"All the Torah learned in the present world
will be vain compared to the Torah of Mashiach." -
Kohelet Rabba 11:12
New Torah Portion - Ki Tetze – When (because)
you will go out…. Perhaps the title of this new parashah contains a hidden
prophetic message. There will come a time when true believers will “go out” from
mainstream manmade religion and the thinking of this world and embrace all of
YHVH’s Torah.
Parashat Ki Teitzei,
contains 74 commandments, more mitzvoth(commandments) than any other Torah
portion. Some of the commandments discussed: the law’s and instructions applicable when taking a second wife; the
law of the rebellious son; the obligation to bury the dead without undue delay;
the requirement to return a found object; the prohibition against causing pain
to any living creature; the prohibition against prostitution; the laws of
marriage and divorce; the procedure of the Levirate marriage; and the
obligation to eradicate the memory of Amalek.
1Jn 2:3 And by this we know that we know Him, if we
guard His commands.1 Footnote: 1See 3:6.
1Jn 2:4 The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not
guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love
of Elohim has been perfected1 in him. By this we know that we are in
Him.2 Footnotes: 1Gen. 17:1, Ps. 119:1, Mt. 5:48. 2See
3:24.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we
guard His commands,1 and His commands are not heavy, Footnote: 1See
5:2, 2 John v. 6, John 14:15.
This does not apply to selected commandments but all the commandments.
Parashat Ki
Teitzei has much to say about love and kindness.
Our
Torah Portion Begins:
Deu 21:10
“When you go out(Ki Teitzei) to fight against your enemies, and יהוה
your Elohim shall give them into your hand, and you shall take them captive,
The Torah plainly tells us that before we can enter the Promised Land, the
enemies of Israel will have to be destroyed and some taken captive.
Deu 21:11 and shall see among the captives a woman fair
of form,(beautiful in shape) and shall delight( become attached) in her and take her for your wife,
Deu 21:12 then you
shall bring her home to your house, and she
shall shave her head and trim (Heb
asah or prepare)her nails,
Deu 21:13 and(she)
put aside(Heb -vehasira) the mantle of her captivity, and shall dwell
in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a month of days. And after that
you shall go in to her, and
be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
husband, and
she shall be your wife – (Heb and you shall possess her)
Note the use of the hyphil Hebrew verb “soor” “to set
aside” the verb is followed by a feminine possessive pronoun indicating that it
was the woman herself that was removing her garments. In the previous verse we
see from the Hebrew that the woman herself shaved her head and prepared her
nails. Perhaps this had something to do with the heathen custom of dying the
nails. All these actions were her choice-to get rid of the heathen ways.
The “captor” would then observe her for 30 days to
determine whether she truly desired to be his and his alone and was willing to
change her ways and become an Israelite.
The thirty days reminds us of the 30 days of the month of
“Elul” where we too will prepare ourselves for our Bridegroom and our Messiah
will observe us to determine whether we truly desire to be his and his alone.
Deu 21:14 “And it
shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go at her
desire, but you do not sell her at all for silver. Do not treat her harshly,
since you have humbled her.
“In these verses we see a beautiful picture of
an Israeli man(Yahshua) finding a “goy”(gentile) wife and taking her as a bride
bringing her into the fold of Israel.” This “Israeli man” fought a battle to be
able to redeem this goy (gentile) from her pagan life and through this “Israeli
man” this “isha” woman, or potential wife was able to be absorbed into the
commonwealth of Israel and become a part of the faith and life of Israel.
Did
not our Messiah once say to a “lost” gentile woman “salvation comes from the
Jews”? (Yoh/John 4:22)
The Unloved Wife – Read the story of Elkanah and his two
wives in the book of 1 Samuel chps 1-2
Deu 21:15 “When(“ki”) a man has two wives, one
loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and the
first-born son is of her who is unloved,
Deu 21:16 then it
shall be, on the day he makes his sons to inherit his possessions, he is not
allowed to treat the son of the beloved wife as first-born in the face of the
son of the unloved, who is truly the first-born.
