Jackson Snyder's Bible News -Ki-tetze: “When you go out to war...”

Shabbat Shalom Kol Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., board member of the Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations and member of the International Beit Din of the Institute of Nazarene Jewish Studies. It is our sincere hope and prayer that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah in Kol Yisrael. This week our Parsha is Ki-Tetze (When you go out... ) Debarim (Deuteronomy) 21:10 – 25:19. Our Haftarah portion is YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 52 –13 to 54:1 – 10. Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: MattithYahu 5:31 –32; 19: 3 –12 I Corinthians 9:4 – 18. Please add Tehillim (Psalms) 27.

Transliterated, the opening words of the first verse of this Parsha are: Ki tetze l'milchamah, meaning literally, “When you go out to war...”

Yisrael had many enemies, nations, tribes and people who wanted nothing less that its total destruction. On numerous occasions, the men of ancient Yisrael, as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land and even after they entered The Land, went to war against their enemies.

Yisrael could not be defeated militarily, however, some of its more cunning enemies learned that this small but mighty nation could be defeated from within – Yisrael was often its own worst enemy. If we recall two previous Parshas, Balak and Pinchas, the evil Balak (whose name means destroyer) realized that he could not defeat Yisrael militarily, so he hired Baalam to “curse” the nation. When that plan failed, Balak's third plan was to seduce the young men of Yisrael with the beautiful but idolatrous young women of his kingdom, thereby causing Yisrael to go into whoredom. His insidious plan worked, at least in part, until Yisrael received a traumatic wake up call from Pinchas, but not before 24,000 died in a plague.

Today, as we find ourselves in the beginning years of what is called the 21^st century, we, as spiritual Yisrael must realize that we are still in a state of war. Today, our enemy is the same enemy fought against by ancient Yisrael. It is the real enemy – the “Sitra Achra,” or “The Other Side,” the habitation of ha-satan and his demon spirits.

Ephesians 6:12 Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against world rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.

We must realize that this thing called the Sitra Achra, or the Other Side, is not only very real, both physically and spiritually, but it is also extremely subtle. However, not so subtle references to the Other Side are there for all to read in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament, or more properly, Renewed Covenant). Yet such references are often glossed over by the casual reader. One such example is found in Mark 4:35 – 41.

35 And on the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us pass over to the other side.”

36 And having left the crowd, they took Him along in the boat, as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And there was a great windstorm, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already being filled.

37 And He was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke Him up and said, “Teacher, is it no concern to You that we perish?”

38 And having been awakened, He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

39 And He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you not yet belief?”

40 And they feared exceedingly, and asked each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

The reading continues in 5:1: And they came to the other side of the sea,...

First, we should note that in verse 35, Yahshua said “Let us pass over to the other side.” He did not say “...to the other side of the sea...” as we read in 5:1

As their boats ventured out into the water a great storm arose. We read that there “...was a great windstorm...

The first thing that Yahshua did upon being awakened was to rebuke “...the wind...”

The word “wind” is sometimes translated from the Hebrew word “ruach,” meaning spirit. In Acts 2:2 we know that the Ruach haKodesh (Holy or Set-Apart Spirit) came to the assembled believers in the form of “...a rushing mighty wind...”

In Acts, the “wind” was representative of Yahweh's Ruach HoKodesh, but in the account in Mark 4, we see that this “wind” was threatening and destructive. It instilled great fear. No fear or destruction is part of the “Wind” mentioned in Acts 2.

The incident in Mark 4 was designed by Yahshua to introduce, if you will, His talmudim to the very real world of the Sitra Achra and to show them just how powerful it was (and is) and just how powerless they could be against it without His intervention. We can indeed “go out to war,” but there are certain battles for which we are woefully unprepared and which we have no hope of winning without the direct intervention of Almighty Yahweh through His Son, our Messiah, Yahshua.

The incident was also designed to prepare them for what was to happen next. As they entered the country of the Gadarenes, they met a wild man, who came to them “...out of the tombs...” In other words, this man was a virtual prisoner of, and filled with, the unclean spirits of dead works. We are talking here of the dead works of this thing called “religion.” (We are speaking of 'religion' versus Spirituality). In verse 3 we read “...no one was able to bind him...”

Dead religious works have a powerful strangle hold on the devotees of religious practices that reject or are not in harmony with Torah. Cleansing from such dead works is the subject of the Red Heifer of Bemidbar (Numbers) 19. The ashes of the Red Heifer, when mixed with water, cleansed one from contact with the dead. We must look at such passages with spiritual eyes, and see them on a Sod level.

Note too that the number of unclean spirits cast out of this man was “...legion,” meaning 10,000. In Tehillim (Psalms) 91:7 we read that “...ten thousand (shall fall) at your right side...” In Talmudic literature, it is written that there are 10,000 unclean spirits for every human on the face of the earth.

The demons pleaded with Yahshua to be allowed to attack a herd of pigs, and He consented. Once possessed, the swine, in a sudden mad frenzy, made a suicidal rush over a cliff and into the sea to drown.

The word “sea” is mentioned several times in the above passages. We should understand the “sea” as the “sea of humanity.” Going back to Mark 4, after Yahshua rebuked the wind (the evil ruach) he simply said to the sea “Peace, be still!” The seas of humanity will rage and foment as long as they are under the control of the evil ruach. However, once the evil ruach is rebuked, the sea is able to be calmed. There can be no peace in the world today as long as the evil ruach of anti-nomianism is allowed to control the hearts (and bodies) of men.

