Ki Teitzei כִּי-תֵצֵא - When You Go Out
Torah Portion:
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
Deuteronomy 23:25–24:4
23:25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
24:1 When a man takes a wife and marries her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a certificate of divorce, put it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 When she has departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3 If the latter husband hates her, and write her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the latter husband dies, who took her to be his wife; 4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she is defiled; for that would be an abomination to Hashem. You shall not cause the land to sin, which Hashem your Elohim gives you for an inheritance.
Today’s Meditation:
In this week's Torah portion, we learn that it is okay to pick corn or grapes from our neighbor's property if we happen to be walking through it. No trespassing laws, in fact, are an invitation to help yourself. But, of course, only for what you need at the moment. Not to gather bushels full. It is very kind and generous of Hashem to allow such trust and sharing. He also has rules for your harvest and the poor. Hashem makes it clear that He does not want the poor to starve and that He is interested in sharing our blessings. Let us try to remember that in our daily lives.
Today’s Challenge:
Today, we read some interesting rules about divorce and remarriage. It seems like Hashem is allowing divorce, but not remarrying that person again (if she has married someone else and they have died). In fact, He says it is an abomination to do this. And that we do not cause the land to sin. It concerns his wife being defiled. We may not fully understand this, but we do know that He does not want us to sin.
Your challenge today is to look over your life, pay attention to the areas where you know you are sinning or disobeying Hashem’s commands. Do not pretend that you are perfect. Because as soon as you reflect on how you are living, sin will be revealed. Even what you may think is a small sin, like gossiping. Gossiping is no small sin. It affects people and can ripple through your community, ultimately affecting parts of the world. It gets into the land. Get rid of sin in your life today. If it is a habit, then ask Hashem to help you. It may be hard to change, but He can help you.
