PunkTorah

Independent Jewish Spirituality Online

  • Convert to Judaism
  • Online Rabbinical Program
  • Donate

Ki Teitzei: People Places and Things (Deut 21:10 – 25:19)

August 14, 2013 by Jeremiah

draft_lens2792072module69297071photo_1258520477online-shape-collage

If you like doing the right thing Ki Teitzei is for you. In fact this week’s portion contains something like seventy different mitzvahs laid out across five chapters. Ki Teitzei reminds us of the importance of environmental conservation, living compassionately with animals, and leaving excess for the poor.

Living in balance with our environment is extremely important because Hashem emanates this creation to sustain our lives. Without food and water our body would shrink and wither, without oxygen our lungs could not enrich our blood as our hearts pumps life to our most basic cells. If we as individuals compromising a whole abuse the air, land, and water around us we can only expect a life of sickness and despair.

Ki Teitzei is a reminder, it reminds us that there is more involved in taking care of this world than just keeping water clean and the soil toxins free. Compassion to animals is stressed in this week’s portion because animals play a critical and complex role in this world. They provide companionship, they can aid in farming, and they contribute to the bio-diversity that makes this wonderful world tick. If we are unable to show compassion to over living, breathing, and feeling species how can we ever show compassion to other humans or even to ourselves? The answer is we can’t.

Environmental exploitation and cruelty towards animals are not the only things Ki Teitzei prohibits, not providing a level of subsistence living for our poor is prohibited. We all worry about health care, housing, etc. . . but everyone regardless of age, race, gender, tax bracket are entitled to knowing they are responsible for bettering their life and their families life without the fear of living cold, hungry, stigmatized, and more diseased than your neighbor.

We as Jews and as human beings are not just responsible for “getting ours” we are responsible for living a conscience life that does not lessen the quality of life for our neighbors.

Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, ki teitzei, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parshah Ki Teitzei

August 23, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier


More commandments in this Torah portion than any other. So this will be like a dvar on a dvar.

How do we make these commandments work in daily life? Two ways: taking the past and make yourself an extension of it. Saying to yourself, “this is the way it was back then, and so this is how we do it now”. This is Orthodoxy. The other way is to make your values the same as the Hebrews, making the Hebrews feminist, vegan-anarchists or whatever you may be.

Here’s the problem: we live in a different world than the Hebrews. Our values, and their values are completely different. And it’s important to recognize and celebrate those differences. Sometimes they were right, and sometimes our modern values are superior to theirs.

Bottom line: be yourself. And by the way, if you read this week’s Torah portion literally, don’t take any “beautiful captives”. They call that “abduction” and “human trafficking” now.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehDHZtdHfnM

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Podcasts & Videos, Your Questions Answered Tagged With: bible, captives, Counterculture, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, ki teitzei, mitzvah, orthodox, parshah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, Punk, punktorah, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, reform, Religion, Torah

PunkTorah Inc.
PO Box 1641
Midlothian, VA 23113

questions@punktorah.org
YouTube
Facebook

Read our DMCA notice

Search the PunkTorah Blog Archive

What We Do

Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary: Online Rabbinical Program

Now Hiring: Rabbis, Educators & Creatives

Become a Jewish Spiritual Leader

  • Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud)
  • Judaism & Belief
  • The G-d Project Videos
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • NewKosher (Recipes)
  • Converting To Judaism
  • LGBTQ & Women
  • Shabbat & Holidays

Copyright PunkTorah Inc.© 2023