Additional thoughts on Parashat Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy
21:10–25:19)
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week’s parashah contains a large number (74
according to the tradition, the most of any parashah) of seemingly unrelated
mitzvot. These include: restraints on a warrior who captures a woman in battle;
inheritance rights; the rebellious son; returning lost objects; safety measures
at home; not mixing species in the field or in the yoke; punishments for rape
and adultery, and false accusations thereof; rules of marriage and divorce; caring
for work animals; feeding and paying human workers; prohibiting mistreatment of
debtors; and, honest weights and measures.
The parashah then concludes with these verses:
“For whoever does these things, whoever perpetrates
such injustice, is an abomination to the Lord, your God. (emphasis mine) You
shall remember what Amalekites did to you on the way, when you went out of
Egypt, how they happened upon you on the way and cut off all the defenseless
who were (left) behind, when you were faint and weary, and the Amalekites did
not fear God. [Therefore,] it will be, when the Lord your God grants you
respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which the Lord, your
God, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall blot out the
memory of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget!” (Deuteronomy 25:16-19)
Our tradition refers to Amalek as the eternal enemy of
the Jewish people (Haman, Hitler, and their followers), that seeks to destroy
us out of baseless hatred for us as the perpetual outsiders. Additionally, the Jewish people
are sometimes described as canaries in the mine – how a society treats Jews is
indicative of how it treats Others, outsiders, as well.
So it’s no wonder that I see from these verses that
Amalek is an abomination that is equally the enemy of common decency and
civilized behavior. Any society that mistreats, cheats, or exploits the
marginalized and defenseless outsiders – women, children, poor people, aliens,
innocents, and animals – whether de facto, de jure, or structurally – is a
society of Amalek. Such a society cannot long survive, and brings its own doom
upon itself.
The Day of the Sounding of the Shofar is approaching. The
Days of Awe are approaching. The Day of Atonement is approaching. Remember. Don’t
forget.
Shabbat Shalom.
Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
TBH/CBM
Sherman Oaks, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
