The Torah selection for this Shabbat, Ki Tetze presents the richness of the ethical legislation of the Book of Deuteronomy. Moral sensitivity is the very foundation of the Torah.

A female captive of war may not be taken as a wife until she has been granted one month to mourn the loss of her parents. If her Israelite spouse wishes to divorce her, he may do so. However, he is prohibited from treating her as a slave.

The inheritance rights of the first-born son are inviolate. Even if that child is born to a despised wife, the husband has no right to deprive him of his inheritance.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 presents the famous case of the "rebellious son". According to the literal words of the Torah, a son who curses his parents should be stoned to death. However, rabbinic Judaism created "a fence about the Torah" to make the conviction of a "rebellious son" a legal impossibility. "The rebellious son never was nor shall ever be" is the assertion of the sages.

The exposed corpse of a criminal must be given appropriate burial. Failure to provide appropriate burial, no matter what the status of the deceased, is considered to pollute the land.

The restoration of lost property is a legal obligation. Assistance to fallen animals is required. In the Book of Exodus, the Torah speaks of helping "one's enemy" while Deuteronomy refers to "one's neighbor". Rabbinic Judaism applied these laws of basic kindness to any associate.

Deuteronomy 22:5 prohibits a woman from wearing a male garment. This concept became known as "beged ish". This prohibition is the source of some devout communities not permitting women to wear pants or to wrap themselves in the tallit.

Kindness to animals, tzaar baalei hayyim, prohibits the Jew from taking the eggs from a bird's nest in the presence of the mother. Long life is promised as a reward for the observance of this mitzvah.

The Torah forbids sowing a field with mixed species. An ox and a donkey may not be yoked together. Wool and linen may not be combined in a garment. This last prohibition is still observed by devout Jews whose clothes are examined for "shaatnez".

The Torah punishes false charges asserted against the virginity of a bride. Defaming the woman's character is unacceptable. Adultery is presented as a capital offense for both man and woman. Rabbinic Judaism softened the severity of these cases through its sophisticated laws for witnessing.

The Torah assumes that if a woman was molested in the city that others would hear her cry and rush to assist her. A woman is exonerated when she is forced against her will. The laws of the Torah expressed the highest sense of justice and were re-evaluated by the sages throughout the ages.

Deuteronomy 23 presents the laws of illegitimacy or mamzerut. According to Jewish law, a mamzer is a child born of an adulterous or incestuous marriage, not a child born to a single woman. Today, the issue of mamzerut is of concern to pious Jews, as children born to a woman without a Jewish divorce during her second marriage would be considered mamzerim.

The Israelite camp must be both ritually and morally pure. Bodily emissions are a source of ritual impurity. Men must bathe in order to return to the Israelite camp.

The prohibition of interest on a loan between one Israelite and another is presented in Deuteronomy 23:20. In the rabbinic period, this prohibition interfered with the development of commerce. The sages created a structure that promoted monetary partnerships between parties. During the Middle Ages, as Christians were prohibited from loaning to each other with interest, lending became the Jewish occupation. The resulting anti-Semitism from associating Jews with usury has lasted for centuries. Fortunately, in the contemporary situation, the availability of accessible loans is viewed as the hallmark of a developed economy.

Deuteronomy 24 is the source of the Jewish law of divorce. The Torah presents this simply. However, the laws of the get in rabbinic Judaism are rather sophisticated.

Kidnapping is a capital offense in the Torah.

The garment of the poor may not be taken as a pledge for a loan. The garment may be the only source of warmth that individual possesses over night. Kindness to strangers underscores the laws of the Torah. A hired laborer must be paid wages on the same day. "Remember you were a slave in Egypt". Compassion for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow resonates in our tradition.

Levirate marriage is described in Deuteronomy 25. A brother is required to marry his widowed sister-in-law if she is childless. The child born of this relationship would continue the lineage of the deceased. The ritual performed if the brother refuses to engage in this marriage is known as halitzah.

Honesty in the marketplace is an ethical demand of the Torah.

Our Torah selection of Ki Tetze concludes with command to obliterate the memory of the Amalekites. The Amalekites attacked the women and children of Israel during their departure from Egypt. Amalek is associated with lacking basic human civility and decency. In Jewish tradition, the lineage of Haman is interwoven with the Amalekites.

The richness of our Torah selection is a testimony to the primacy of ethics in Judaism.