Parashat Ki Teitzei

Just as G-d’s presence fills the world but G-d is not the world, so too, G-d’s mercy fills creation but G-d can’t be defined by His attribute of mercy. Some commandments, such as shiluach haken – the chasing away of the mother bird before taking her eggs or chicks – are expressions of G-d’s mercy. Other commandments, such as the commandment to utterly destroy Amalek, come to show us that mercy alone cannot sustain the world, and that the revelation of G-d’s mercy alone cannot define our commitment to perform His commandments.

Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)
Parashat Ki Teitzei is read on Shabbat:
Elul 11, 5774/September 6, 2014

About the Author

Rabbi Chaim Richman is the director of the international department of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. For over three decades the Temple Institute has been dedicated to every aspect of the Biblical commandment to build the Holy Temple. Through its research and educational programming, the Institute seeks to highlight the universal significance of the Holy Temple as a house of peace and prayer for all nations.