Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Elul, 5784
Parsha Ki Tetze’– “If you go out”: (Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19)
Seventh Portion: Deuteronomy 24:14 – 25:19

Shabbat Shalom! We are moving closer to the fullness of the last full moon of the spiritual year! A lot is coming to light. Are we navigating this with peace, diplomacy and unity? Or are we getting sucked into the chaos around us?

Today’s portion is centered around the theme of dignity. Let’s dig in:

14You shall not withhold the wages of a poor or destitute hired worker, of your brothers or of your strangers who are in your land within your cities.

15You shall give him his wage on his day and not let the sun set over it, for he is poor, and he risks his life for it, so that he should not cry out to the Lord against you, so that there should be sin upon you.

This is a crucial piece for us – even those who work for us – we have a responsibility to make sure they have what they need to live.

16Fathers shall not be put to death because of sons, nor shall sons be put to death because of fathers; each man shall be put to death for his own transgression.

We so quickly want to blame parents when kids do something embarrassing – or worst case – could lead to the death penalty. We should preserve the dignity of parents doing their jobs instead of judging them. I know a lot of parents who are doing the best they can. And they feel guilt and shame when they go out into the community and feel judged or frowned upon. That is cultural, and we need to be encouraging each other.

17You shall not pervert the judgment of a stranger or an orphan, and you shall not take a widow’s garment as security [for a loan].

18You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you from there; therefore, I command you to do this thing.

19When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it; it shall be [left] for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord, your God, will bless you in all that you do.

20When you beat your olive tree, you shall not deglorify it [by picking all its fruit] after you; it shall be [left] for the stranger, the orphan and the widow.

21When you pick the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean after you: it shall be [left] for the stranger, the orphan and the widow.

22You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt: therefore, I command you to do this thing.

The Torah here reminds us of why dignity is important. We were once undignified as slaves in Egypt. We need to provide for those who are struggling. This is crucial for connection!

25:1If there is a quarrel between men, and they approach the tribunal, and they [the judges] judge them, and they acquit the innocent one and condemn the guilty one

2and it shall be, if the guilty one has incurred [the penalty of] lashes, that the judge shall make him lean over and flog him in front of him, commensurate with his crime, in number.

3He shall flog him with forty [lashes]; he shall not exceed, lest he give him a much more severe flogging than these [forty lashes], and your brother will be degraded before your eyes.

Even when giving punishment that is just – we should retain the dignity of those who are judged guilty.

4You shall not muzzle an ox when it is threshing [the grain].

Even the ox should have access to food.

5If brothers reside together, and one of them dies having no son, the dead man’s wife shall not marry an outsider. [Rather,] her husband’s brother shall be intimate with her, making her a wife for himself, thus performing the obligation of a husband’s brother with her.

6And it will be, that the eldest brother [who performs the levirate marriage, if] she [can] bear will succeed in the name of his deceased brother, so that his [the deceased brother’s] name shall not be obliterated from Israel.

7But if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, the brother’s wife shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and say, “My husband’s brother has refused to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel he does not wish to perform the obligation of a husband’s brother with me.”

8Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and he shall stand up and say, “I do not wish to take her.”

9Then his brother’s wife shall approach him before the eyes of the elders and remove his shoe from his foot. And she shall spit before his face and answer [him] and say, “Thus shall be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s household!”

10And that family shall be called in Israel, “The family of the one whose shoe was removed.”

And here? The Torah speaks of the time WHEN dignity is to be discarded. Provision and pro-creation. Marriage.

11If [two] men, a man and his brother, are fighting together, and the wife of one of them approaches to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she stretches forth her hand and grabs hold of his private parts

12you shall cut off her hand You shall not have pity.

And? Grabbing a dude by the balls? Hand gets cut off. Dignity.

13You shall not keep in your pouch two different weights, one large and one small.

14You shall not keep in your house two different ephah measures, one large and one small.

15[Rather,] you shall have a full and honest weight, [and] a full and honest ephah measure, in order that your days will be prolonged on the land which the Lord, your God, gives you.

16For whoever does these things, whoever perpetrates such injustice, is an abomination to the Lord, your God.

Honesty is key. Being true to yourself – is critical. To the point it is a major disconnect from Hashem.

17You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt,

18how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God.

19[Therefore,] it will be, when the Lord your God grants you respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which the Lord, your God, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget!

And we close today’s portion with something that gets included as a prayer everyday. We remember the indignity of Amalek. Where he cut down the weakest of us.

Dignity is important. And when we counted the Omer? We learned the definition of dignity:

The belief we are wanted and needed in this world. And the belief others are wanted and needed in this world.

If someone challenges our belief we are wanted or needed? That is likely a reflection of the death of a part of their soul. And a reflection they don’t believe THEY are wanted or needed in this world.

From the Omer:

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 9 Elul, 5783

Good morning! Shabbat Shalom!

Today’s portion is fascinating because we LITERALLY read about a woman grabbing a dude by the balls.

But really the focus today?  Dignity.  Embarrassment.  The Torah speaks a LOT about keeping people’s dignity.  How often do we struggle with our own emotions, we lash out and work to try and embarrass someone?  I am even reflecting on how we struggle within and our emotions and cause ourselves embarrassment and a loss of dignity.

Today’s portion gives a few examples of naturally losing our cool and causing someone to be embarrassed – and how that’s a problem.

And one example where the Torah SPECIFICALLY calls for someone to be embarrassed.

