Small Deeds, Lasting Impact: Legacy in Parashat Ki Tetzeh

“ we are all, in a sense, guardians of the legacy of the next generation”

Parashat Ki Tetzeh is one of the richest sections of the Torah, containing more mitzvot than any other parashah, seventy-four in total. The range is extraordinary: laws governing family, business, justice, agriculture, kindness to animals, and remembrance of history. At first glance, it can seem like a patchwork of unrelated rules. But when read together, a deeper theme emerges: the Torah is teaching us about legacy, what kind of imprint we leave on the world, on our children, and on our community.

The Rebellious Son: A Legacy of Values

One of the most famous passages is the law of the rebellious son (ben sorer u’moreh, Devarim 21:18–21). The Torah imagines a child whose behavior spirals so far out of control that his future seems destined for ruin. The punishment described is harsh, but the Sages teach that it was never implemented. Instead, the passage serves as a moral teaching: that the legacy we leave is shaped by the values we pass on to the next generation.

Parents and communities alike are reminded that nurturing discipline, compassion, and responsibility is part of our sacred legacy. A failure to guide, support, and inspire our children has consequences that ripple far into the future. The Torah’s lesson is not about judgment but about responsibility: we are all, in a sense, guardians of the legacy of the next generation.

Amalek: Remembering What Not to Forget

At the very end of the parashah, we encounter the commandment to remember Amalek (Devarim 25:17–19). The Torah insists that Israel must never forget how Amalek preyed upon the stragglers—the weak and weary at the back of the camp.

This mitzvah teaches us that legacy is not only what we pass on positively, but also what we refuse to allow to be repeated. Amalek represents cruelty and exploitation, and the Jewish legacy must be one of the opposite: protecting the vulnerable, uplifting the weary, and refusing to allow injustice to take root. To build a just society, we must not only create new acts of kindness but also guard memory, ensuring that the lessons of history inform our future.

Everyday Actions: Small Seeds of Legacy

Between these large, dramatic examples are dozens of everyday mitzvot: returning lost property, paying workers on time, building a safe roof on one’s house, showing kindness to animals, treating strangers fairly. Each of these laws reminds us that legacy is not built only in grand gestures. Rather, it is formed in the accumulation of small, daily choices.

Ramban (Nachmanides) explains that even the “lighter” commandments, such as sending away the mother bird before taking the eggs, train our hearts in compassion. These mitzvot shape our character, and that inner character is part of what we hand down. Legacy is formed not in words alone, but in the patterns of behavior that others witness and inherit from us.

Legacy as a Collective Responsibility

Ki Tetzeh also makes clear that legacy is not only an individual matter but a communal one. How a society treats its poor, how it conducts business, how it administers justice—all of these create a collective legacy. The Jewish people are charged with being “a light to the nations,” and that light shines brightest not in lofty ideals but in the lived reality of fairness, integrity, and compassion.

Our Own Legacy

When we think of legacy, we often imagine what will be said at the end of our lives. But Ki Tetzeh challenges us to recognize that legacy is being built right now. Every time we return what is lost, honor another person’s dignity, remember the past with honesty, or shape the next generation with love and discipline, we are writing our legacy into the fabric of life.

So we must ask ourselves:

What values am I modeling that others will carry forward?

How am I ensuring that past wrongs are not forgotten or repeated?

What small, consistent actions am I taking that will ripple into the future?

The Torah’s message is clear: legacy is not an abstract concept of what we leave behind, but the living imprint of who we are and what we do today. A life of integrity, kindness, and responsibility leaves behind something greater than possessions.