with reality a call to depth, to responsibility, and to holiness.

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