The Shofar cry is both a signal of High Holidays and that of an impending war. In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetzei, we hear the echo of the ram’s horn in the first few words, “when you go out to war against your enemies.” Over the course of the portion the worst of humanity is displayed in front of us. Cases such as family inheritance, squabbles between hated and loved children, the wayward and rebellious child, the eviction of our enemies from holy sites, hateful marriages, skin afflictions, corporal punishment, and prostitution. In the end, we are reminded to blot out the name of Amalek, the ancient civilization representing pure evil, and in whose name Haman and Hitler are evoked. All in all, it is a difficult and painful read.
During the High Holidays we will beat our chest with our fist, taking accountability for those that steal, scheme, abuse, and corrupt. Always in the plural, the confessional (vidui) prayer reminds us that while the capacity toward goodness is strong, so is that toward evil. Embedded within this Torah portion, are also the laws of shmitah (taking care of the needy), as well as protecting the stranger, for we too were strangers in the land of Egypt. Sometimes, after reading the newspaper or watching news on TV, it is hard to see goodness in the world. Our tradition begs to look harder, to always be filled with hope that one day, as we say in the Alenuprayer, “corruption and evil shall give way to integrity and goodness, lies and bigotry shall no longer enslave the mind,” and all created in God’s image shall become “one in spirit and one in friendship.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 09/23/2016 by wpadm