In Song: Ki Tetzey
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Vincent Van Gogh, detail from ‘Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background,’ 1889.
Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — with a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll.
This week’s parsha, Ki Tetzey, begins with rules about how to treat a female captive from war, and goes on to give many mitzvot that set moral standards for individuals and society as a whole. These include laws pertaining to loans and collateral, family and extramarital relations, how to exact punishments such as death and lashes, the requirement for fair weights and measures, and many others.
One law concerns a rebellious son who, if he fulfills certain conditions, we are commanded to execute before he becomes a menace to society. David Bowie might describe it like this:
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