We also note in Mark 5 that once the “legion” was cast out of the man he asked to follow Yahshua. But Yahshua refused, telling him that he had another mission – to go to the cities of Decapolis (a ten-city region). Does “ten” have a familiar ring to it?

In ZekarYah 8:23, we have the account of the “...ten men from all languages of the nations...” These are of course the Ephrayimite peoples. Therefore, we can conclude that the ten city region of Decapolis is a clear reference to the ten tribes, or Ephrayim. This man must tell his fellow citizens, Ephraymites, how he was freed from a legion of demons. How he was freed from the corrupting influence of evil.

Evidentially, however, he would have his work cut out for him, for in Mark 5:17 we read: And they began to plead with Him (Yahshua) to leave their borders. Although they had witnessed an astounding miracle of great deliverance, the Gadarenes evidentially were not ready or willing to also be released from the demonic influence that was permeating their land.

Let us return to our Parsha in Debarim 21:11.

Verse 11 speaks of the “...woman fair of form...” or the beautiful captive. The “beautiful woman” represents several different ideas. She represents our desire for the material or more often, the carnal. She can represent negativity, which is often disguised as something desirable.

However, “woman” in Scripture also represents worship. We have Yisrael represented as a woman who will be the bride of the returning Messiah. We have the five wise and the five foolish virgins, and we also have the woman who is “great whore of Babylon,” representative of worldly religion.

This “captive” woman of Debarim 21, however, is in a different category. She is from a people who are close to Yisrael, neighbors, perhaps even distant relatives. Some of her customs and lifestyle are similar to the ones practiced by Yisrael, however, she is still a “foreign” woman and not quite part of Yisrael.

Yahweh instructs the Yisraelites what to do with this captive woman they desire so much – in short, she has to be cleaned up. She must undergo a complete transformation. We must cast ourselves in the role of this woman. In order to become a worthy member of Kol Yisrael, we must divest ourselves of virtually everything that was part of our former lives. As a part of the cleansing process, the woman was required to shave off all her hair, pare her nails, and change her entire wardrobe. I hope we can view this transformation through spiritual eyes, especially so during this month of Elul.

The Captive woman is to also “...mourn her father and her mother a month of days...”

During the month of Elul we are urged to read Psalm 27 every day of the month. In 27:10 we read: When my father and my mother have forsaken me, then Yahweh will take me in.

This verse hints at a necessary separation between the religious doctrines we have been taught since childhood, and for generations, and the truth and light of Torah spirituality. We, as the beautiful captive woman, must realize that: YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 16: 19b “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”

Once we come to this startling (and perhaps painful) revelation, we are ready to be transformed from the beautiful captive woman, or woman fair of form (worldly religion) into the woman (Spiritual Yisrael) who will be the Bride of Messiah. Here we can also see a strange paradox. Although the “woman of fair form” was a “captive,” she was in a very real sense, someone who was rescued, rather than taken captive. She was released from her former captivity to the freedom of a new life.

In order to fulfill our proper spiritual role, we need constant reminders – physical reminders. As the woman of fair form put off the garments of her captivity, she necessarily put on the garments of freedom, which served to remind her of her new status. This is why Yahweh saw fit to institute the Mitzveh of Tzith-tzith – or tassels, as we read in Debarim 22:12 “Make Tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.”

The wearing of Tzith-tzith is not a “Jewish custom.” It is not a “suggestion.” It is a Biblical command from Almighty Yahweh Himself. We cannot separate the physical from the spiritual or vise versa. If we recall ZekarYah 8:23. the ten men took hold of the “...edge of the garment...” of a “Yehudite.” (a Jew). The phrase “edge of the garment” in Hebrew is “Tzith-tzith. So, correctly translated, the ten men held onto Tzith-tzith, and declared their intent to “...go with” the Yehudite (Jewish) man, in other words to follow His customs, to do things His way.

I find it apalling that the some false “teachers” of Yisrael take a stand against Tzith-tzith and arrogantly declare, “We are not Jews.” They teach such un-Scriptural notions as “If you have the Holy Spirit you don't need Tzith-tzith.” Such idea is found nowhere in the Bible and is against Yahweh's Torah.

Yes, we are at war (sometimes even against our own 'brethren'). We must prepare to “Ki-tetze,” or “Go out...” But where are the battle lines?

Earlier we said that “Decapolis” means a region of ten cities. It can also mean, simply, “everywhere.” The battle we face is indeed everywhere. But what does this mean? Again, simply put, it means that we must declare and demonstrate our Spirituality everyday, not just on Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh or Moedim. We must prepare for spiritual battle in the work place, in the school, or shopping malls, where ever and everywhere. We must be prepared at all times to tell our fellow Yisraelites (the Gadarenes) what a great work Yahweh had done in our lives. How He has cleansed us from a veritable legion of unclean spirits -- the same spirits that deceived and blinded the eyes and stopped the ears of our forefathers.

During Elul we have the opportunity to make our transformation, and our preparations for war, very personal. This must be done because our relationship with Almighty Yahweh must be deeply personal.

May Almighty Yahweh bless us all as we seek to learn more of His ways and allow truth to free us from error, and cleanness from uncleanness.

It is no coincidence that Ki-tetze has a Gematria value of 30 (Ki) and 491 (Tetze), a total of 521. In Debarim 32:31 we have the phrase, “(And I) make alive” also having a Gematria value of 521. It is Ki-tetze, going forth to war, that make us alive. Tetze, has a Gematria of 491, and in Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:24 we have “Tabernacles” or “Booths” -- HaSuccoth also having a Gematria value of 491. Part of our warfare preparation is attending Sukkot.