Ki Teitzei
Let’s look at some numbers for Parshat Ki Teitzei. As far as size is concerned, it is fairly average. In fact, in terms of pesukim, it is very much so. There are 5,846 pesukim in the Torah. Dividing by 54, we find that the average length (in pesukim) of a sedra is 108.26. Ki Teitzei has 110 pesukim and ranks 28th among all sedras – the closest to the average. Word-wise, it rises to 23rd place; letter-wise it drops back to 26th. If you count lines in a Sefer Torah, Ki Teitzei rises to 21st place.
All in all, it is an average-sized sedra. But in other respects, it is number one!
Let me explain.
As you might know, in a Sefer Torah, there are no perek, pasuk, or sedra indications. The only breaks in a Torah are between Chumash and Chumash (four blank lines) and between parsha and parsha (by “parsha,” we mean a section in the Chumash; not a sedra, which is how it is colloquially used). Those breaks come in two forms, corresponding to the two types of parshiyot. A “parsha petucha” (open parsha) begins on a new line; on the previous line, after the previous parsha ends, the rest of the line is left blank. A “parsha setuma” (closed parsha) begins on the same line as the previous parsha ends, with a blank space between the parshiyot.
There are 674 parshiyot in the Torah – 295 petuchot and 379 setumot. And Ki Teitzei has more parshiyot than any other sedra: 44 parshiyot (giving it a rank of #1). Of these, only two are petuchot; the other 42 are setumot (also #1). All the blank spaces in Ki Teitzei explain the rise in rank for lines in a Sefer Torah, as noted above.
And now we come to mitzvot.
Ki Teitzei is number one – by far. It has 74 mitzvot – that’s 12.1% of the Torah’s 613. The breakdown is 27 mitzvot asei (positive commandments), putting it in first place, and 47 lo ta’asei (prohibitions), also ranking #1.
And here’s a new stat: mitzvah density (MD for short). This refers to the number of mitzvot per 1,000 pesukim. With 613 mitzvot in the Torah’s 5,846 pesukim, the MD of the whole Torah is 613/5,846 x 1000 = 104.86 – so about 105.
As expected, Ki Teitzei has a high MD – 673. But that puts it only in second place. The number one MD sedra is Kedoshim. It has “only” 51 mitzvot (number 5 on the all-time mitzvah list count), but it is a small sedra, with only 64 pesukim, giving it an MD of 797.
The number of mitzvot and parshiyot in Ki Teitzei paint a picture of Moshe Rabbeinu realizing his time left in this world is soon to end and seeing a need to pick up the pace of his teaching and review of all the mitzvot. These include those mitzvot between a Jew and Hashem, the interpersonal mitzvot, those related to the Land of Israel, and those more universal, positive commands and prohibitions.
Let’s examine some of the mitzvot in Ki Teitzei which are remarkable for various reasons.
There is a phenomenon with some mitzvot where the context in the Written Torah is narrow, but the explanation in the Oral Law broadens the scope of the mitzvah significantly.
For example, we find a trio of mitzvot in our sedra which deal with someone guilty of, tried, convicted, and executed for a capital offense (idolatry or public and spiteful desecration of Shabbat, for example). The body of the offender is to be hanged on a post (postmortem) for a short period before sunset. This is a mitzvat asei (positive mitzvah) for the court. It is forbidden to leave the body hanging overnight. That is a lo ta’asei (prohibition). The body is then to be buried – another asei.
It seems, from the Written Torah, that these mitzvot concern the executed capital offender. However, from the Oral Law (Torah She–ba’al Peh) we learn that the mitzvah to bury the dead applies to all Jewish dead. And this is not merely a Rabbinic extension of the Torah’s Law – it is a full d’Oraita (Torah Law) requirement. We also are taught that burial of the dead should not be unduly delayed.
How do we know that burial of the dead is a Torah mitzvah? Can’t we argue that the Torah is only talking about the executed felon? The answer, simply put, is Emunat Chachamim – our complete trust, confidence, and belief in the chain of Tradition, unbroken from Moshe’s receipt of the Torah at Sinai – not just on the day of Matan Torah, but for the 40 days and nights that he spent on Har Sinai learning all of the Torah and mitzvot and explanations from Hashem – through generation after generation, until this very day…and beyond.
This belief is so complete that it becomes our knowledge. It includes the principle of Torah min HaShamayim (that the Torah was given to us by G-d), and that it consists of the Written Word, the Oral Law (as transmitted by our Sages), and Rabbinic Law (as legislated by the Sanhedrin generation after generation). That is the “package deal” we have with G-d.
Now here’s a tetrad (that’s a quartet, but I chose tetrad because it is the verbal road less taken) of Ki Teitzei mitzvot: A prohibition not to leave a fellow’s beast of burden collapsed under its weight; rather – a separate positive mitzvah – to help unload a fellow’s animal (or the person himself); not to harness to incompatible animals for any task (plowing is the Torah’s example); not to muzzle an animal when it is working with food.
These mitzvot form the foundation of the whole body of Torah and Rabbinic literature dealing with avoiding cruelty to animals. This presupposes that Chazal (our Sages) were (almost) sure that the mitzvot above are examples of G-d’s kindness to animals. Even though the Torah does not give reasons for those mitzvot, Chazal are confident in the reasons they attribute to them.
But that’s not true for all mitzvot. A different pair of mitzvot in Ki Teitzei deal with Shilu’ach Haken, the prohibition of taking eggs or fledglings from a nest in the mother bird’s presence and the positive command of chasing away the mother bird before taking the eggs or fledglings. (It’s more complicated than that, but for now, this summary will suffice.)
Is Shilu’ach Haken also a demonstration of G-d’s teaching us kindness to animals? In a word, no. The Mishna, in two places, says that if a person petitions Hashem to show us mercy as he himself displays for the mother bird, “Mashtikin oto” – you silence him.
Simply put, not all mitzvot that might seem to have a component of mercy are actually that. We cannot always understand the reasons for mitzvot. Sometimes we can; often we cannot. This is an important lesson about Torah and mitzvot.
Let’s look at one more trio of mitzvot from Ki Teitzei. At the very end of the sedra, we find the three-pasuk portion known as Parshat Zachor. This portion contains three mitzvot of the 613: remember what Amalek did; wipe out Amalek; and never forget.
Chazal designated the mitzvah to remember Amalek as the public Torah reading of Parshat Zachor (on the Shabbat before Purim). “Lo tish-kach” – do not forget – basically applies at all times. “Timche” – wipe out Amalek – is generally considered an obligation of the People of Israel rather than a command to individuals. But beneath the surface of Zachor and Lo tish-kach is something else very important to remember and not to forget: We need to ponder the reason that Amalek was able to attack us.
We can gain insight into this question from the topics that immediately precede the Amalek portions – the one here in Ki Teitzei and the one at the end of Parshat Beshalach.
In this week’s sedra, the Amalek portion is preceded by the description of violations that are abominations (to’eiva) in G-d’s eyes – specifically, even the possession (let alone the use) of false weights and measures. In other words, cheating one’s fellows in business. Before the Vayavo Amalek portion at the end of Beshalach, we find the terrible complaints of Bnei Yisrael at Refidim – “Why did you take us out of Egypt to kill us and our children with thirst…” Take them together and you find serious lack of proper bein adam laMakom and bein adam l’chaveiro behavior.
The bottom line of this mitzvah-laden sedra, and of the entire Torah: Be faithful to the Torah and mitzvot and life will be good. (And if not…)
Shabbat Shalom.