Parasha Ki Tetze (כי תצא) — Devarim 21:10 – 25:19. Read on Shabbat, September 11, 2027.
Summary of Parasha Ki Tetze
This parasha contains a great many commandments, touching on family, social and economic life. It first deals with the captive woman, the birthright that cannot be taken away from the son of a less-loved wife, and the rebellious son. The body of an executed convict must not remain hanging overnight. One must return a lost object to its owner and help one’s fellow lift up his fallen animal. The Torah forbids wearing the garments of the other sex and requires sending away the mother bird before taking the fledglings from the nest. It commands building a parapet around the roof, forbids certain mixtures and prescribes tzitzit. Then come laws concerning marriage, forbidden unions, entry into the congregation, the cleanliness of the camp, the runaway slave who must not be handed back to his master, and the prohibition of lending at interest to one’s brother. The newly married man is exempt from military service for a year. The Torah protects the debtor, forbids taking a millstone as a pledge, requires paying the day laborer his wage on the same day, forbids making children pay for their parents’ sin, and commands leaving the forgotten sheaf for the stranger, the orphan and the widow. Finally come the prohibition of muzzling the ox while it treads the grain, levirate marriage, the requirement of honest weights, and the command to remember what Amalek did.
The Themes
- Returning a lost object
- The dignity of the worker
- Remembering Amalek
Rav Raphaël Benizri’s Lectures on Ki Tetze
There are no lectures by the Rav on this parasha yet. Find all the available lectures on the Weekly Parasha page.
A Question for the Shabbat Table
Of all these commandments, which one seems to us the easiest to forget in everyday life, and why?
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Summary by the Pensées Juives editorial team. The Rav’s teachings are found in his lectures, linked above.