This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei is perfect for us as we head into the end of summer, the starting of school and the return from vacation. Let me explain why. There’s a verse in the Torah portion that reads “When you build a new house, you shall make a ma’akeh – a protective railing – for your roof…” (Deuteronomy 22:8). This refers to the wall or railing along the edge of a roof that can stop people from falling off, stop fires or hold signs. In many ways, the Torah sounds like the county building code.

Why is this line important to the end of summer? It’s all about building guardrails to prevent problems or harm from occurring. The Torah is saying to us, as we start a new school year, go back to work, prepare for the new Jewish year (this is the first week of Elul), get back to the routines of our regular schedules, what can we do to make sure we are responsible for our children and protect each other?

Some guardrails are physical, others are emotional, some are communal. As we prepare our children for school by buying the supplies they need to succeed, are we also teaching them to notice the child sitting alone? Can we teach them to be responsible for one another by speaking up when another is being bullied? Are we thinking about our co-workers, our friends and our family members who may struggle? Can we help them before they start struggling by creating communities of kindness, responsibility, belonging and care.

And we can expand this to the greater society? What guardrails does our society need right now? In a world filled with conflict, extreme weather, violence, political division and uncertainty, Ki Teitzei says that we cannot eliminate every danger, but neither are we permitted to shrug our shoulders at dangers we can anticipate.

Judaism doesn’t only ask us to help someone after they fall; it asks us to build a railing so that they don’t fall in the first place. Isn’t this an important message to teach to our children or one another as we face new pathways?

We cannot prevent every fall. We cannot protect our children, our families, our co-workers or our world from every danger. But the Torah reminds us that we are never power-less. We can notice the hazards. We can anticipate another person’s needs. We can speak when something is wrong. We can reach out when someone is struggling. And wherever we can, we can build the railing before someone falls.