Deu 21:17 “But he
is to acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the first-born by giving him a
double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength –
the right of the first-born is his.
The issue of Polygyny (a man having more than one wife)
is such an emotive and controversial issue, yet the Torah clearly mentions its
existence and the laws governing such marital relationships.
Many great men of Elohim were polygynists. Our father
Yakov had two wives and two concubines. YHVH never said it was a sin, in fact
the 12 gates of the New Yerushalayim are named after the 12 sons of Yakov –
Rev21:12
Western Christian
civilization and the church has attempted to force monogamy(one man one wife)
on all of society and has greatly succeeded in doing so. Most Christians oppose
polygyny as YHVH’s loving way of restoring wholeness to a people, (providing it
takes place within the structures of the Torah.) Many believers believe that
monogamy is the only biblical option for marriage and that polygyny was
and always will be sinful. This is not consistent with scripture.
Perhaps the true state of any society can be measured by
how woman and other vulnerable people are treated – this includes widows and
orphans and those who are part of both monogamous and polygynous marriages.
This Torah portion (49) commands polygyny in certain
circumstances.
Deu 25:5 “When brothers dwell
together, and one of them has died, and has no son, the widow of the dead man
shall not become a stranger’s outside. Her husband’s brother does go in to her,
and shall take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to
her.
Deu 25:6 “And it shall be that
the first-born son which she bears does rise up for the name of his dead
brother, so that his name is not blotted out of Yisra’ĕl.
Deu 25:7 “But if the man does not
desire to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the
gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name
to his brother in Yisra’ĕl, he does not agree to perform the duty of my
husband’s brother.’
Deu 25:8 “The elders of his city
shall then call him and speak to him, and he shall stand and say, ‘I have no
desire to take her,’
Deu 25:9 then his brother’s wife
shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and remove his sandal from his
foot, and shall spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘Thus it is done to the
man who does not build up his brother’s house.’
Deu 25:10 “And in Yisra’ĕl his
name shall be called, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’
If you are not a Hebrew Torah observant man or don’t
fully wish to be, then you don’t have to bother about this commandment.
The sad reality is that this commandment has very seldom
been obeyed in the history of YHVH’s people.
Jas 2:10 For whoever shall guard all the Torah, and
yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Deu 28:15 “And it shall be, if you do not obey the
voice of יהוה your Elohim,
to guard to do all His commands and
His laws which I command you today, that all
these curses shall come upon you and overtake you:
It is clear that we cannot pick and choose what
commandments we wish to obey. We either obey them all or not at all.
Mat 15:3 But He(Yahshua)
answering, said to them, “Why do you also transgress the command of Elohim1
because of your tradition? Footnote: 1See Mat. 5:20.
The situation concerning widows and fatherless children today
“The
Loomba Foundation released its 274-page-long Global Widows Report 2015, which
provides an overview of the deprivation faced by widows and their children
worldwide, primary causes of widowhood in developed and developing countries,
challenges and proposed practical solutions. The report estimates that the number
of widows in the world has gone up by 9% since 2010, and today there are nearly
258.5 million widows around the world, out of which nearly 100 million live in
poverty and 81 million have had to face some sort of abuse. During 2010-2015,
Middle East & North Africa are estimated to have seen the highest
percentage increase of over 24% in the number of widows. In absolute terms,
India, with its 46.45 million widows, has become the country with the largest
number of widows, displacing China to the #2 spot (44.59 million). Over 38
million, or 14.8%, of widows still live in extreme poverty worldwide where even
their basic needs go unmet, though this number has gone down by 22% since 2010.
The number of children of widows has gone up by 5.7% in the last five years and
today stands at more than half a billion (584.5 million), out of which 1.5
million children die before their fifth birthday.”
What about South Africa?
