Parsha Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)
By Barrett Holman Leak
SAN DIEGO — Today, as we gather to study the weekly portion, we turn to Parsha Ki Teitzei. The name itself is a call to action. Ki Teitzei, literally translated, means “When you go out.” But what does it mean to “go out”? It is about who we are when we move in the world. This parsha, found in the Book of Deuteronomy, is a collection of an astonishing 74 commandments on many things ranging from sexuality and family relationships to ethics and what kinds of things you should not mix together. The focus on ethics is at the heart, with the expectation that when we go out, we are on a journey. This is all taking place in the context of finding our way back home, both physically and spiritually.
This Parsha is delivered by Moses to the Israelites just before they are to enter the Land of Israel. They are on the threshold of a new era, a time of building a nation, and a time of potential conflict. Moses knows that the ultimate test is not just victory in battle, but the kind of society they will create once the fighting is over. The very first line, “When you go out to battle against your enemies,” sets the stage. Moses reminds them that even in the chaos of war, G-d’s laws apply. The battlefield is not an ethical vacuum. The Torah commands us to maintain our humanity and our sense of justice even when confronted with the darkest parts of human nature or the most heated arguments. Even when you fight your enemy, you must do the right thing.
We are currently living through a period of immense strife, from the ongoing Israel-Hamas War to the rise of violent antisemitism in America to the White supremacist acts of erasing African American history and culture and economically attacking Black Americans. The Israel-Hamas War, in particular, has forced us to confront the ethical dimensions of conflict. In the face of tragedy and a desperate fight for survival, how do we ensure that we do not lose sight of our core values? Ki Teitzei tells us that the answer lies in every small act of justice and compassion, whether it is the ethical treatment of a captive or the simple act of returning a lost item. The Torah teaches us that the path to peace is paved with righteous actions, not only military might.
Maimonides, or the Rambam saw these laws as a practical guide for every aspect of daily life, from economics to family relations. He emphasized that social justice is not an abstract ideal, but a tangible reality built through meticulous adherence to G-d’s commandments. His commentary challenges us to see the fight for justice not just in grand gestures, but in the mundane details of how we treat our neighbors, strangers and the most vulnerable in our society.
This notion is powerfully relevant to another pressing issue in our time: the fight against anti-Black racism and the White erasure of Black history in America. The Torah commands us, “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of your sojourners who is in your land within your gates.” The parsha returns to this theme repeatedly, calling for the protection of the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. Why? Because we were once strangers. We were once enslaved in Egypt just like Africans in America. The Torah insists that our collective history of oppression must make us more, not less, compassionate to others.
This is a powerful response to attempts to erase history, especially the painful history of others. The Torah’s insistence on remembering our own history, our experience of slavery in Egypt is a model for why we must fight for the right of Black Americans to remember, preserve their history, to tell their stories, and to have their ongoing struggles acknowledged. What if the contents of the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC were being removed and its director under attack? We would see it as an unjust attempt to erase our history. It is through this act of remembering who we are as we go out into the world each day, that we cultivate the empathy needed to combat injustice in our own time.
The theme of “Ki Teitzei,” of going out, also implies a spiritual journey. The great Chassidic master, the Baal Shem Tov, taught that G-d is everywhere, and we are commanded to find and serve Him not just in the sanctuary, but in “the field,” in every place we “go out.” This includes the places of our greatest struggles and darkest moments.
This teaching offers us a path to resilience in the face of rising antisemitism, which has grown to an alarming level. When we feel like the world is hostile, like our very identity is under attack, the Baal Shem Tov reminds us that our purpose is not to retreat, but to find G-d precisely in that difficult space. The Torah, in the very last verse of our portion, commands us to “remember what Amalek did to you.” We are told not to forget. But remembering our enemies is not about holding on to hate. It is about understanding the nature of evil so we can combat it, and in doing so, strengthen our own resolve and connection to G-d.
Resilience is not simply enduring; it is transforming our struggles into sources of strength and bouncing back. Just as the people, after “going out” from Egypt, received the Torah and were commanded to build a just society, we, too, can transform our current challenges into an opportunity to educate ourselves, learn to defend ourselves and take care of ourselves so we can build a more resilient, more compassionate community.
The laws in Ki Teitzei are not just ancient rules. They are a timeless blueprint for a society that values justice, compassion, and the dignity of every individual, even in the most difficult of circumstances. “When you go out,” you see, you must always be ready to find your way back to what is right, to what is just, and to the eternal values that make us a people. This applies to your relationships, your actions and your words. “When you go out,” what you say and what you do is heard and seen. Even when you think you are not being heard or seen. Think about it.
May we be blessed with the resilience and clarity to do the right thing as we move in the world because we are called to repair the world by building a world that is not just free from war, but filled with peace, justice, and the values prescribed to us by G-d.
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Barrett Holman Leak is a San Diego-based freelance writer.