24 “Suppose a man marries a woman and consummates the marriage but later finds her displeasing, because he has found her offensive in some respect. He writes her a divorce document, gives it to her and sends her away from his house. ² She leaves his house, goes and becomes another man’s wife; ³ but the second husband dislikes her and writes her a get, gives it to her and sends her away from his house; or the second husband whom she married dies. ⁴ In such a case her first husband, who sent her away, may not take her again as his wife, because she is now defiled. It would be detestable to Adonai, and you are not to bring about sin in the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance.

(vi) ⁵ “If a man has recently married his wife, he is not to be subject to military service; he is to be free of external obligations and left at home for one year to make his new wife happy.

⁶ “No one may take a mill or even an upper millstone as collateral for a loan, because that would be taking as collateral the debtor’s very means of sustenance.

⁷ “If a man kidnaps any of his brothers, fellow members of the community of Isra’el, and makes him his slave or sells him, that kidnapper must die; in this way you will put an end to such wickedness among you.

⁸ “When there is an outbreak of tzara‘at, be careful to observe and do just what the cohanim, who are L’vi’im, teach you. Take care to do as I ordered them. ⁹ Remember what Adonai your God did to Miryam on the road after you left Egypt.

¹⁰ “When you make any kind of loan to your neighbor, you are not to enter his house to take his collateral. ¹¹ You must stand outside, and the borrower will bring the collateral outside to you. ¹² If he is poor, you are not to go to bed with what he gave as collateral in your possession; ¹³ rather, you must restore the pledged item at sunset; then he will go to sleep wearing his garment and bless you. This will be an upright deed of yours before Adonai your God.

(vii) ¹⁴ “You are not to exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or a foreigner living in your land in your town. ¹⁵ You are to pay him his wages the day he earns them, before sunset; for he is poor and looks forward to being paid. Otherwise he will cry out against you to Adonai, and it will be your sin.

¹⁶ “Fathers are not to be executed for the children, nor are children to be executed for the fathers; every person will be executed for his own sin.

¹⁷ “You are not to deprive the foreigner or the orphan of the justice which is his due, and you are not to take a widow’s clothing as collateral for a loan. ¹⁸ Rather, remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and Adonai your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am ordering you to do this.

¹⁹ “When harvesting the grain in your field, if you forgot a sheaf of grain there, you are not to go back and get it; it will remain there for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, so that Adonai your God will bless you in all the work you do. ²⁰ When you beat your olive tree, you are not to go back over the branches again; the olives that are left will be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes from your vineyard, you are not to return and pick grapes a second time; what is left will be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. ²² Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. That is why I am ordering you to do this.

25 “If people have a dispute, seek its resolution in court, and the judges render a decision in favor of the righteous one and condemning the wicked one; ² then, if the wicked one deserves to be flogged, the judge is to have him lie down and be flogged in his presence. The number of strokes is to be proportionate to his offense; ³ but the maximum number is forty. He is not to exceed this; if he goes over this limit and beats him more than this, your brother will be humiliated before your eyes.

⁴ “You are not to muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

⁵ “If brothers live together, and one of them dies childless, his widow is not to marry someone unrelated to him; her husband’s brother is to go to her and perform the duty of a brother-in-law by marrying her. ⁶ The first child she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be eliminated from Isra’el. ⁷ If the man does not wish to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow is to go up to the gate, to the leaders, and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to raise up for his brother a name in Isra’el; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother for me.’ ⁸ The leaders of his town are to summon him and speak to him. If, on appearing before them, he continues to say, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ ⁹ then his brother’s widow is to approach him in the presence of the leaders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face and say, ‘This is what is done to the man who refuses to build up his brother’s family.’ ¹⁰ From that time on, his family is to be known in Isra’el as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off.’

¹¹ “If men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one comes up to help her husband get away from the man attacking him by grabbing the attacker’s private parts with her hand, ¹² you are to cut off her hand; show no pity.

¹³ “You are not to have in your pack two sets of weights, one heavy, the other light. ¹⁴ You are not to have in your house two sets of measures, one big, the other small. ¹⁵ You are to have a correct and fair weight, and you are to have a correct and fair measure, so that you will prolong your days in the land Adonai your God is giving you. ¹⁶ For all who do such things, all who deal dishonestly, are destestable to Adonai your God.

(Maftir) ¹⁷ “Remember what ‘Amalek did to you on the road as you were coming out of Egypt, ¹⁸ how he met you by the road, attacked those in the rear, those who were exhausted and straggling behind when you were tired and weary. He did not fear God. ¹⁹ Therefore, when Adonai your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance to possess, you are to blot out all memory of ‘Amalek from under heaven. Don’t forget!

Haftarah Ki Tetze: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 54:1–10 [Messianic adaptation: commence the reading at 52:13]

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Ki Tetze: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:31–32; 19:3–12; 22:23–32; Mark 10:2–12; 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–38; 1 Corinthians 9:4–18; Galatians 3:9–14; 1 Timothy 5:17–18

Parashah 50: Ki Tavo (When you come) 26:1–29:8(9)

26 “When you have come to the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance, taken possession of it and settled there; ² you are to take the firstfruits of all the crops the ground yields, which you will harvest from your land that Adonai your God is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place where Adonai your God will choose to have his name live. ³ You will approach the cohen holding office at the time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to Adonai your God that I have come to the land Adonai swore to our ancestors that he would give us.’ ⁴ The cohen will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of Adonai your God.

