The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.

Published: Tue, 09/02/25

Updated: Wed, 09/03/25

"But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you."

Deuteronomy 23:5

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Hi friend,

This coming Shabbat's Torah portion, read on Saturday, September 6th, is Parashat Ki Teitzei. This week’s reading, Ki Teitzei, contains 74 commandments, more mitzvot than any other Torah portion. Some of the commandments discussed: the law of the rebellious son, the obligation to bury the dead without undue delay, the requirement to return a found object, the prohibition against causing pain to any living creature, the prohibition against prostitution, the laws of marriage and divorce, the procedure of the Levirate marriage, and the obligation to eradicate the memory of Amalek.

Please enjoy this teaching of our beloved Root Source teacher, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz of blessed memory, about this week's Torah portion, Ki Tetzeh, and share your thoughts with us!

Last week, our popular Root Source teacher Rabbi Gedalia Meyer talked about Shoftim. Watch it below.

Participate in our enlightening lesson Teacher Sondra Baras talked about Shoftim. Watch it below.

Take part in the inspiring lesson Gidon Ariel Explains Religious Zionism with Teacher Gidon Ariel. Learn more below.

Check below to hear what Gidon Ariel and Dr. Richard Booker have to share.

We sign off with a nice comment and a beautiful photo of Old City, Jerusalem.

Shalom,

Gidon Ariel and Bob O’Dell
Root Source Founders

Parashat Ki Teitzei

We are forbidden to withhold or delay a worker’s wages. Relatives’ testimony is inadmissible in a court of law. Various mandatory gifts for the poor are discussed. The procedure for corporal punishment is outlined. The mitzvah of Levirate marriage (yibum) is introduced: if a married childless man dies, his brother is obligated to marry the widow. If the brother refuses to marry the widow, he and she go through a chalitzah ceremony, which frees her to marry whomever she wishes. We are instructed to maintain accurate weights and measures. The reading ends with the mitzvah to remember Amalek‘s evil deed, ambushing the Israelites on their way from Egypt.

Parashat Ki Tetzeh: Divine Disorder- The Incomprehensible Unity of Torah

Parashat Ki Tetzeh confronts us with one of the Torah’s most bewildering characteristics: its apparent indifference to our human need for logical organization. Here we find over seventy mitzvot scattered like stars across the night sky, some dealing with the most intimate relationships between husband and wife, others with the treatment of animals, still others with matters of war and peace. The sages tell us that in Deuteronomy, unlike other books, we may derive meaning from juxtaposition, yet even they struggled to find coherent connections. What emerges is not chaos, but a different kind of order, the order of divine consciousness rather than human logic.

Learn here

Shoftim:
Rabbi Gedalia Meyer's Weekly Torah Study

Accepting that the people of Israel may someday wish to appoint a king over them, the Torah lists a number of prohibitions and responsibilities to be placed upon the king, with the foreknowledge that power placed in the hands of one man is an invitation for a host of problems.

Watch the video

Lesson 1: Shoftim

Lesson 1 of Deuteronomy 2 in the Shabbat Shalom: Portion of the Week series features Sondra Baras as she begins a six-part course exploring key themes and teachings from this portion of Scripture.

Learn here

Gidon Ariel Explains Religious Zionism

Gidon Ariel from Root Source explains the origins of Religious Zionism (starting at 5:09) in the context of his own personal story of how he came to Israel.

Learn here

Conversations:

Dr Richard Booker and Gidon Ariel January 11

Gidon and Richard discuss the Verse from Hebrews 11:6, “God rewards those who diligently seek him,” and especially the first part of that verse, “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and how that compares and contrasts to the passage in Mishna Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), chapter 3 mishna 10: “those who are pleasing to others are pleasing to God, and those who are not pleasing to others are not pleasing to God.”

Watch the video

Comments

We get so many comments!

Here is one from Stevie Mick from What Was Jesus' Favourite Book? Gidon Ariel Talks to Jeff About The "Bible" in the First Century

"Shalom, Gidon! Wonderful exchange with Jeff and should challenge assumptions by many Christians who claim to be “restoring New Testament Christianity.” Shifting the focus from “books” to “scrolls” was excellent and was also a wonderful reflection for me! As I recall you did not specifically answer the discussion questions itself. Jeff answered the Psalms and that may be true of Scriptures recited without reference to the amount of times they were cited. Otherwise, for sheer volume I still hold to the fifth scroll of the Torah, Devarim."

Old City, Jerusalem

Enjoy this photo taken in Old City, Jerusalem by Sander Crombach

Blessings and Shalom,
Bob and Gidon

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The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.

Parashat Ki Teitzei

Parashat Ki Tetzeh: Divine Disorder- The Incomprehensible Unity of Torah

Shoftim: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer's Weekly Torah Study

Lesson 1: Shoftim

Gidon Ariel Explains Religious Zionism

Shoftim:
Rabbi Gedalia Meyer's Weekly Torah Study