“According
to UNICEF, there are currently 3.9 million orphans in South Africa. Of these,
approximately 2 million have been orphaned as a direct result of AIDS, and
countless others have been orphaned as an indirect result. Children are the
most vulnerable members of society. Without the support of parents, this orphan
generation is subject to extreme stigma, exploitation, neglect, disease and a
host of other circumstances unseen by any previous generation”
How many Torah observant
men or women have reached out to these kinds of people and have made a long
term difference to any of their lives?
What does YHVH’s Word say? Sadly religious men tamper with His word and
so hinder its full impact.
Jas 1:27 Clean and undefiled religion(Gk -those who ritually clean and undefiled) before the
Elohim and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and
to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Gk word “visit” can also mean to “relieve” this is more
than visiting (“Visit” here is the proactive Greek word episkeptomai: to go to see, look out
for, relieve). The word “religion” is added and does not appear in
the original text.
Note “and to
keep oneself..” “and” is not part of the original text. This implies that those
who take care of widows and orphans are those that keep themselves spiritually
undefiled in this world. The Torah teaches that defiled people were not allowed
to bring offerings or worship to the temple.
Deu 27:19 ‘Cursed is he who twists the right-ruling of
the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’
Mal 3:5 “And I shall draw near to you for
right-ruling. And I shall be a swift witness against the practisers of
witchcraft, and against adulterers, and against them that swear to falsehood,
and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages and widows and the
fatherless, and those who turn away a sojourner and do not fear Me,” said יהוה of hosts.
Note those who oppress widows and orphans are categorized
with those who practice witchcraft and adultery.
Deu 24:19 “When you reap your harvest in your field,
and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. Let it be
for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that יהוה your Elohim
might bless you in all the work of your hands. (The story of Ruth)
Exo 22:22 “Do not afflict any widow or fatherless
child.
Exo 22:23 “If you do afflict them at all – if they cry
out to Me at all, I shall certainly hear their cry,
Exo 22:24 and My wrath shall burn and I shall slay you
with the sword, your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless.
Sadly most believers have all kinds of excuses why they
do not help widows, fatherless children and orphans.
One of the popular excuses is that our responsibility is
first towards the household of YHVH. This is true, however the captive woman
mentioned in this portion is not even an Israelite. This captive woman was
given a choice to become part of Israel. How many widows in the world today
would be eternally grateful if a kind Hebrew man gave them an opportunity to
forsake their pagan ways and to become part of the commonwealth of Israel?
Another excuse many use in the matter of a Levirate
marriage (Deut 25:5-10) is that it is not necessary if there are sons, because
the sons can grow up and take care of their mother. Who then will teach the
sons and prepare them for their future if they no longer have a father?
“A father's responsibilities
to his son are outlined in the Talmud, Kiddushin 29a. According to the text, a
father is obligated to circumcise his son; to redeem him if he is the firstborn;
to teach him Torah; to find him a wife; and to teach him a trade. Talmudic
scholars added that a father must also teach his son to swim.”
What will we say to Yahshua one day when we stand before him to be judged?
2Co 5:10 For we all have to appear before the judgment
seat of Messiah, in order for each one to receive according to what he has done
in the body, whether good or evil.1 Footnote: 1See Mt.
16:27, John 5:29.
Mat 25:34 “Then the Sovereign shall say to those on His
right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you
from the foundation of the world –
Mat 25:35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was
thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
Mat 25:36 was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and
you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Mat 25:37 “Then
the righteous shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we see You hungry
and we fed You, or thirsty and gave You to drink?
Mat 25:38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger and took You
in, or naked and clothed You?
Mat 25:39 ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison,
and we came to You?’
Mat 25:40 “And the Sovereign shall answer and say to
them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did it to one of the least of
these My brothers, you did it to Me.’
Mat 25:41 “He shall then also say to those on the left
hand, ‘Go away from Me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire prepared for
the devil and his messengers –
Mat 25:42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I
was thirsty and you gave Me no drink,
Mat 25:43 ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in,
was naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit
Me.’
