Parashat Ki Tetze - Fourth Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
Memory, holiness, brotherhood and the power of speech
The aliyah opens with the attitude toward the Edomite and the Egyptian. The Torah commands not to abhor an Edomite, because he is a brother, and not to abhor an Egyptian, because Israel were strangers in his land. Their sons may enter the congregation of God from the third generation. Already at the start of the aliyah an important principle appears: even when there is a complicated past between peoples, the Torah distinguishes between historical memory and absolute hatred for all generations.
From here the Torah moves to the holiness of the camp of Israel in time of war. One who is impure from a nocturnal emission goes outside the camp, washes in water, and when the sun comes he may return. The Torah also requires an orderly place outside the camp for bodily needs, and even commands covering one’s excrement. The reason given is that the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save Israel and to give their enemies before them, and therefore the camp is required to be holy and clean.
Next comes the law of a slave who has escaped from his master and comes to Israel. He is not to be handed back. He may dwell in the place he chooses, in the place that is good for him, and he may not be wronged. After this come prohibitions connected to the cult prostitute and to the use of money that comes from sources the Torah defines as unfit for the service of God.
From here the aliyah moves to the laws of interest. The Torah forbids charging interest to a brother, whether in money, in food, or in anything on which interest can be charged, and it distinguishes between the brother and the foreigner. After that it moves to the laws of vows: one who vows a vow to God is required to pay it without delay. By contrast, one who does not vow at all does not sin in that. If a person has already brought a thing out of his mouth, he is required to keep and to do what he took upon himself.
Insights from the aliyah
A hard past does not necessarily cancel a bond
The Edomite is called a brother, and the Egyptian is mentioned in the context of Israel having been strangers in his land. The Torah teaches that not every historical injury turns into a justification for boundless hatred for all generations.
Holiness enters even the most bodily details
A holy camp is not only a place of prayer or of offering. Even arranging for bodily needs and covering one’s excrement are included in the demand for holiness. This teaches that holiness is not a flight from the body, but a right order within bodily life as well.
A strong camp is an orderly camp
Precisely in time of war, when the pressure is great and the tendency is to focus only on victory, the Torah demands cleanliness, boundaries and discipline. Military might is no substitute for inner order.
The weak one who flees to you becomes your responsibility
The slave who has escaped is not returned by force to the place from which he fled. The Torah places him within the community and protects him from being wronged. On the level of the idea, one who arrives without power is no longer a problem to be rid of, but a person who needs a safe framework.
Not every kind of money is fit for every purpose
The Torah distinguishes between money in itself and the source from which it came. From here an important idea emerges: a holy purpose does not automatically make every means fitting.
Interest damages brotherhood
A loan within the people is not presented merely as a commercial transaction. It sits within a system of brotherhood, and therefore the Torah sets limits for it that prevent turning a person’s distress into an opportunity to increase profit.
You do not have to vow, but if you spoke - you are bound
The Torah says explicitly that refraining from a vow is not a sin. But the moment a person has taken something upon himself with his mouth, the words create responsibility. This is a lesson in the power of speech: before you promise you may stay silent, after you promise you must stand by your word.
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