כי תצא

Ki Teitzei begins, “When you go out” to battle. Moses tells the people that even in wartime, they must act carefully and honor God’s rules. If the army captures prisoners and someone wants to marry a captive woman, he cannot treat her like an object. She must be brought into his home, where she removes her captive clothing, trims her hair, and pares her nails. Then she is given a full month to sit and mourn her father and mother. Only after that may he marry her. If later he no longer wants her, he must let her go free. He may not sell her for money or make her a slave.

Moses also speaks about fairness inside the family. If a man has two wives and the older son is from the unloved wife, the father must still recognize that son as the firstborn and give him the double share that belongs to him. Even hard cases are handled with care: if someone is executed, the body must be buried the same day, because leaving it hanging is an affront to God and would harm the land.

Next come laws for everyday life, the kind you might notice on a walk through town. If you see a neighbor’s ox, sheep, donkey, or even a garment that was lost, you must not pretend you didn’t see it. Bring it back, or keep it safe until the owner can claim it. And if you see an animal fallen on the road, you must help lift it up.

Moses adds rules about not mixing certain things: don’t plant a vineyard with two kinds of seed, don’t plow with an ox and a donkey together, and don’t wear cloth made from wool and linen mixed. When building a new house, you must put a ma’akeh, a safety fence, around the flat roof so no one falls.

He also teaches kindness in money matters. Don’t take a millstone as a pledge, because it’s how a family makes food. When you lend something, don’t barge into a home to grab collateral; wait outside, and return a poor person’s cloak by sundown. Workers must be paid the same day, before sunset. And when harvesting grain, olives, or grapes, leave what you miss for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.

Ki Teitzei continues with laws meant to keep family life and courts orderly. If a man divorces his wife and she marries someone else, the first husband may not take her back later, even if the second marriage ends. A newly married man is also given a special year: he is not sent out with the army, so he can stay home and care for his household.

In court, judges must be careful with punishment. If lashes are required, they are counted and may not go beyond forty, so a person is not degraded. The Torah even says not to muzzle an ox while it threshes grain, because the working animal should be allowed to eat.

Business must be honest too: no keeping heavier and lighter weights to trick people. Finally, Moses tells the people to remember Amalek, who attacked Israel from behind when the people were tired and hungry, and not to forget what happened on the journey from Egypt.