כִּי־תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל־אֹיְבֶיךָ וּנְתָנוֹ יְהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ וְשָׁבִיתָ שִׁבְיֽוֹ
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,
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Shabbat |
Name |
Parasha |
Haftora |
Brit Chadasha |
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Aug. 26 2023 |
“When you Leave” |
Deut. 21:10-25:19 |
Isaiah 54:1-10 |
Matt. 5:27-30 |
Parashat Ki Tetze opens by teaching one of the biblical ordinances related to ethical conduct in war. Specifically, Deut. 21:10-14 “When you go out to war against your enemies”.
Ki Teitze also focuses in large part on how we categorize the people and decisions in our lives. This Parasha has list of endless rules, that we carefully follow even though many time we do not understand the depth of wisdom contained in the Torah’s commands for our daily lives. that motivates us with a meaning into our lives. It opens and closes with sections that analyze those who are on our side and those who are not, and woven a sense of obligation and responsibility, especially among the generations. One rule in particular we can relate to, whether we are parents or children. Perhaps it is extreme but we understand its sentiment nonetheless: “Parents shall not be put to death for children, nor children be put to death for parents; a person shall be put to death only for his own crime (Deuteronomy 24:16).”
There are other issues in this portion of the Torah, like forbidding prostitution, a worker has the right to partake of his work, and an ox must not be muzzled while treading the grain. Issues regarding marriage and divorce, social behavior and financial responsibility, and dealing with damage that is not physical but emotional, and public embarrassment. Most of the Torah does not deal with super-spiritual and religious issues. The Torah deals with life. With building a healthy and godly society, that has righteous and just and equitable life for all of its members, and even for the stranger that is passing by.
May Torah continually serve as our guidepost—making us keenly aware of the emotions and pain of our fellow human beings—and may Scripture lead us to a place of healing and peace among all the nations of the world.
