August 22, 2026 – Ki Tetze (“When you go forth”) – Parshat 49

• Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19
• Haftara: Isaiah 54:1-10 ( Rani Akarah )
• Brit Chadasha: Matthew 24:29-42

כִּֽי־תֵצֵ֥א לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ וּנְתָנ֞וֹ יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ בְּיָדֶ֖ךָ וְשָׁבִ֥יתָ שִׁבְיֽוֹ׃

Ki-tetse lamilchamah al-oyveycha unetano Adonay Eloheycha beyadecha veshavita shivyo.

When you take the field against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive,

Firstborn Son: “but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.” (Devarim) Deuteronomy 21:17

The Torah requires a man to leave a double portion of all he has to his firstborn son in order to continue in the line of Patriarch. In Exodus 4:22, God declares, “Israel is my son, my firstborn.” Rav Shaul says in Colossians 1:15 Yeshua “He is the firstborn of all creation” and “He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Col. 1:18. and in his letter to the Hebrews Shaul says “but Messiah is faithful as a Son over his house; Heb. 3:6

So… is the firstborn son of Elohim Israel or Yeshua, and how do we reconcile this accounting of double honor due the firstborn in the kingdom?

[ “God has many sons. The Bible refers to the angels as “sons of God” B’reisheet (Genesis) 6:2. The people of Israel are called His children, and the Bible refers to the nation as His son. The followers of Yeshua are also called the children of God. Yeshua, however, is “the only begotten of the father” (Yochanan 1:14), a father is required to give his firstborn a double portion of the inheritance. But how can both the Messiah and the nation of Israel be God’s “firstborn son”? The Messiah and Israel are inseparable:

“Where does the Torah speak about (the Messiah?) As it is written in Exodus 4:22 “Israel is my firstborn” … and in Psalm 2:7 says, “He said to Me, “You are My Son.”‘ (Yalkut Shim’oni, 11.621)

Messiah is the quintessential Israelite, What befalls Israel also befalls Messiah. Therefore, passages speaking of Israel by necessity also speak of Messiah. On a mystical level, one might say that God could rightly refer to Israel as His “firstborn son” because the Messiah was destined to be descended from Israel.]                                                      [First fruits of Zion, Shadows of Messiah, book 5 pg.1019, Ki Tetze]

May you be abundantly blessed, as you make Teshuvah in this month of Elul, Sounding the Shofar daily, looking forward to Yom Teruah, and the Fall feasts. (see Festivals and Events for more details)

HaRuach V’Kallah Om’riym Bo – The spirit and the Bride say Come. We say may it be in our day and in our times Mashiach.
Shalom Mish’pachah from Beth Hallel Lodi