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ki teitzei אֵצ ֵת י ִּ כ
£Going Out to War Going Out to War Going Out to War
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on a Personal Levelersonal Level
on a Personal Level
on a P
Ki Teitzei begins with the words “When you will go forth in war
against your enemy” (Deuteronomy 21:10), while the following
portion, Ki Tavo, begins “And it will be when you come into the
Land” (Deuteronomy 26:1). The juxtaposition of going out and
coming in captures one of the most powerful dynamics present in
nature, the human body, and the human condition: the dynamic
Kabbalists refer to as “run and return.” This cycle is reflected in a
multitude of ways from the contraction and expansion at the very
origins of the universe to the pulse of blood running through our
veins; from the cycles of the seasons to the ebb and flow of the tide;
from the exhalation and inhalation of breath to the rhythmic beating
of the heart; from exile to redemption; and from life’s ups to life’s
downs.
God has granted us the potential inner wisdom to know how to “go
out to war”: how and when to act forcefully, and how to go out into
the world and step beyond our limitations and preconceived notions.
However, He has also granted us the wisdom to know when to return
home, when to remain still and ascend to a new state of consciousness.
Either we must learn to control this dynamic, learning to rule over
it or flow with it, or we must face the reality of constantly being
passive victims, toyed with by faceless forces beyond our control.
On a personal level, going out to war against your enemy for a
Jew means refusing to remain complacent, constantly combating
those inner forces that reject change and try to prevent the soul from
telling the body how to act instead of the opposite. Traditionally,
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Another apparent paradox related to the laws of the guardrail
concerns the fact that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for
fence (gader) equals that of the numerical value for the Hebrew word
meaning “infinite” (ein sof). Both are 207. How can the concepts of
a fence and infinity be related? To understand Rabbi Ginsburgh’s
answer, we must first explain that the Sages often use the word “geder”
to describe the precautionary fences or enactments they “erected”
to prevent people from even coming close to performing a biblically
forbidden act. Rabbi Ginsburgh explains that not only do fences not
serve to limit human endeavor, they actually open up new vistas. If
there are no fences, people may be afraid of going “up to the roof” for
fear of falling. The presence of a guardrail/fence provides a safe space
that the soul can ascend to in order to experience a new horizon. This
in fact is the spiritual understanding of all the mitzvot. By providing
the soul with clear and fixed boundaries, the Torah paradoxically
enables it to fly free like a bird toward infinite horizons.
£Amalek: Then and NowAmalek: Then and NowAmalek: Then and Now
Amalek: Then and Now
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££Amalek: Then and NowAmalek: Then and Now£
All the “stories” in the Torah are archetypal in nature, reflecting or
representing various physical and spiritual energies ever present in
all aspects of reality and within each and every person. The essential
energy and fundamental lessons contained in these stories reappear
in countless different guises and under many different circumstances,
related to the individual, the people of Israel, and the entire world.
Using the PaRDeS system to decode the text is a particularly potent
way to reveal the Torah’s eternally relevant nature.
The end of Ki Teitzei recounts Amalek’s unprovoked attack on the
Jewish people just as they came out of Egypt. This incident is read
on the Shabbat before Purim in synagogues all over the world. That
Haman, the villain of the Purim story, is a descendant of Amalek
provides a concrete example of how the same archetypal energy
reared its ugly head a thousand years later.
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