KI TEITZEI, DEVRAIM 21:10–25:19
74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments are in the Parshah of Ki Teitzei.
There are 27 positive and 47 negative commandments in the Parashah.
In Ki Teitzei we learn among other things:
The Law of the Beautiful Captive.
The prohibition against charging interest on a loan.
The requirement to return a found object.
The Rebellious son.
Cross dressing is an abomination.
Ki Teitzei concludes with the obligation to remember “what Amalek did to you on the road, on your way out of Egypt.”
I hope that the few which are mentioned will whet your Neshama's appetite.
------------------------------------------------------
We are now in the month of Elul, the New Year and Day of Atonement rapidly approaching. We are obligated to review what we did or did not do during this past year. We have to recognize and regret past mistakes, and then commit to improve, to do better, not an easy task.
We begin reading Psalm 27 twice a day until Hoshanah Rabbah for 51 days...Why? Is there a connection to the up and coming Holy Days?
"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice.
Do not hide Your face from me…
Hope in the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage,
Hope in the Lord".
----------------------------------------------------------------
The 1st Aliyah of Parshat Ki Teitzei, beginning at 21:10, is very difficult, but gives us plenty to talk about. It discusses the incident of raping a non-Jewish woman who is captured in battle.
The commentators seem to agree that a one-time-only assault is permissible. They disagree as to the timing: whether it is permissible directly after the heat of battle or only after a 30 day cool down period.
Even a Kohen is given a pass despite the fact that Kohen will not be permitted to marry the captive even if he likes her and even if she undergoes conversion. And for what it is worth, the captive does not have much of a say in what goes on.
Hashem knows what He is doing. But what is going on here?
As to the Sages, they say no good will come from it: In the case of David when he went into battle he desired Ma'aca the daughter of Talmi, king of Geshur. Their union produced Abshalom, who rose up to kill him. Abshalom slept with David’s wives in the presence of all Israel and in broad daylight. And do not overlook the fact that Abshalom was responsible for the killing of some tens of thousands Israelites.
----------------------------------------------------
It happened this way: It was not unusual for Chabad to have cash flow problems: a bill was due this week, but money to pay the bill was not available until the following week. One day while in his office, the Rabbi said to me: “Mick, Chabad has a bill that is due today, but I will not have enough money to pay the bill until next week. Is it possible for you to advance me some money to pay the bill, and in return I’ll give you a post-dated check”?
It wasn’t a large sum; I had enough shekels in my account to cover the amount. So I agreed; gave him what he asked for, and the Rabbi gave me a check in return.
He said to me in a serious tone: “Mick, I’m not going to say thank you”.
I looked at him quizzically; what was going on?
Then Rabbi Butman said: “A Jew is not permitted to charge another Jew interest on a loan. Moreover, a Jew who has borrowed money from another Jew is not permitted to pay interest on the borrowed money. If I was to say Thank you, it would be as if I extended a benefit to you, and that benefit would be regarded as if I was paying you interest…something not permitted.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The 3rd and 4th Aliyahs of Parshat Ki Teitzei speak to gratitude:
In the 3rd and 4th Aliyahs of Parshat Ki Teitzei, beginning at 23:4 we are commanded not to detest the nations of Edom and Egypt because:
Edom is descended from Esau, so they are our brothers. Family is important.
As to Egypt, despite being enslaved by them for 100’s of years, evidently we owe a debt of gratitude to Egypt because we lived in their land. Perhaps the score was evened out somewhat with the slaying of their first born and the gifts that our Egyptian neighbors bestowed upon us
Edom and Egypt are not permanently banned from freely marrying with us. Any restriction against them is lifted in the third generation, provided that the Edomite or Egyptian converts to Judaism.
This is not so for Moabite or Ammonite men who are permanently banned from marriage and conversion. That’s what happens when someone is mean to us.
Question: How do you square that Ruth the Moabite is King David's ancestor?
------------------------------------------------------------------
The 7th Aliyah of Parshat Ki Teitzei speaks to remembering Amalek -
25:17-19. “You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt. how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God… you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget”.
Amalek is characterized as irrational and totally unresponsive to reason. I do not think this is true.
Amalek was a mugger, thug. Amalek saw an easy target, tired and weak unprotected stragglers. Moshe was low on the learning curve; he lacked experience and wisdom when it came to matters military. But he learned, and when we moved our encampment from Har Sinai, it was the tribe of Dan, the lion cub, who formed the rear guard and the incident was not repeated
However, Hashem tells us not to forget, and whether it falls to the us as individuals or the Jewish Defense League or the IDF we always must be prepared to protect ourselves.
