Parshat Ki Teitzei

Torah: Deut. 21:10–25:19 · Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1–10 · ~74 mitzvot

Summary

A dense set of daily-life laws: family/marriage rules, returning lost items, kindness to animals, safety (roof railing), fair lending and wages, honest weights, levirate marriage, and remembering Amalek.

Aliyot

1. 1 (21:10–21) Yefat to’ar; firstborn rights; rebellious son.
2. 2 (21:22–22:7) Bury same day; return lost property; help with fallen animal; cross-dressing ban; bird’s nest.
3. 3 (22:8–23:7) Roof railing; mixed species; sha’atnez; tzitzit; sexual morality laws; entry restrictions (Ammonite/Moabite, etc.).
4. 4 (23:8–24:4) Camp holiness; protect escaped slave; no cult prostitution; no interest to fellow Jew; vows; field snacking; divorce/remarriage rule.
5. 5 (24:5–13) New groom exempt; limits on collateral; kidnapping; heed tsara’at.
6. 6 (24:14–25:16) Pay wages on time; protect stranger/orphan; leave gleanings; 40-lash cap; don’t muzzle the ox; yibbum/chalitzah; honest weights.
7. 7 (25:17–19) Remember and erase Amalek.

Mitzvot Highlights

• Return lost items; help load/unload animals.
• Build a roof railing to prevent harm.
• No sha’atnez; wear tzitzit.
• Fair lending: no interest to fellow Jew; respect collateral.
• Pay workers promptly; use honest weights/measures.
• Leave parts of harvest for poor, orphan, widow, and stranger.

Haftarah

“Roni Akarah” — consolation and God’s enduring kindness; a covenant of peace after anger.

Takeaways

• Build safeguards before harm (railings, boundaries, self-discipline).
• Power has limits: lenders, employers, judges — act with mercy and fairness.
• Holiness shows in how we treat the vulnerable and even our animals.

“Ein Od Milvado” — There Is None Besides Him

3Simple explaination

Ein od milvado means: only Hashem truly exists independently; everything else exists because He constantly wills it. It’s the core of Jewish monotheism—not poetry. You still lock doors, take medicine, and keep halacha. Living it means no superstition, no panic, no idols—just responsible effort with trust.

Sources (plain and primary)

• Deut 4:35, 4:39 — “You were shown… know today… ein od milvado.”
• Isaiah 45:5–7 — “I am Hashem and there is no other.”
• Rambam, Yesodei HaTorah 1 — Necessary Being; all else contingent.
• Ramchal, Derech Hashem I — Constant sustenance by His will.
• Nefesh HaChaim III — Reality lives by Divine speech.
• Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud veha’Emunah — No “autopilot” universe even for a second.

What it doesn’t mean

• Not pantheism: the world isn’t G-d; G-d is One, and the world exists through Him.
• Not fatalism: Torah commands action—mitzvot, medicine, work, justice.
• Not magic: saying words isn’t a shortcut. Judaism rejects charms.

The point in one sentence

Hashem alone is real absolutely; everything else is real because He wills it—so serve Him, act responsibly, and don’t fear anything as independent of Him.

How to live it (five anchors)

1. Halacha first: His will is the instruction set—pray, Shabbat, tzedakah, Torah, shemirat halashon.
2. Hishtadlut: do your part (doctors heal; you seek care, work, protect life). Results are His.
3. No idols: money, status, people’s opinion—factors, not masters.
4. Bitachon without denial: name fear/grief; do the next mitzvah; talk to Hashem honestly.
5. Speech of oneness: less “luck/hopeless”; more “I’ll do my part; Hashem runs the world.”

Two classic frames

Rambam: clarity and ethics—purge superstition, worship the Creator alone.
Nefesh HaChaim/Tanya: continuous creation—no “autopilot,” every mitzvah matters. Two lenses, one truth.

Common mistakes

• “If G-d is One, why lock doors?” — Because He commands guarding life/property.
• “Whatever happens is automatically good.” — No. Torah calls evil evil; resist it.
• “If all is G-dly, sins don’t matter.” — False. Mitzvot bind; sins damage.

Practice—small and concrete

• Morning: “Ribono shel Olam, ein od milvado. Help me act straight and trust You.”
• Before action: “I’ll do my hishtadlut; the result is Yours.” Then act.
• When panic rises: breathe 4-4-6; say Shema or Tehillim 23; pick the next mitzvah step.
• Bedtime audit: where did I treat something as ultimate besides Hashem?

For the ger

Torah repeats love/protection for the ger because people can play little gods—gatekeeping, humiliating, controlling. Ein od milvado kills that. Only Hashem is ultimate. His Torah: one law for native and ger; do not oppress; love him.

Two pesukim to hold

• Deut 4:39 — “Know today… there is none else.”
• Tehillim 16:8 — “I place Hashem before me always.” Knowledge → placement.

Bottom line

• Truth: Only Hashem truly “is”.
• Duty: Keep halacha; make responsible effort.
• Trust: Don’t fear powers that don’t exist independently.
• Dignity: No theology to excuse harm or passivity.
• Avodah: Do the next mitzvah—there “ein od milvado” becomes real.

Sources: Deut 4:35, 4:39 · Isa 45:5–7 · Rambam Yesodei HaTorah 1 · Ramchal Derech Hashem I · Nefesh HaChaim III · Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud veha’Emunah · Berachot 54a.