RR Torah Portion Ki Tetze Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19
Shabbat Shalom {{firstName}},
Torah Portion Ki Tetze Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19
By Jeffrey Freeman
Torah Portion Ki Tetze’s name comes from Deuteronomy 21:10, “When you go out (Ki Tetze) to war against your enemies…”
This portion contains many of the 613 commandments – the sages count 74 in this portion. While the actual number of laws contained may be disputed depending on how you understand what is being commanded, and certainly some of the laws cited don’t apply right now due to location, circumstance, or the lack of the Temple in Jerusalem, many of the listed laws remain relevant to our lives today.
One common phrase in use today is “don’t sweat the small stuff.” Yet it would appear that ADONAI may have a different position. Many of the commandments in Ki Tetze would probably fall into the “small stuff” category. However, I will remind you that these are all commandments and therefore not to be taken lightly.
Let’s look at two of these small stuff commandments. Both deal with fairness. How might they apply today?
Deuteronomy 24:14-15 – You are not to oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is from your brothers or the outsider in your land within your town gates. On that day you are to give him his wages – the sun is not to set on it – for he is poor and sets his heart on it. Otherwise, he will cry out against you to ADONAI, and you will have sin on you.
1st Timothy 5:18 - For Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The worker is worthy of his wage.”
Other verses include Leviticus 19:13, Luke 10:7, Colossians 4:1 and James 5:4.
Our payment system today does differ from ancient times when people often depended on daily payments to meet their life needs. But the principle remains the same. Pay your bills when they are due. If you default on your bills or are habitually late making payments you are not only damaging your witness, you are breaking ADONAI’s commands.
Deuteronomy 25:13-16 – You are not to have stones of different weights in your bag – large and small. You are not to have in your house ephahs of different measures – large and small. You must have a full and honest weight and a full and honest measure…All who do injustice are detestable to ADONAI your God.
Proverbs 11:1 – Dishonest scales are an abomination to ADONAI, but an accurate weight is his delight.
Proverbs 16:11 – Honest balances and scales are ADONAI’s. All the weights in the bag are his handiwork.
Proverbs 20:10, 23 – Unequal weights and measures – both are an abomination to ADONAI.
Unbalanced weights are detestable to ADONAI, and dishonest scales are wicked.
Other passages include Leviticus 19:36, Ezekiel 45:10, Hosea 12:7, and Amos 8:5.
You might be thinking that this one is no problem for me. I don’t even use scales or measures for buying or selling. Look closer at the commandment. What this command is really about is buying and selling at a fair price, not cheating others.
Earlier this week I was shopping at a major retailer. My wife asked me to pick up two comforter sets, one king sized and one queen sized. After I checked out and was leaving the store I noticed that the cashier charged me for two queen sized comforters. This was almost $11 less than what I should have been charged.
Here’s the test. Do you continue out of the store, chalking up a $11 savings justifying it by saying to yourself “it’s the store’s fault for undercharging me.” Or do you turn around and rectify the situation, paying the correct price? Sadly, I will admit that I had a momentary hesitation. But I did turn around and, much to the cashier’s surprise, I paid the extra amount due. Do you think identifying as a follower of Yeshua may have had a greater impact on the folks at the store after this incident?
Small things can have an outsized impact. As followers of Yeshua, we are always under the microscope of society. Small things are easy and can have a significant impact on others’ attitudes. And as you habitually do the “small” things, bigger things become easier.
Live for Messiah, and as James 1:22 says, “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only…”
Shabbat Shalom
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat22-Aug 2026 9th of Elul, 5786 Parashat Ki Teitzei
De 24:14-25:19Isa 54:1-10Rom 8:18-30
Torah Portion Ki Tetze Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19
By Jeffrey Freeman
Torah Portion Ki Tetze’s name comes from Deuteronomy 21:10, “When you go out (Ki Tetze) to war against your enemies…”
This portion contains many of the 613 commandments – the sages count 74 in this portion. While the actual number of laws contained may be disputed depending on how you understand what is being commanded, and certainly some of the laws cited don’t apply right now due to location, circumstance, or the lack of the Temple in Jerusalem, many of the listed laws remain relevant to our lives today.
One common phrase in use today is “don’t sweat the small stuff.” Yet it would appear that ADONAI may have a different position. Many of the commandments in Ki Tetze would probably fall into the “small stuff” category. However, I will remind you that these are all commandments and therefore not to be taken lightly.
Let’s look at two of these small stuff commandments. Both deal with fairness. How might they apply today?
Deuteronomy 24:14-15 – You are not to oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is from your brothers or the outsider in your land within your town gates. On that day you are to give him his wages – the sun is not to set on it – for he is poor and sets his heart on it. Otherwise, he will cry out against you to ADONAI, and you will have sin on you.
1st Timothy 5:18 - For Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The worker is worthy of his wage.”
Other verses include Leviticus 19:13, Luke 10:7, Colossians 4:1 and James 5:4.
Our payment system today does differ from ancient times when people often depended on daily payments to meet their life needs. But the principle remains the same. Pay your bills when they are due. If you default on your bills or are habitually late making payments you are not only damaging your witness, you are breaking ADONAI’s commands.
Deuteronomy 25:13-16 – You are not to have stones of different weights in your bag – large and small. You are not to have in your house ephahs of different measures – large and small. You must have a full and honest weight and a full and honest measure…All who do injustice are detestable to ADONAI your God.
Proverbs 11:1 – Dishonest scales are an abomination to ADONAI, but an accurate weight is his delight.
Proverbs 16:11 – Honest balances and scales are ADONAI’s. All the weights in the bag are his handiwork.
Proverbs 20:10, 23 – Unequal weights and measures – both are an abomination to ADONAI.
Unbalanced weights are detestable to ADONAI, and dishonest scales are wicked.
Other passages include Leviticus 19:36, Ezekiel 45:10, Hosea 12:7, and Amos 8:5.
You might be thinking that this one is no problem for me. I don’t even use scales or measures for buying or selling. Look closer at the commandment. What this command is really about is buying and selling at a fair price, not cheating others.
Earlier this week I was shopping at a major retailer. My wife asked me to pick up two comforter sets, one king sized and one queen sized. After I checked out and was leaving the store I noticed that the cashier charged me for two queen sized comforters. This was almost $11 less than what I should have been charged.
Here’s the test. Do you continue out of the store, chalking up a $11 savings justifying it by saying to yourself “it’s the store’s fault for undercharging me.” Or do you turn around and rectify the situation, paying the correct price? Sadly, I will admit that I had a momentary hesitation. But I did turn around and, much to the cashier’s surprise, I paid the extra amount due. Do you think identifying as a follower of Yeshua may have had a greater impact on the folks at the store after this incident?
Small things can have an outsized impact. As followers of Yeshua, we are always under the microscope of society. Small things are easy and can have a significant impact on others’ attitudes. And as you habitually do the “small” things, bigger things become easier.
Live for Messiah, and as James 1:22 says, “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only…”
Shabbat Shalom
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat22-Aug 2026 9th of Elul, 5786 Parashat Ki Teitzei
De 24:14-25:19Isa 54:1-10Rom 8:18-30
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