The one example the Torah gives to CAUSE embarrassment? Erasing someone from Israel.  The story of the two brothers – where one marries, and he dies before a child is born, and the second brother refuses to provide a child to carry on the name – causing the name of the brother to be lost.  THAT is worthy of embarrassment.

And think about it.  You’re a dude. Your brother gets married. He dies before a child is conceived.  And you are called – to marry this woman.  And give her a child.  And she wants this.  To the point she will go the elders and tell them – and he will confirm.

THIS is the reason to embarrass someone.

In our lives – not sure there is a situation the Torah would encourage us to embarrass someone.  So our desire should be to preserve one another’s’ dignity.

Don’t grab someone by the balls in front of a crowd.

As we continue our journey towards the spiritual new year. As we come closer to the full moon and the fullness of this final moon cycle of the year – are we reflecting on the pieces we want to release and let go of? Are we reflecting on what we want to carry with us into the new year?

The idea of dignity is something to reflect on and hopefully brings us comfort.  Hashem wants to preserve our dignity.  And this is freedom. This is liberation.

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 14 Elul, 5782

Shabbat Shalom! It’s the full moon, when the moment of full introspection this month comes into view. May our lives shine as bright as the moon reflecting the sun!

Let’s dig in

Moses starts with paying your workers. Moses tells us regardless of whether they are a Jew, a convert, or an alien within the cities – we must pay them the day it is due. The goal here is not to cause another to cry out to Hashem because of us. The reason for this is that if another person cries out to God against us? Our sin will be upon us quicker.

It’s a good goal to have I think to want to avoid people talking to God negatively about us.

Moses then jumps back to death penalties – and how sons and fathers shouldn’t be put to death based on their testimony against each other. Meaning a son’s testimony shouldn’t result in his father being put to death.

Moses now goes to the convert, the widow and the Orphan;

One of the worst things we could do is perverting Justice of a convert or an orphan. Not take a widow’s garment as security for a loan.

The reason for all of this’ Moses wants us to remember we were once slaves in Egypt. God redeemed us while we were in slavery, gave us the Torah and direction for our true liberation, and this is why we are commanded to do what we are asked. The Torah mitzvahs point us to liberation.

Moses shares farming laws related to the poor. Farmers had a responsibility to leave things back so the poor could eat. We do this because we were once slaves in Egypt.

We now move back to the Justice system. If two men are quarreling and one is guilty and one is innocent – the guilty one gets lashes. 40 lashes; no more because this isn’t about revenge. The Torah tells us that more “your brother will be degraded before your eyes.”

Justice. Not revenge. Not degradation. Guilty men should keep their dignity. This is an important take away for us in the Torah. As we enter the promised land; as we enter liberation, dignity is a strong value in liberation.

Now we move into Levirate marriages. What is a Levirate marriage? We are about to find out:

If brothers live together in the world at the same time, and one dies without having a child, the wife of the deceased brother may not marry outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother must come to her and take her as a wife for himself in Levirate marriage.

Why? Why do this? Because to Hashem it was important. We are told why; “so that his (the first brother who died) name should not be lost from Israel.”

The reason for this is because names are important. Carrying on the name is crucial.

However; if the brother does not want to do this? Let’s just say, his dignity is NOT preserved.

Basically, they go to the elders by the gate. She tells the elders he doesn’t want to do this. He confirms. She takes the shoe from the brother’s foot and then spits on the ground before him. She should say “this is what should be done to the man who will not build his brother’s household.”

It is fascinating – we just got done reading about dignity and the lashes for a guilty man. Yet, a brother being unwilling to provide for his brother’s name? Shoe and spit. And it gets worse. Because the next line tells us:

His name (the brother who refused) in Israel will be called “the household of the one whose shoe was removed.”

Next, we continue today’s theme of dignity.

If two men (brothers) are fighting? If the wife of one comes to rescue her husband from his assailant and she “grabs him by the balls.” (And no. I’m not necessarily paraphrasing there) – the people should decide an appropriate punishment for her, because she caused embarrassment with her hand. We should not have pity. So don’t grab someone by the balls in anger. Just don’t.

One of the final pieces of this Parsha is making sure weights and measures are trustworthy. If anyone who acts dishonestly with weights and measures? The act is an abomination to Hashem.

Finally, we close with a remembrance. It’s one of the six we remember each day. Remember we discussed the remembrance of Miriam? Today it’s Amalek.

It’s an interesting close. We are to remember what Amalek did to us on our journey; how we mistreated us. They did not fear God.

But then, we are told to erase the reminder of Amalek from beneath the skies. We are to remember what Amalek DID but not who he WAS. That’s crucial. And a good lesson for us to close today with.

What are your thoughts?

As every Shabbat, Haftorah thoughts will be in the comments below

Haftorah comments.

Today we read Isaiah 54:1-10 it’s a reread of the Haftorah of Parsha Noah.

In our fifth Haftorot of comfort leading to Rosh Hashanah, the comfort here is connected to God’s promise not to bring another flood that will destroy the world.

Isaiah reminds us that although in exile we were like a barren woman who never gave birth, we can now sing because we are free! We can live our best lives and do the things that help us “come alive” because we are liberated.

One of my favorite lines of the Haftorah is this:

“Do not be ashamed or embarrassed to proudly display your greatness, for fear that you may be exiled again, for you will not be disgraced with another exile.”

Just sit with that. Do not be ashamed of our greatness. We are indeed great. Be great. Don’t be ashamed of that.

What are your thoughts?