Ki Teizei
Drash by Donald Armstrong
I enjoyed preparing for today’s drash, Ki Teitzei. It is a parasha that I have never drashed. In addition to reviewing my usual sources: the commentary in Etz Chaim; Ki Teitzei drashes by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks; Chabad commentaries; and a plethora of other Internet commentators; I was surprised when Sandy found a large file of drashes that were collected by our own Rabbi Morris Goldfarb of blessed memory.
Despite this abundance of commentary on today’s parasha, I was concerned about the large number of seemingly random mitzvot that are contained in Ki Teizei. How would I be able to organize these mitzvot coherently in eight minutes?
Ki Teizei translates to “when you go out”. It is a wide-ranging collection of laws that primarily address what is appropriate behavior when you interact with other human beings; i.e., family members, friends, enemies, Jews, goyim, neighbors, strangers, slaves and so forth. Of the Torah’s 613 commandments, 74 are in Ki Teizei. Among many other things, they address the marriage of a beautiful captive; marriage and divorce rules; the inheritance rights of the first born son; the stoning of a rebellious son; returning lost objects; helping family members, neighbors, strangers and others in their times of need; and treating the body and burial of the deceased with respect.
Other matters addressed include judicial procedures and penalties for adultery, rape or seduction of an unmarried girl and for a husband who falsely accuses his wife of adultery. It also prohibits the marriage of a Jewish person to a mamzer, someone who is born of an adulterous or incestuous relationship, as well as a male of Moabite or Amonite descent or a first or second generation Edomite or Egyptian.
Ki Teizei also includes laws that govern: the purity of a military camp; the prohibition against returning an escaped slave; the duty to pay a worker on time and to allow anyone working for you, man or animal, to eat on the job; leaving a portion of your crop at harvest time to be gleaned by others in need; proper treatment of a debtor and the prohibition against charging interest on a loan; the penalty of 39 lashes for the transgression of a Torah prohibition; procedures for yibbum (leverite marriage of the wife of a deceased childless brother; or chalitzah (removing of the shoe) in the case that the brother-in-law refuses to marry her. Parashah Ki Teizei concludes with the obligation for Jews to remember “what Amalek did to you on the road out of Egypt. I thank Chabad for its summary of: Ki Teizei in a Nutshell. This is one big nut that is hard to crack and difficult to digest.
How do the 74 rules of Ki Teizei differ from the other remaining 539 mitzvot? The other mitzvot focus more on the relationships and laws between Hashem and the Cohanim, for proper behavior, rituals, prayers and sacrifices that will please Hashem. They also focus on proper behavior for regular (non-priestly) Jews in sacred places and their personal and collective relationships with Hashem.
Before I close, I want to comment on three items that I found to be interesting in preparing this drash. The first is the emphasis in Judaism on the body of a Jew (both alive and dead). The second is the emphasis on redeeming and respecting the person who has treated you badly. The third is allowing one’s self to forgive an enemy so that you are not consumed by your own rage and hatred.
1. Respect for our Body
Rabbi Bradley Artson noted that American religious practice today seems to have two modes of worship that are flourishing: 1. Fundamentalist Christianity with literal obedience to its Bible or, 2. New Age neo-nonsense with limited structure, rules, or even interaction with God. In both these cases, these modes de-emphasize the bodily reality of human existence. Instead, we are told that our spirit is good, pure, eternal and transcendent while our body is bad, rotting, corrupt and ephemeral.
In sharp contrast, Judaism is a corporeal religion where our bodies and our mitzvot are both solidly rooted in this world. Because our bodies are created in the image of Hashem, even in death our bodies deserve reverence and respect. That’s why the great sage Hillel emphasized that the cleansing of our bodies in life and death are acts of holiness and respect. For similar reasons, Jewish tradition frowns on cremation as being disrespectful to the deceased.
2. Respect for the Penitent Jew
Since we are all created in the image of Hashem we should model our behavior on His. In Ki Teizei, it is very clear that Hashem does not prejudge our behavior or apply punishments for collective guilt. Instead, he judges us as individuals at the time of our misdeed. When we atone for our sins, apologize to those we have harmed and make restitution, Hashem is pleased. Accordingly, we should forgive those who have harmed us and help in their redemption since we are all human beings who have sinned.
3. Replacing Hate with Forgiveness
Thankfully, Hashem does not hate his creation. Each human being is responsible for maintaining his creation. Hashem has shown mercy when a human being strays from the Torah and His mitzvot. However, when other human beings harm us greatly, we should not be consumed with rage, hatred and revenge. Like Hashem we must try to replace these toxic emotions with forgiveness.
I pray that all of us thank Hashem for our families, friends, homes and our multi-faceted gem of a congregation in the middle of the Pacific. We are also thankful for Hashem’s wisdom that is embedded in the Torah that guides our lives.
Shabbat Shalom.
