כִּי־תֵצֵא 
Ki Teitzei / When You Go Out
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
HafTorah portion Isaiah 54:1-10
Brit Chadasha 1 Corinthians 5:1-5   

     Each year, individual Torah portions reveal deeper insights about the teachings of Elohim. This Torah portion, Ki'Teitzei contains sixty-four of the 613 Torah instructions, right rulings, ways of life and the will of Abba.
      Ki Teitzei contains the laws of the beautiful captive, a false accusation, divorce, remarry, proper treatment of one in debt, the mother bird and her eggs, the building of a parapet wall, cross breeding animals and hybrid plants. 
     Do we wonder what is the point of some of these instructions?  They are there to shows us God's character and will.  It is His Doctrine and it is His teaching.
     In everyday life we are governed by some sort of doctrine.  Whether in our homes, our place of business, the laws of the land. Every denomination has its own doctrine, which are set in place by the person or persons who began that religion. It is their set of beliefs that began that religion and their set of doctrines.  Doctrine can be the context of what we believe. To simply believe can take us into a life of our own doctrine, for it is stated that even HaSatan believes. One's belief will cause habits and habits play a major role in our future.
     The significant and extremely crucial difference is that the right rulings found within the Torah is the Doctrine of God. Yeshua validates this in John 7:14-18 when He states His doctrine is not His. but rather He who sent Him.      There is therefore doctrine and then there is sound doctrine.  And what is the sum of His character and doctrine?  It is kindness, which is exemplified in Ki Teitzei. 
     Ki Teiteiz ends with God instructing His children to not forget to cancel out a memory in Deuteronomy 25:19.
     Isaiah 45:5 states: 'I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.'   

כִּי־תֵצֵא 
Ki Teitzei / When You Go Out
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
HafTorah portion Isaiah 54:1-10
Brit Chadasha 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

         This Torah portion holds 72 mitzvot or commandments. This is taught as a connection to God’s holiness, for when we abide in His commandments we grow closer to Him. A mitzvah is literally a commandment from God, but it can also be understood as an opportunity for connection, an opening to His faithfulness and holiness. 
    Ki Tetze is a portion of social, ethical, legal, and ritual laws, to give His people clarity, kindness, compassion, generosity, honesty and again, as in Shoftim; righteous justice. By honoring His commands and understanding the deeper meanings into our everyday lives, we receive blessings as we Aliyah towards His Holiness.
     Ki Tetze begins with acknowledging the battle: “When you go out to battle against your enemies…”   We have to acknowledge the battles in our lives, for battles will not only test our strength but our kindness as well.
     The first test of Ki Tetze is in the title, and it is not from the battle itself, but from winning it. God tells His people to strip the captive woman from all the adornment, so that she becomes something real, not merely a prize to be owned. She transitions from a possession won by battle to a human, mourning her loss. Only ‘after’ then may she become the bride: Deuteronomy 21:13-14 ‘After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.’ 
    We remember battles are won through God.
    2 Chronicles 20:15 ‘And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.
     2 Chronicles 32:7 ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.
     Proverbs 21:31 ‘The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.’
    2 Corinthians 10:4 ‘For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.’     
     Chapter 22 continues with commands of kindness towards another’s animal, towards our neighbors by erecting a parapet wall for safety, kindness towards animals regarding plowing, our clothes and tzit tzits on our garments. This chapter includes what is said to be the smallest of commands and obedience results in a long life, that of the mother bird.  Deuteronomy 22:6-7.
     In Deuteronomy 24:16-17 God separates the sins from parents and children, as each will die in their own sin. This does not negate the generational curses, it simply holds each adult responsible for their choices. Deuteronomy 24:17-18 commands us to ‘remember’ that we too were once slaves in a foreign place, thus showing kindness to the foreigner.  
     Ki Tetze concludes with a sobering command: ‘Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.’ Deuteronomy 25:17-19.  This is repeated from Exodus 17:14 when God tells Moshe this same command.
     This statement in Deuteronomy might appear to be an oxymoron: we should erase the memory of the terrible aggression against the Israelites from under heaven, and at the same time we are also commanded to remember and to take action to ensure future community remembrance. The desire to try to forget our worst experiences is understandable, as we want to forget the trauma in our lives, but that same trauma shapes us, it does not have to defins us but targets us to either shrink or win the battles with God. 
     Remember the evil of Amelak, do not let it repeat, but do not loft them higher than what they are: evil, sneaking up on those that were tired from travel, the old, weary, the stragglers. Their name is to be blotted from heaven, but do not forget their strategies they used to conquer, divide and destroy. 
    1 Peter 5:8 ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.’
   Rabbi Shau’l / Paul in Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: ‘For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’
     There are other powerful verses to tell us remember lest we forget. 
     Deuteronomy 8:11-12 ‘Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them…’
     Deuteronomy 4:9-10 ‘Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren…’
     Deuteronomy 5:15 ‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.’
     Exodus 31:16-17 ‘Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’
     Remember the Sabbath, do not forget. Remember what Amalek did, do not forget, but blot their name out. 
     We remember Shabbat because it is a testimony to God, creation and His people. Mark 2:27 ‘And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’
    We don’t remember Amalek in grandeur but we remember the message of Amalek, and what brought Amalek upon God’s people.