WRJ Voices: Ki Teitzi

Our introduction to civil society begins in our toddler days.  “Don’t fight with your siblings,” our parents implored us or there would be consequences. We were taught to share our toys and not to talk to strangers.  Every institution has a set of ethical rules to guide our conduct to guarantee fairness and safety-both physical and moral.

Ki Teitzi, translated as “when you go out,” is the ultimate playbook for ethical living. Citing 74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments, the parashah goes into great detail on how we should conduct our personal and professional lives and even delineates behavior relating to warfare.

The parashah dictates how to compensate workers to ensure that they are paid fairly and in a timely manner, to provide for the hungry and less fortunate, and to respect other’s property. It goes into great detail about family relationships, ensuring stability for the most vulnerable- orphans and widows, i.e. those without a male head of household.

For example, Moses instructs the Israelites, “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow Israelite or a stranger in one of the communities of you land. You must pay out the wages due on the same day, before the sun sets, for the worker is needed and urgently depends on it; else a cry to (Adonai) will be issued against you and you will incur guilt.” (24:14)

This theme of responsibility for vulnerable individuals is further played out when G-D commands the Israelites, “You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the fatherless; you shall not take the widow’s garment in pawn,” reminding them that they were once slaves in Egypt and “therefore I enjoin you to observe this commandment.”

In many cases, punishment or consequence for non-compliance of a commandment is directly stated. However, as witnessed in the above commandant G-D appeals to one’s sense of right, rather than fear of retribution.

I admit that my younger self approached this portion with less reverence. However, my recent reading of Ki Teitzei was imbued with new insight and a greater appreciation of the guidance it provides.

I was gratified to see the roots of the Reform Movement’s positions on social justice in this portion. I am proud of the Women of Reform Judaism’s resolutions and actions on this issue and others. WRJ’s Brit Olam, a covenant “to create a world in which all people experience wholeness, justice, and compassion,” is indeed a realization of the values found in this parashah.

WRJ’s pay equity initiative seeking fairness for women in regards to wage compensation is yet another example of how we can apply lessons from the past into contemporary times.

Last week I visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan, spending most of my time in its special holocaust exhibit. I was particularly struck by the text of the 1935 Nuremburg Laws which stripped Jews of their Germany citizenship and rendered marriage between Jews and non-Jews illegal.

We know that it wasn’t long before those trying to flee Germany met with obstacles. The British basically closed the border of Palestine to Jewish refugees and the United States likewise restricted immigration. At this time, the sentiment ran high that Americans felt their jobs were at risk with immigration.

Tragically, we live in a time when approximately 65.6 million people around the world have been driven from their homes and lands. We see asylum seekers being detained and children torn apart from families at our southern border.

In Ki Teitzei we have a moral guide, now all we have to do is turn to it and embrace it.

Judy Silver Weisberg is a WRJ Board Member and a member of Beit Aviv Congregation Sisterhood in Columbia, MD.