In Pirkei Avot it states that we should know three things to avoid sin: Know where you came from, a putrid drop; know where you are going, a place of worms; and before whom you will be judged, the Holy One blesssed be He.  To teach us that we might not think we are important but to God we are.

There is a debate which is more important: Doing the commandments or being spiritual.  The Jerusalem Talmud addressed this debate in the 3rd Century CE and concludes that your actions are more important than your beliefs therefore we should follow the commandments even if we do not believe in God.

Many people go on genealogy sites to see who their ancestors were and are proud of them.  The question that the Torah asks is would they be proud of you.  Live your life so that they would be.

This week's portion starts with the commandment to bring tithes to the Temple.  When this is done the person bringing the tithes makes a declaration of how grateful they are.  This is one of the most important lessons that we can teach.  We should all be grateful for the blessings that God has bestowed on us.

In the curses that we receive if we do not follow the Torah is that we will become an average people.  While there is nothing wrong with being average it is not a great accomplishment either.  The Torah wants us to be above average in our moral and ethical behavior.

The admonition of having accurate weights & measures is a warning against dishonest business practices.  It is immediately followed by a warning about Amelek.  The two are related.  Amelek is looking for weakness in society.  This is brought on by being dishonest and causing dissention in society.

We are admonished not to let the body of a person convicted of a capital offense hang overnight.  This is so the family will not be shamed.  It is assumed that the family is embarrassed by the actions of the criminal.  We don't have to rub in.

The Torah admonishes us not to blame the father for the son's sins and not to blame the son for the father's sins.  This underscores a major concept that we are responsible for our own actions.  Not to blame others.

One of the commandments this week is that we are required to put a fence around the roof of a building.  We do this because we assume that a person will go up on the roof and fall off.  Our job to prevent, as much as possible people harming themselves through stupid actions.

The commandment to return a lost object to its owner is an important underpinning of a good society.  If your find something, it is up to you to return it.  We do this not only for society but for our spiritual well-being.