------------------------------------------------
My friend Elliot Katz passed away a short time ago.. Elliot had a specific passage in the Torah that he would obsess about. Inasmuch that we will be reading that passage this Shabbat I thought it would be of interest to you.At Deuteronomy 23:14 -
וְיָתֵ֛ד תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה לְךָ֖ עַל־אֲזֵנֶ֑ךָ וְהָיָה֙ בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֣ ח֔וּץ וְחָֽפַרְתָּ֣ה בָ֔הּ וְשַׁבְתָּ֖ וְכִסִּ֥יתָ אֶת־צֵֽאָתֶֽךָ:
“And you shall keep a spike in addition to your weapons; and it shall be, when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it, and you shall return and cover your excrement”.
All of this activity takes place outside of the camp, the reason being that God is in the camp. The camp is holy, and nothing unseemly is to be within the confines of it.
Among other things we would argue about what a ְיָתֵ֛ד was. He said it was a spike; I said it was a shovel. It did not really matter; we were learning Torah.
-------------------------------------------
My friend Max has prepared a set of questions and answers for us that relate to Parshat Ki Teitzei. Do some homework so you can discuss them at your Shabbos table.
I have annotated some of the answers in bold face to help you along.
MAX’S PARSHAT KI TEITZEI QUIZ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1-WHAT INSIGHT FOR
JUXTAPOSITION OF THE FIRST 3-PASSAGES: CAPTIVE WOMAN, HATED WIFE, &
REBELLIOUS SON ?
IMPLICATION IS THAT THERE
IS A CHAIN REACTION FROM THE CAPTIVE WOMAN TO THE REBELLIOUS SON
The slippery slope argument
Devarim 21:
|
10 If you go out to war against your enemies,
and the Lord, your God, will deliver him into your hands, and you take his
captives, |
|
11 and you see among the captives a beautiful
woman and you desire her, you may take [her] for yourself as a wife. |
2-WHAT IS THE ISRAELI ARMY'S MOST POTENT
IMPORTANT WEAPON ?
THE MOST POTENT WEAPON IS
THE RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOR OF EACH SOLDIER
Some say the nuclear warheads stored at Dimona.
3-WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM DURATION FOR
PAYING ONE'S VOW ?
HE MUST PAY HIS VOW BEFORE THE PASSAGE OF THE NEXT 3-PILGRIMAGE FESTIVALS (RASHI
4-DOES THE TORAH EXEMPTS GENTILES FROM THE
LAWS OF INTEREST ?
TORAH RECOGNIZES THAT IT
WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE TO CHARGE INTEREST FOR A LOAN TO GENTILES
23:21 - You may [however,] give interest to a gentile, but to your brother you shall not give interest, in order that the Lord, your God, shall bless you in every one of your endeavors on the land to which you are coming to possess.
5-WHAT IS OR HACHAIM INTERPRETATION ON "
OBSERVE WHAT EMERGES FROM YOUR LIPS "?
YOU MUST BE AWARE OF WHAT EMANATE FROM YOUR MOUTH WHAT YOU SAY --YOU MUST DO
6-WHY ARE WE COMMANDED TO REMEMBER MIRIAM'S
ORDEAL ?
AS A WARNING NOT TO
ENGAGE IN LASHON HARA
24:9 Remember what the Lord, your God, did to Miriam on the way, when you went out of Egypt.
7-WHAT IS MIRIAM ETERNAL PRIVILEGE FOR THAT
ORDEAL ?
HER ORDEAL REMINDS ALL GENERATIONS OF ISRAEL THAT DEATH & LIFE ARE IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE
8-WHAT 3-KINDS OF ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED TO
THE DEBTOR WHENEVER THEY ARE NEEDED ?
CLOTHING, BEDDING, AND ANYTHING NEEDED FOR THE DEBTOR'S LIVELIHOOD
9-WHEN CAN A FATHER LEGALLY OVERRIDE HIS
BECHOR'S DOUBLE PORTION INHERITANCE ?
IF A MAN'S FIRST
BORN IS WICKED , FATHER CAN GIVE DOUBLE PORTION TO RIGHTEOUS CHILD
Think of Reuven and Joseph.
10-WHY WAS A REBELLIOUS AND WAYWARD SON CALLED
A " BEN SORER U'MORER ?
SORER MEANS TURNING
AWAY FROM MITZVOT, AND MORER MEANS COMMITTING AVEIROS
From the Talmud: The wayward and rebellious
son is executed on account of [what he will become in] the end-the Torah
penetrates to his ultimate intentions. Eventually, he will squander his
father’s money, seek what he has become accustomed to, not find it, and stand
at the crossroads and rob people [killing them, thereby incurring the death
penalty. Says the Torah, “Let him die innocent [of such crimes], rather than
have him die guilty [of such crimes].” - [Sanhedrin 72b]
1-WHAT DO THE FIVE KNOTS OF EACH CORNER OF THE
TZITZIT SYMBOLIZE ?
THEY REMINDS US TO KEEP THE FIVE BOOKS OF THE TORAH AT ALL TIMES
12-DID A BEN SORER U'MORER EVER GET KILLED /
RABBIS SAID THAT BEIS DIN NEVER ACTUALLY EXECUTED A BEN SORER U'MORER
13-WHEN IT IS A MITZVAH TO RETURN A DIFFERENT
OBJECT THAN THE ONE FOUND ?
