09-04-2025 Ki Tetzy

The name of this week’s parashah is: “Ki Tetzey” (in  English translation, “upon going forth”). You will find it in the Book of Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19. The parashah  covers a wide range of social policy issues. In our modern  world where human and sexual trafficking are all too  common, many of the topics touched upon by the  parashah are very relevant. Some of these topics include: (1) how to deal with captive women, (2) how to deal with  defiant children, and (3) what are the laws governing acts  of human sexuality such as marriage, divorce, virginity,  sexual mutilation, and rape? We also find in this section  laws dealing with “sacred prostitution” (state sponsored?)  and the burial of the dead. Many of these precepts speak  directly to us, while others seem to be of a more historical  nature. For example, most of us would accept the idea of  a proper burial for the dead, but most people would reject  the notion of the “kedushah” or the sacred prostitute.  

Although ours is an age of great technological  advancements, we are lacking in moral advancements.  Unfortunately, despite these advancements, too many of  these ancient problems are still with us. For example, if  we see human trafficking as just another word for slavery,  then the twenty-first century’s moral record might be worse  than that of the ninetieth century’s. 

How should we interact with a text, which at times seems  to be a guide for twenty-first century life and at other times  speaks to a world far from our age? Do we merely pretend  that these ancient issues are no longer relevant, or are  human beings in reality the same, and only the technology  has improved? A classical Talmudic answer to these  questions is that in each age we must reread the text and  interpret it in light of our present realities. In other words, it  is our job to see the Biblical text as a living law, open to  interpretation and a reflection of the law’s spirit and  society’s zeitgeist. 

The above statement is also open to intellectual  challenges. Does such an interpretation allow us to be too  loose with the way we read a text? Might we read a  Biblical text so as justify what we desire rather than  confronting uncomfortable principles? Do we at times  force the text to give us the answers that we want? This eternal struggle is reflected in many Talmudic arguments.  The Talmudic rabbis understood that a purpose of  education was, and remains, to make us think, to  challenge our assumptions, and to see an issue from  multiple sides. How correct is their understanding in a  world in which dialogue has been replaced by political  certainty, and in which shouting and violence have replaced thoughtful conversations and the ability to hear  what the other side is saying. Furthermore, the overuse of  Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased the anger and  often serves to dehumanize our academic and political  discourse. 

In a world in which AI seems to have infiltrated so much of  our lives, can many of our elite institutions once again  become centers for critical thought or are they destined to  become propaganda centers in which students are  chastised for challenging their professors? What do you  think?