Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 - Isaiah 54:1-10 - John 21:1-25

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Shabbat Ki Tetze'
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Ki Tetze'

1. What is the purpose of all the seemingly unrelated mitzvot in Parashat Ki Tetze'?

Joshua Brumbach

At the outset, this week's Torah portion, Ki Tetze', seems to be just a condensed list of random instructions. It also seems to leave out familiar content found in most of the other portions in the Torah. Ki Tetze' lacks the familiar phrases of God instructing Moses to speak to the people of Israel.  Additionally, it never mentions Moses or his brother Aaron. Another peculiarity is that most of the Torah portions contain stories that bring together the different commandments, giving the portion a sense of continuity. However, Ki Tetze' seems to be a spattering of a bunch of different mitzvot, without any kind of intertwined story. There seems to be a complete lack of any apparent order or theme.

In order to understand the purpose of Ki Tetze', one has to look at the entirety of mitzvot listed in the parasha. When one examines the different commandments on a deeper level, the mitzvot begin to exemplify a common thread that intertwines each of the commandments with one another. This common unifying thread is relationships and forbidden unions. When one understands this theme, the portion begins to take on new meaning. What is the purpose of these seemingly unrelated mitzvot? The purpose is to instruct us in the proper and improper way to conduct ourselves with others, and in illustrating and giving us reminders of these instructions.

The remainder of the portion continues with instructions regarding relationships and who can and cannot enter into the assembly of Israel. These commandments are meant to keep God's relationship with the community of Israel pure. Ki Tetze' also deals with the mitzvot concerning those who have violated the instructions regarding relationships (punishments), or to clarify what to do to end a phase of a relationship, as exemplified by the laws concerning the giving of a get, a document of divorce (24:1-4).

The point of Ki Tetze' is relationships and specifically how to conduct ourselves in relation to one another. This is the essence of holiness. For God takes this matter seriously. The Torah repeatedly instructs us on our relationships - both with God and with others. When Yeshua, our righteous Messiah, was asked to simplify all the mitzvot in the Torah, he summed it up by saying:

Shema Yisrael HaShem Elohenu, HaShem Echad - Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one. And you are to love the LORD your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your might. The second is this, Ve'ahavta lera‘ekha kamokha - you must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other mitzva greater than these.

Mark 12: 28-31

Yeshua clarified the importance of our relationships and that there is nothing greater than our relationship with God and with one another.  May we, with God's help, merit that level of unity with each other and with our Creator. Barchenu Avinu, kulanu ke'echad - Bless us, our Father, all of us as one.

2. What is the mitzva (commandment) of shiluach haqqen ("the release of the nest"; Deuteronomy 22:6-7)?  What moral wisdom and spiritual truths does this commandment convey to us?  In keeping with the spirit of the mitzva of shiluach haqqen, what are some practical ways that we can avoid tza‘ar ba‘ale chayyim ("pain caused to animals")?

Rabbi Jason Sobel

The mitzva of shiluach haqqen is comprised of two components: the positive commandment of chasing away or freeing the mother bird (Deuteronomy 22:7) and the negative prohibition of not taking the mother with her baby birds or eggs (Deuteronomy 22:6).

One moral lesson that this mitzva is trying to underscore is the principal of avoiding tza‘ar ba‘alei chayyim which means "causing suffering to animals." The Rambam (Maimonides) holds that the primary reason for this mitzva is to prevent the mother bird the pain and distress of seeing her babies killed (Moreh Nevuchim). The importance of cultivating this trait is underscored by Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous person cares for the needs of their animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." We cannot say we love our Creator or expect God to show us kindness if we abuse his creation. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel reminds us, "Worship without compassion is worse then self-deception; it is an abomination."

In keeping with the spirit of the mitzva of shiluach haqqen, what are some practical ways that we can avoid tza‘ar ba‘alei chayyim?  Here are few suggestions, 1) purchase products that do not experiment on animals; 2) limit the number of leather products that you buy; 3) adopt a pet from a local animal shelter; 4) volunteer time or give money to animal welfare organizations; 4) eat less meat; 5) avoid hunting for sport.

A second reason for this mitzva is that it tangibly demonstrates the importance of kindness and compassion. Ramban (Nachmanides) offers this explanation as the primary reason for this mitzvah when he writes,  

This also is an explanatory commandment, of the prohibition "you will not kill it (the mother) and its young both in one day" (Leviticus 22:28), because the reason for both (commandments) is that we should not have a cruel heart and be discompassionate . . . But it is more correct (to explain them as a prohibition) to prevent us from acting cruelly.

Ramban teaches that the primary purpose of this mitzva is not to teach us kindness toward animals but to make us more compassionate individuals.  Both are ultimately connected, however, for how we treat one reflects how we will treat the other.  

As we approach Rosh Hashana, the birthday of the world according to Jewish tradition, we must not only take account of how we have treated the people around us, but also how we have treated all of God's creation. 

Joshua Brumbach

John 21:1-25 - A Call to Action

For many, the idea of resurrection is a powerful "theme". It signifies a new stage of existence. It seems that much of the psychological draw to resurrection is that one who is resurrected holds on to his/her personality and body. It's not some vague transfer of soul into a new body/form with little-to-no memory of its origin. For the author of Luke, resurrection is not merely, a "theme". Resurrection is a reality that seems too good, and maybe even too frightening, to be true. It is not just a theological refutation of gnosticism that would compel the author of Luke to tell us of Yeshua's hand's, feet, and hunger.

Often missing in discussions of resurrection is the mentioning that one who is resurrected does not necessarily become the 2009/hybrid version of the 1992/Topaz one may be in this life. Now, most of us have not seen a resurrected person, but we have our models in the Berit Chadasha. Though cognitively aware of the distinctions between resurrection, transfiguration, and ascension, many people lump the respective images all into one. The truth is, there's a big distinction between resurrection and glorification.

In this week's besora portion, Yeshua asks the disciples to recognize that he has been resurrected by looking at his hands and feet. He says, "Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:39, NIV). To top it all off, he asks for food to eat. He shows them that he is hungry. It is his physical reality, and maintenance of that reality, that is the miracle focused on here. Interestingly enough, this miracle is not reserved only for Yeshua himself.

The Tanakh (as understood by our tradition) speaks of a corporate resurrection. This hope was not foreign to Yeshua's disciples. Furthermore, not all who are resurrected are destined for ascension, and the example of Eleazar shows us this. Yeshua, as the "One-Man Israel", points to the reality of resurrection for us, especially in his declaration of what his destiny is in Luke 24:46-49. What happens to him must corporately happen to us, as well. In the midst of such a profound miracle we are also taught something very profound, though quite subtly.

We who commit to God cannot escape our bodies. It is the return of our hands and feet that make resurrection REAL. It is the evidence of our hunger that will make it REAL. The REAL-ness of the resurrection places tremendous responsibility in our hands. In light of this week's portion, the following questions are worth consideration as we approach the month of Elul:

What are we building with our hands that will make them recognizable when our bodies return?

What paths are we choosing, and how will our experiences from those paths not only identify the feet we have, but the roads themselves?

When we become hungry, will we have learned from our time in this life how to be thankful for the sustenance we receive, and how to keep our appetites from controlling our lives?

What we do on this side of olam haba ("the coming world") will not be forgotten, not only because of our impact on the world and future generations, but because our very selves will return to face the reality of the permanence of creation.

NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT KI TAVO