Parashat Ki Teitzei

August 20, 2021
12 Elul 5781
Parashat Ki Teitzei
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

Dear Friends, 

We are in the middle of the month of Elul. Every morning the shofar is sounded, except Shabbat. It reminds us once more that the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, are coming. And I am simply not ready. Are you?

And somehow for me, this week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitze, Deuteronomy 21:10 -25:19, is right where I am, a little unfocused, with so much demanding my attention. There is so much information being imparted that I do not know where to look first, nor do I know what is most important for me to catch, to know, to understand. There are more than seventy laws put forth.

But as I look more closely, and take a deep breath, a pattern begins to emerge. Thre is a sense of a way forward. It is not perfect by any means. There is little in life that ever is. However, like us, Moses is trying to provide a way forward, even as the future is part of the great unknown. Nothing is like it ever was before. What will guide the people and provide a way forward that has both structure and meaning?

There are laws about slavery in this portion that presume that slavery exists. The acceptance of the existence of slavery makes us uncomfortable. However, the laws surrounding the runaway slave are quite progressive for that time and place. Runaway slaves are not be returned to the place from which they ran. Neither are they to be enslaved by an Israelite who finds them. They are warned that there will be consequences. They are to go where they wish. They are to be given safe harbor.

In light of recent events, the potency of the notion of safe harbor brings forth the picture we have seen over and over again in this century and the last. We have seen and continue to see people struggling to be free, not necessarily because they are enslaved, but because they are being oppressed or fear oppression and its most dire consequences.

Our tradition puts us on the road to fight oppression and find safe harbors for those who are fleeing. For me, this is personal, as my extended family sought safe harbor over eighty years ago. Some were able to find it, while others were not so lucky.

The radical message of Deuteronomy is there for all of us to see. The way we treat one another matters, whether in business, in our family, the way we build our homes, plant our gardens, treat our parents, or care for the weak among us. Most potently right now, we are reminded of the importance of providing a safe haven for the indivdiual on the run. Some of the examples in this Torah portion may strike us as extreme in today’s world. They are a starting point from which to act with an understanding that each and every one of us is made in the image of the Divine. When I remember that, perhaps I am bit more prepared for the Days of Awe than I had imagined.

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn