Parashat Teitzei

September 9, 2022
13 Elul 5782
PARASHAT KI TEITZEI
Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19

We are about to welcome a New Year -- a time of reflection and a time to look back and simultaneously a time to propel ourselves forward as we begin again.

We are in Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19, Parshat Ki Teitzei, meaning “when you go out”. It is a Torah portion filled with specifics on how we are to behave in the world -- in particular, how we are to behave in regard to others. We are given guidelines and laws on how to live in community. There are possibly more laws in this portion than any other. Given where we are today as a society, we may not resonate with all of them or find them useful. Yet, when they are seen together, they give us a sense of the importance of community life and a sense of responsibility to one another.

In examining this portion from a different vantage point, there is an element that speaks to the times in which we live -- a phrase that pops out at us, living as we do when people are so deeply divided. 

“You shall not abhor an Edomite, for such is your kin.
You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in that land”. (Deut. 23:8)

Are we being told not to hate our neighbors who are unlike us and who in the past may even have hurt us? In its way, this phrase is an affirmation that, although human beings come in all shapes, sizes and hues, we are indeed all created in the image of the Divine with the Divine spark embedded somewhere within us. This thought is not always the easiest one to contend with when there is so much discord and animus in the world. We are taught to answer hate with hate and to forget that there is a spark of divinity in each of us.

I regularly turn to the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King at this time of year: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” Please understand that this statement is not a plea to forgive the evil that is in the world; rather, it is a plea to shed light in as many ways as we can. Good parenting guides tell us that when a child misbehaves, we are to criticize the action but not tell the child that they are bad or evil. Let us combat the evil in the world with the tools at our disposal, bringing light and hope into the darkness.

May we recognize the suffering of others and take whatever steps we can to ease that suffering. Please know that the task before us is not simple or easy. It is far easier to be angry and dismayed and feel powerless. Even as we acknowledge the evil that is in the world, may we come together and combat it. 

 Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn