It is said that we should read the Torah trying to find some kind of connection with our daily lives, so that it becomes relevant and present in our lives every day. Strangely, it’s usually not hard to find that connection with our current lives. How does the Torah manage to do this?
Ki Tetze is the name of the section we read this week, and it begins like this:
"When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive. And you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire her, you may take her as your wife. But you must bring her to your home; she must shave her head and let her nails grow. She must remove the captive's garment from her, and she will stay in your house and mourn her father and mother for a month. After that, you may be intimate with her and marry her, and she shall be your wife. But if you no longer delight in her, you shall set her free; you may not sell her for money or trade her, for you have humiliated her." [Deuteronomy 21:10]
The Torah directly addresses those moments when human beings might lose control and fail to manage their impulses. It mixes the heat of battle, where the victor feels above the rest, and speaks straight to our hearts, reminding us that it is not us but the Lord who led us to victory.
There is a vast difference between this concept and fighting a battle in the name of a God. Our tradition has never spoken of a Holy War. It speaks of wars in which the Lord can be an inspiration or a guide.
Another point is that of the captives. The verses I shared challenge us, not just when the victory of battle can cause us to lose our sense of place in front of the defeated, but especially when faced with a woman who stirs our passions. The text is clear: control must be absolute, even in moments of emotional overflow.
I cannot help but feel disgust, revulsion, and hatred towards what had nothing to do with war or battle and ended in the rape, humiliation, and murder of innocents, the massacre of babies and the elderly.
It seems much of the world forgets this when they judge the State of Israel and the IDF.
Although literally, this verse speaks to us as individuals, expressed in the singular, for the past 343 days, it has included all of us. Because it is still October 7 in this third calendar that has accompanied us since the last Simchat Torah. Because this year, in particular, I feel we are all going out to fight a battle every day. Our brothers, the members of Tzahal (IDF), and their families in Medinat Israel do it for themselves and for us because they are fighting for the defense and very existence of our national home.
We, in communities outside of Israel, fight against that old, dormant virus that has re-emerged virulently: antisemitism in its various forms.
In this world that presents itself as dangerous and unjust, we are clearer than ever about who our enemies are and who we are.
The question is whether we will be able to incorporate the precepts emanating from Parashat Ki Tetze to make our surroundings a safe, just, empathetic, and supportive place amid the heat of the daily battles we face. Whether we can control our passions and strive to be just with those who attack us while also preserving ourselves.
May we soon add a new expression to our texts: Ki Tajzor - when you return.
It is imperative that the 101 hostages held by Hamas return to their families.
Because it is essential that the young soldiers, our boys and girls in uniform, spend Shabbats with their families and not on the frontlines.
The responses to pain, suffering, cruelty, and injustice are easy to read, but these are times when we must turn the written word into action.
May we find within ourselves, during this period of introspection as marked by our sources, and as we reach the midpoint of the month of Elul, the strength necessary to face the tremendous challenges surrounding us and the threats looming over Jews worldwide, once again.
May we, from our own bewilderment, anguish, and pain, continue each day, accompanying those who suffer the most and learning to give and accept comfort.
In this way, we can fulfill the command that arises from the Parasha: “and your camp shall be holy...” (Deuteronomy 23:15) preserving, even in moments of greatest anguish, anger, and pain, that which has kept us elevated as the People of Israel. Am Yisrael Chai!
May we have Shabbat Shalom and a sincere and complete teshuva.
Rabbi Gustavo Geier