Mat 25:44 “Then they also shall answer Him, saying,
‘Master, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick
or in prison, and did not serve You?’
Mat 25:45 “Then He shall answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I
say to you, in so far as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you
did not do it to Me.’
Mat 25:46 “And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”
Was Yahshua only talking about those who were of the household of faith? Are not Israel called to be a blessing to all nations? In Gal 6:10 we see that we should strife to do good to all, but yes it doesn't help to do good to others and your own people in the household of the belief are suffering. We should do especially good to them of the household of the belief but not let it stop there.
Gen 22:18 “And in your seed all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed, because you have
obeyed My voice.”
Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, having foreseen that
Elohim would declare right the nations by belief,(noun) announced the Good News
to Aḇraham beforehand,
saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you,”
How many of us will be
able to stand before Yahshua one day and declare that we are worthy to be part
of the bride of Messiah and that we have done all that was expected of us, that
we were obedient and generous and that we took care of widows and orphans and
that we have not failed in our financial obligations towards YHVH and to those
in need?
You say but there is
no condemnation for those who are in Messiah. This is true. However there are
serious consequences for our ongoing disobedience.
Yahshua came to redeem
us from the curse of the Torah. He did not redeem us from continual and
persistent unrepentant rebellion against His Word. (Mat 7:23)
I am not pointing my finger at anyone because I myself stand guilty
before YHVH.
If any of us make it,
it’s a miracle because it never was or ever will be acceptable to YHVH to
disobey any of His commandments.
Mark 10:26 …….“Who then is able to be saved?”
Mar 10:27 And looking at them, יהושע said, “With
men it is impossible, but not with Elohim, for
with Elohim all is possible.”
with Elohim all is possible.”
The good news is that YHVH will prepare the bride of
Messiah before the Messiah returns – see Is/Yesh 4 and Jer/Yer 31:22
Rebellious son:
Deu 21:18 “When a man
has a wayward and rebellious son who is not listening to the voice of his
father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have disciplined him, does not listen to them,
Deu 21:19 then his
father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of
his city, to the gate of his city,
Deu 21:20 and
shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is wayward and
rebellious. He is not listening to our voice, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’
Deu 21:21 “Then
all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. Thus you shall
purge the evil from your midst. And let all Yisra’ĕl hear, and fear.
Respect for the cursed man executed on a tree:
Deu 21:22 “And
when a man has committed a sin worthy of death, then he shall be put to death
and you shall hang him on a tree.
Deu 21:23 “Let his
body not remain overnight on the tree, for you shall certainly bury him the
same day – for he who is hanged is
accursed of Elohim – so that you do not defile the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an
inheritance.
Gal 3:13 Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the
Torah, having become a curse for us – for it has been written, “Cursed is
everyone who hangs upon a tree.”1 – Footnote: 1Dt. 21:23.
Gal 3:14 in order that the blessing of Aḇraham might come upon
the nations in Messiah יהושע, to receive
the promise of the Spirit through belief(the faith).
Showing kindness – The heart of the Torah:
Deu 22:1 “When you see your brother’s ox or his sheep
going straying away, you shall not hide yourself from them. Return them to your
brother without fail.
Deu 22:2 “And if your brother is not near you, or if
you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall be
with you until your brother seeks it, then you shall return it to him.
Deu 22:3 “And so you do with his donkey, and so you do
with his garment, and so you do with whatever your brother loses, which he has
lost and you have found. You are not allowed to hide yourself.
Deu 22:4 “When you see your brother’s donkey or his ox
fall down on the way, you shall not hide yourself from them. Help him raise
them without fail.
Deu 22:5 “A woman does not wear that which pertains to
a man, nor does a man put on a woman’s garment, for whoever does this is an abomination
to יהוה your Elohim.
Deu 22:6 “When you
come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young
ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take
the mother with the young –
Deu 22:7 let the
mother go without fail, and take the young for yourself, so that it might be
well with you, and that you shall prolong your days.