Shabbat: Parsha Ki Teitzei
Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is Parsha Ki Teitzei, Deuteronomy 20:10-25:19.
There is a seemingly unassuming passage at the end of Ki Teitzei that forbids the use of "diverse weights", which is to say tools with which to cheat people in business. Whether in measuring grain, grapes or gold, everything must be honest and fair. That's what this entire parsha is really about. It is concerned with what the culture at that time viewed as justice and propriety.