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When we follow the Torah then we will be blessed in miraculous ways, if we do not then we will be cursed to be a normal nation that will suffer the fate of other normal nations.

This portion makes clear that God took us out of Egypt to be a light unto the nations. That our purpose is to show the world what a Godly nation is. When we do not do our job then we suffer.

We are all required to tithe. Even the poor. The lesson is that we are part of a community. All have to do their part, rich or poor. We cannot just take, we have to help each other and our institutions.

We went to war with Amalek because he attacked those outside the camp. These were outside the camp because they had committed sins. This is to teach us that all are important, even a sinner has importance to us.

We are reminded about the evil Amalek right after we are commanded to be honest in business. This is to teach us that if our society is corrupt and divided then Amalek will take advantage to try to destroy us.

One of the major concepts of the Torah is that holiness is not an entitlement, it has to be earned by our actions.

When a criminal is hanged for his crime we do not leave the body up overnight but bury it as soon as possible. The reason is that all people, no matter how low they are, were created in God’s image.

In order to have a decent society we need clarity on what we are. This is why the Torah states that we are not allowed to cross-dress. This is to avoid confusion not only in gender but in morality.

The Torah states that we should respect private property. This is a major concept. That is the way to build a stable society. Without this then we create anarchy.

When men go to war and wage battle their emotions are raw. That is why the Torah states that if a soldier sees a woman, he wants he may take her, but it then puts limits on how he treats her. And if he still chooses to be with her the results can be disastrous.