IF THE OBJECT FOUND IS PERISHABLE, YOU CAN REPLACE WITH
EQUIVALENT IN MONEY
Devarim 22:
|
1 You shall not see your brother's ox or sheep
straying, and ignore them; you shall return them to your brother. |
|
3 So shall you do with his donkey, and so
shall you do with his garment, and so shall you do with any lost article of
your brother which he has lost and you have found. You shall not ignore. |
14-WHY CAN'T WE TEAM 2-DIFFERENT TYPES OF
ANIMALS TO WORK TOGETHER /
BECAUSE THEY HAVE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS THAT WOULD CAUSE PAIN TO ONE
15-WHICH TWO CREATURES ARE TZITZIT MADE FROM ?
THE SHEEP AND THE
SNAIL ARE NEEDED TO MAKE TZITZIT
Many Jews believe that the Ḥillazon snail
produced a blue dye used for coloring a tzizit cord.
The creature most commonly thought to have produced dye is the snail Hexaplex trunculus (historically known as Murex trunculus).
16-HOW MANY TIMES DO WE SAY SHEMONEH ESREI ?
REGULAR DAY WE SAY THE AMIDAH 5 TIMES PER DAY,( 2 IN MORNING, 2 IN AFTERNOON, ONE AT NITE }
17-WHICH MITZVAH SEPHARDIM AND ASHKENAZIM
DO OPPOSITES ?
THE MITZVAH OF
MARRYING A CHILDLESS SISTER-IN-LAW
SEPHARDIM
OPT TO PERFORM YIBUM-TO MARRY THE SISTER-IN-LAW
ASHKENAZIM DO CHALITZAH -NOT TO MARRY THE SISTER-IN-LAW
18-WHO CAN MARRY A CONVERT BUT NOT SOMEONE WHO
WAS BORN A JEW ?
A MAMZER CAN ONLY
MARRY A CONVERT, NOT A BORN JEW
Mamzer: A child born to Jewish parents whose relationship is incestuous or otherwise forbidden by Jewish law (e.g. an unmarried man and a married woman), or the descendant of such a person.
19-WHAT SHOULD THE 8-STRINGS OF THE TZITZIT
ATONE FOR ?
8-PARTS OF THE BODY
THAT SIN, EYES, EARS, NOSE, MOUTH, HANDS, FEET, HEART, MALE ORGAN
20-WHAT GOOD HABIT CAN WE LEARN FROM A CAT ?
CATS ARE VERY
CLEAN, AND MODEST CREATURES
21-HOW LONG IS POSSIBLE FOR A BOY TO BE
SENTENCED AS A BEN SORER U'MORER?
PERIOD TO
DETERMINE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS 3- MONTHS FOLLOWING THE BAR MITZVAH
22-HOW MANY MISHNAYOS ARE THERE IN PIRKEI AVOS
?
THERE ARE 108 MISHNAYOT IN PIRKEI AVOS
23-WHY MUST A CAPTURED WOMAN MOURN HER
FAMILY FOR A MONTH?
SO THAT HER CAPTOR
WILL FIND HER UNATTRACTIVE
21:13 – And she shall remove the garment of her captivity from upon herself, and stay in your house, and weep for her father and her mother for a full month. After that, you may be intimate with her and possess her, and she will be a wife for you.
24-WHAT FRACTION OF INHERITANCE
DOES FIRST BORN RECEIVE IF HE HAS 1-BROTHER OR 2-BROTHERS/
ONE BROTHER GETS
2/3 , AND TWO BROTHERS GETS 1/2
First born with one brother gets 2/3, the one
brother gets 1/3.
First born with 2 brothers gets ½, the 2 brothers get ¼ each.
25-WHY DOES THE TORAH FORBID WEARING THE
CLOTHING OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER ?
IT LEADS TO
IMMORALITY
22:5 - A man's attire shall not be on a woman, nor may a man wear a woman's
garment because whoever does these [things] is an abomination to the Lord, your
God.
תֽוֹעֲבַ֛ת = abomination or horror
26-WHAT 3-THINGS HAPPEN TO A MAN WHO FALSELY
SLANDERS HIS BRIDE ?
RECEIVES LASHES, PAYS A FINE OF 100 SILVER SELAH, NEVER DIVORCE HIS WIFE
27-WHY IS CAUSING SOMEONE TO SIN IS WORSE THAN
KILLING HIM ?
MURDER
TAKES AWAY LIFE IN THIS WORLD
CAUSIN ONE TO SIN TAKES AWAY LIFE IN THE WORLD TO COME
28-WHEN IS A GROOM REQUIRED TO FIGHT A
NON-OBLIGATORY WAR ?
WHEN HE REMARRIES
HIS EX WIFE
KETIVAH VACHATIMAH TOVAH
כתיבה וחתימה טובה
A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life]
No comments:
Post a Comment