Kol Ramah

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky . In the words of my friend and colleague Rabbi Eliot Malomet, Parashat Ki Tetze [Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19] is mitzvah dense, containing 74 out the 613 commandments the rabbis found in the Torah, well over 10%. In our conversations we tried to extract meaning from this welter of laws by thinking about the story or stories that might be embedded in them. Among the laws we actually discussed was the ben sorer u-moreh, the stubborn and rebellious son, and the command to erase Amalek from our memory. What would the Israelite listening to Moses make of all these laws? What are we to make of them today? As the war winds its way into its 12th month, we continue to keep in our hearts and minds the hostages who remain in Gaza, and the soldiers fighting in defense of the State of Israel. May the hostages be returned speedily to their families, and the soldiers removed from harm’s way. On this 24rd anniversary of 9/11, we also think of the