If you’ve been following the weekly Torah schedule, you will recall that in last week’s Torah reading (i.e., Shoftim), Moses defined an extensive system of justice for the Israelites and pointed to the coming Messiah who would be the rightful King of Israel: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers — it is to him you shall listen” (Deut. 18:15). In this week’s portion (i.e., Ki Teitzei: כי־תצא), Moses returns to the immediate concern of life in the promised land by providing additional laws to be enforced regarding civil life in Israel. In fact, Jewish tradition (following Maimonides) identifies no less than 74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments in this portion (more than any other), covering a wide assortment of rules related to ethical warfare, family life, burial of the deceased, property laws, the humane treatment of animals, fair labor practices, and honest economic transactions.
Of particular interest to us is the statement that a man who was executed and “hanged on a tree” (עַל־עֵץ) is cursed of God (Deut. 21:22-23). According to the Talmud (i.e., Nezakim: Sanhedrin 6:4:3), the Great Sanhedrin (סַנְהֶדְרִין גְדוֹלָה) decided that “a man must be hanged with his face towards the spectators” upon a wooden stake, with his arms slung over a horizontal beam. It should be noted that while this is technically not the same thing as the gruesome practice of Roman crucifixion, the reasoning based on this verse was apparently used to justify the execution of Yeshua (Mark 15:9-15; John 19:5-7; 15). The exposed body was required to be buried before sundown to keep the land from being defiled. Besides the shame and degradation of this manner of death, the one so executed would be unable to fall to their knees as a final act of repentance before God, thereby implying that they were under the irrevocable curse of God (קִלְלַת אֱלהִים).
In this connection, we should note that Yeshua was falsely charged with blasphemy before the corrupt Sanhedrin of His day (Matt. 26:65; Mark 14:64; John 10:33) – an offence that was punishable by stoning (Lev. 24:11-16). However, since the Imperial Roman government then exercised legal hegemony over the region of Palestine, all capital cases were required to be submitted to the Roman proconsul for adjudication, and therefore we understand why the Jewish court remanded Yeshua and brought him to be interrogated by Pontius Pilate. Because Roman law was indifferent to cases concerning Jewish religious practices (i.e., charges of blasphemy), however, the priests further slandered Yeshua by illegitimately switching the original charge of blasphemy to that of sedition against Rome. The Sanhedrin undoubtedly rationalized their duplicity because the Torah allowed for an offender to impaled or “hung on a tree” (Num. 25:4), and since they were unable to do carry out this judgment because of Roman rule in the area, they needed Pilate to condemn him to death by crucifixion (Matt. 27:31; Mark 15:13-4; Luke 23:21; John 19:6,15). Note that crucifixion is mentioned elsewhere in the Talmud (Nashim: Yevamot 120b) regarding whether a widow can remarry if her husband had been crucified, as well as by the Jewish historian Josephus. The Talmud furthermore alludes to the death of Yeshua where Yeshua is said to have been crucified on “eve of Passover” (Nezekin: Sanhedrin 43a).
Ki Teitzei Podcast:
It is written in our Scriptures: “Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). The Hebrew text for this verse is emphatic. We are to guard our hearts vigilantly, just as a prison guard or warden might keep watch over a prisoner. The phrase translated “above all else” (mikkol mishmar), literally means “more than anything that might be guarded” a construction used to intensify the command to exercise vigilance. Plainly put, this verse commands us to watch over our heart more than anything else.
In this audio podcast I discuss the the 
Why does God want us to face the truth about death? Why does Moses ask God to teach us to “number of our days?” (Psalm 90:12). The reason is that by nature people deny the reality of death – they hide their eyes from it, ignore it, and pretend it’s not there – so they can continue to live under the illusion that they are in control of their lives, that they are the center, that they are immortal little “gods.” Death threatens the ego and humbles us to confess the truth about life, namely that we are not in control, that we cannot choose to be immortals, that we do not have power to exist in ourselves, and therefore we need life from a different source – spiritual life – wherein we receive a new identity and a new being found in relation to God.
We are instructed to look for small miracles, everyday “signs and wonders…” In the Torah we read: “And you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.” (Deut. 8:10), which the sages say implies that whenever we derive benefit or enjoyment from something we are to bless (i.e., thank) God for his goodness.
Shabbat Shalom chaverim. In this “Daily Dvar” broadcast, based on 
Our Torah portion this week (i.e., 
In our Torah reading for this week (i.e., 
Though it is good to ask questions about what we believe, to seek for understanding, and to study the Scriptures, we must do so using the principle that “faith seeks understanding,” rather than the converse principle that “understanding seeks faith,” since the latter elevates human reason to be the judge and arbiter of the things of God, a role for which it is both incapable and unsuited (Isa. 55:8-9; Job 9:10; 11:7; Psalm 139:6; Rom. 11:33). God is not a “what” but a “Who,” and that affects the means by which we know him (John 4:24). We certainly can know truth about God, though the instrumentality for attaining such knowledge transcends the abilities of unaided human reason (see Deut. 29:29).
Shalom chaverim. In this “Daily Perush” audio I provide an exegesis and reading of a significant phrase in King Solomon’s great prayer at the dedication of the First Temple, namely, “Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you” (2 Chron. 6:18), and I then go on to reflect a bit on the meaning of these words in relation to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Please note that this topic is primarily designed for those who are studying Biblical Hebrew. I hope you will find it helpful. – John