Ki Tetze | כי תצא | "When you go forth "
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Ki Tetze | כי תצא | "When you go forth "
Ki Tetze | כי תצא | "When you go forth "
The Torah portion for this week is from Deutoronomy 21:10 - 25:19. The title is Ki Tetze and it means “When you go out” it comes from the first Verse of this portion Deutoronomy 21:10 10 “When you go out for battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them into your hand, and you lead the captives away,”.
This portion of the Torah has a large number of various laws about how to treat others. It includes laws on how to treat both ones brothers and strangers. When one is first introduced to these laws it can seem intimidating and hard to understand under the perspective of our western society understanding. Several of the laws also give instructions for punishment with them going so far as to end the life of the offender.
When one reads this portion they will also see the consequences of one lying about specific qualities of their person before they get married. There is details about how to clean ones self, how to clean the camp, and how to tend ones fields.
To those who do not know the father, who do not want to keep his commandments, and who are not seeking the forgiveness of SIN through the blood of Yeshua, this seems over whelming and oppresive. This is part of what is hard for people to overcome with the idea of keeping Torah. This is why it is important for us to first trust then understand.
As parents we encounter this a lot. We instruct our children to do something or to stay away from something and they do not understand why. Sometimes we as parents also cannot explain it but we know that it is important. What do we expect of our children during those instances? We expect them to obey and gain understanding later. So it is too with many of these commandments. All of us would love to have an understanding of everything everywhere, so that we would know exactly what we need to do and how we should act. Kind of like how we would love to have everything we would ever need in our life and to not have to ask for anything again. Just as the father would have us come to him over and over for our physical or sundry provisions so to would he have us come to him for wisdom and instructions on how to live with our brothers and others. This seems to be a reoccuring theme. Our heavenly father wants to spend time with us.
So as we read a few of these verses and look at what they mean, it is ok if at first we do not fully understand them or we do not really comprehend why they existed. It is important that we trust they are for good and that we treat them as the Holy scriptures that they are.
Starting in Deutoronomy 21:10 we immidiately get an example of this type of law that is startling, in how we are to treat the lowest of strangers the captive.
10 “When you go out to fight against your enemies, and יהוה your Elohim shall give them into your hand, and you shall take them captive,
11 and shall see among the captives a woman fair of form, and shall delight in her and take her for your wife,
12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails,
13 and put aside the mantle of her captivity, and shall dwell in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a month of days.
So we get this situation where the soldier is off at war. In the process he has captured this female who he is attracted too and he would like to have. Wow this is immidiately sending up all sorts of alarms. First this is a people that he was at war with, now he wants to marry one of them?!? This has all the hallmarks of a happy relationship does it not? No ofcourse not. Only in poetry and fictions does this type of thing work out. In reality she may never find one of the butchers of her people as an acceptable mate. YA is all knowing and understanding and he knows some of us are just stubborn and we all typically think “We are the ones that shall be different, We are the ones this will work out for.”
Some people teach the purpose of this is to help the soldier that has had the captive have time to think about this person. They teach the purpose of shaving her hair and letting her mourn is to remove any of the marks of beauty he may have been attracted too in the first place so that he can see this was lust not love. Even with that though we see several instances of how compassionate YA is in this text.
Even with that though we see several instances of how compassionate YA is in this text. First he immidiately treats the captive as a person not an object. In the gentile and pagan armies espically at this time rape, slavery and distruction of the individual was common place. When the hordes would arrive it was a true terror to the people they came across. YA will not have this amoung his army. Even the captive is awknowledge as a person that he has made and not an object.
First he immidiately treats the captive as a person not an object. In the gentile and pagan armies espically at this time rape, slavery and distruction of the individual was common place. When the hordes would arrive it was a true terror to the people they came across. YA will not have this amoung his army. Even the captive is awknowledge as a person that he has made and not an object.
Second he reminds us of what the intention is, marriage. This interaction is not to satisfy the soldiers lust it is to lead to an appropriate relationship that is marriage. At that time she will share in all he has as his wife.
Third he acknowledges she just lost her people and family. I do not think it is that much of a leap to say she might not be in the marrying state of mind.
Forth if the soldier comes to his senses and realizes this is not the about love then he can let her go. She is released at her own desire and not to be sold.
Even as we read this it becomes obvious of how this is very kind and not a heavy burden. We can also see how this brings both the soldier and the captive to a right relationship with each other, the society around them, and most importantly with YWYH.
Next let us look at how one should treat his brother. We see two similar examples of these laws that may be hard to undestand. in .
10 “When you lend your brother a loan, do not go into his house to get his pledge.
11 “Stand outside, and let the man to whom you lend bring the pledge out to you.
12 “And if the man is poor, do not sleep with his pledge.
13 “By all means return the pledge to him at sundown, and he shall sleep in his own garment, and shall bless you. And it shall be righteousness to you before יהוה your Elohim.
14 “Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers or of the strangers who is in your land within your gates.
15 “Give him his wages on the same day, and do not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and lifts up his being to it, so that he does not cry out against you to יהוה, and it shall be sin in you.
So in the first part we have a person who owes another person money. He has this pledge that usually is a type of blanket or garment for sleeping in. The lender is to let him use it at night and what is more he is not to go in to the mans home to retrieve but let him bring it to him. Why? What do thse 2 things do? Well we can speculate on a few things that are obvious.
First, this is something that can be forgotten especially in our society, it preserves the dignity or honor of the borrower who owes the money to the lender. Imagine what it would be like for the lender to go in to the home of the burrower and just take the pledge in front of his family and any guests he may have.
Second he is a fellow country man they might fight next to each other in battle or work together for the temple or live next to each other for generations. How encouraging is this kindness? This lays miles of road to a good relationship.
Third and most importantly how happy does this make the father? He sees his children working together treating each other justly and gently.
We also have the example of one who has earned wages. He did not burrow money but he is owed money. Notice it does not matter if he is a brother or stranger he is to be treated fairly. If he has compeleted the agreed upon work he is to be paid for it. This seems simple, yet we need this level of guidance. We are to take in to account that he is in need and the money is needed for that day.
Lastly we have some scriptures that can eb very hard to understand. The last 3 verses of the portion. .
17 “Remember what Amalěq did to you on the way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim,
18 how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired and weary. And he did not fear Elohim.
19 “Therefore it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you blot out the remembrance of Amalěq from under the heavens. Do not forget!
To be clear when Israel was wandering the desert Amaleq attacked them from behind. Why is this significant. The strong and most able generally where at teh front of the procession as they could clear the paths and scout for ambushes. As well the weak and weary and tired would lag behind naturally as they had a hard time keeping pace. That is who Amaleq targeted, the civilians, the elderly, the children, and the sick. So in other words the most vulnerable.
Why the warning not to forget? I thought we where to forgive. We do forgive that does not mean we ar enot cautious. As well they did not want forgiveness. They would return to cause more trouble for Israel. They did not want to be at peace with Israel they wanted them dead. Remember who actually goes in to the promised land. was it any one wandering the desert? Only Joshua and Caleb and the children of Israel go in to the Promised Land the generation that experianced this terror died in the desert.
Only YA can know what a people will do. When he calls us to act we must trust him. As one reads they find that YA was of course right. Amaleq would continue to be a problem for Israel. He did know what is right.
As we read the scriptures and encounter these laws that can seem harsh or hard to understand we must trust that YA knows best. We must take these seriously. If we are the pilot of the ship that is our life then YWYH is like the man in the crows nest at the top of the mast. He can see much farther than we can and we must trust to change the direction of the ship at his command.