⁵ “Then, in the presence of Adonai your God, you are to say, ‘My ancestor was a nomad from Aram. He went down into Egypt few in number and stayed. There he became a great, strong, populous nation. ⁶ But the Egyptians treated us badly; they oppressed us and imposed harsh slavery on us. ⁷ So we cried out to Adonai, the God of our ancestors. Adonai heard us and saw our misery, toil and oppression; ⁸ and Adonai brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. ⁹ Now he has brought us to this place and given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ Therefore, as you see, I have now brought the firstfruits of the land which you, Adonai, have given me.’ You are then to put the basket down before Adonai your God, prostrate yourself before Adonai your God, ¹¹ and take joy in all the good that Adonai your God has given you, your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.

(ii) ¹² “After you have separated a tenth of the crops yielded in the third year, the year of separating a tenth, and have given it to the Levi, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, so that they can have enough food to satisfy them while staying with you; ¹³ you are to say, in the presence of Adonai your God, ‘I have rid my house of the things set aside for God and given them to the Levi, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, in keeping with every one of the mitzvot you gave me. I haven’t disobeyed any of your mitzvot or forgotten them. ¹⁴ I haven’t eaten any of this food when mourning, I haven’t put any of it aside when unclean, nor have I given any of it for the dead. I have listened to what Adonai my God has said, and I have done everything you ordered me to do. ¹⁵ Look out from your holy dwelling-place, from heaven; and bless your people Isra’el and the land you gave us, as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

(iii) ¹⁶ “Today Adonai your God orders you to obey these laws and rulings. Therefore, you are to observe and obey them with all your heart and all your being. ¹⁷ You are agreeing today that Adonai is your God and that you will follow his ways; observe his laws, mitzvot and rulings; and do what he says. ¹⁸ In turn Adonai is agreeing today that you are his own unique treasure, as he promised you; that you are to observe all his mitzvot; ¹⁹ and that he will raise you high above all the nations he has made, in praise, reputation and glory; and that, as he said, you will be a holy people for Adonai your God.”

27 (iv) Then Moshe and all the leaders of Isra’el gave orders to the people. They said, “Observe all the mitzvot I am giving you today. ² When you cross the Yarden to the land Adonai your God is giving you, you are to set up large stones, put plaster on them, ³ and, after crossing over, write this Torah on them, every word — so that you can enter the land Adonai your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Adonai, the God of your ancestors, promised you. ⁴ When you have crossed the Yarden, you are to set up these stones, as I am ordering you today, on Mount ‘Eival; and put plaster on them. ⁵ There you are to erect an altar to Adonai your God, an altar made of stones. You are not to use any iron tool on them, ⁶ but are to build the altar of Adonai your God of uncut stones; and you are to offer burnt offerings on it to Adonai your God. ⁷ Also you are to sacrifice peace offerings, eat there and be joyful in the presence of Adonai your God. ⁸ You are to write on the stones all the words of this Torah very clearly.”

⁹ Next Moshe and the cohanim, who are L’vi’im, spoke to all Isra’el. They said, “Be quiet; and listen, Isra’el! Today you have become the people of Adonai your God. ¹⁰ Therefore you are to listen to what Adonai your God says and obey his mitzvot and laws, which I am giving you today.”

(v) ¹¹ That same day Moshe commissioned the people as follows: ¹² “These are the ones who are to stand on Mount G’rizim and bless the people after you have crossed the Yarden: Shim‘on, Levi, Y’hudah, Yissakhar, Yosef and Binyamin; ¹³ while these are to stand on Mount ‘Eival for the curse: Re’uven, Gad, Asher, Z’vulun, Dan and Naftali. ¹⁴ The L’vi’im, speaking loudly, will proclaim to every man of Isra’el:

¹⁵ “‘A curse on anyone who makes a carved or metal image, something Adonai detests, the handiwork of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret!’ All the people are to respond by saying, ‘Amen!’

¹⁶ “‘A curse on anyone who dishonors his father or mother.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

¹⁷ “‘A curse on anyone who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

¹⁸ “‘A curse on anyone who causes a blind person to lose his way on the road.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

¹⁹ “‘A curse on anyone who interferes with justice for the foreigner, orphan or widow.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²⁰ “‘A curse on anyone who has sexual relations with his father’s wife, because he has violated his father’s rights.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²¹ “‘A curse on anyone who has sexual relations with any kind of animal.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²² “‘A curse on anyone who has sexual relations with his sister, no matter whether she is the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²³ “‘A curse on anyone who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²⁴ “‘A curse on anyone who secretly attacks a fellow member of the community.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²⁵ “‘A curse on anyone who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

²⁶ “‘A curse on anyone who does not confirm the words of this Torah by putting them into practice.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’