Parshat Ki Teitzei: Parshah Resources

The Electrifying Fence

On the surface, the Torah directive to encircle one's roof with a fence is obvious and practical. As with all the words of the Torah, though, layers of meaning are concealed within. In this audio meditation, Rabbi Ginsburgh traces the inner significance of the image of the home, the roof and the fence. When we live our lives according to the inner meanings of these concepts, we can harness the electrifying energy necessary to redeem the 288 primordial fallen sparks, and hasten the redemption. Click here to read the full article.

Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket

Audio recordings of this class are also avaiable. The relationship between the two portions (parashot) of the Torah titled Ki Teitzei and Ki Tavo is like the relationship between the masculine and the feminine. Ki Teitzei means “When you go out…" and indicates a state of extroversion, a male-oriented state. Ki Tavo means “When you go in…" and indicates a state of introversion, a female-oriented state. The two names, Ki Teitzei and Ki Tavo together refer to a single process, of going out (specifically, to a state of war), in order to come back in. Processes like this are in Kabbalah and Chassidut, called "run and return." Click here to read the full article.

A New Wife

In this week’s parshah the topic of a young husband – the man who takes/betrothes “a new wife” – is discussed. From his in-depth analysis of the Talmudic discourses betrothal, Rabbi Yosef Razin (5618-5636, known as the Ga’on of Rogachev) came to the conclusion that from a legal point of view betrothal is a continuous action, spanning the entire time of marriage.

Returning to a Virgin State

The mazal (מזל) of Elul is Virgo (בתולה), the virgin, and our parashah, parashat Ki Teiztzei, which is always read during the month of Elul, contains the greatest concentration of the word “virgin” in the Bible.

Purifying the Power of Speech

We can learn from Moses, who prayed with self sacrifice to save the Jewish people from their “sin” but was accused by Elijah of defaming the “virgin of Israel,” that even if it appears that the entire Jewish people has sinned, God forbid, this is not true at all.