Parashah Ki Teitsei ("When you go out")

פָּרָשָׁה כִּי תֵצֵא
Parashah Ki Teitsei
"When you go out"

Breakdown
Parashah Ki Teitsei is the 49th weekly portion, the 6th in the book of Deuteronomy. It covers Deut. 21:10 – 25:19. It contains 5,856 letters (in the standard Masoretic Text), 1,582 words, and 110 verses, and generally takes up about 213 lines on a Torah scroll. The title of the portion, Ki Teitsei, means "when you go out."

Overview
Ki Teitsei picks right up from the logical progression of Shofetim, last week's portion. While Shofetim was dealing with order and structure within the Israelite community, Ki Teitsei deals with laws governing the relations between members of the community. Chapter 21:10-14 describes specific rules for going out to battle, and taking a foreign wife. 15-17 governs what a man may or may not do if he has multiple wives. 18-21 deals with rebellious children, and 22-23 gives a very odd command about not letting those put to death by the court hang on a tree all night. Chapter 22 gives various laws, most reiterations from previous sections of the Torah. It also lays the foundation for what constitutes adultery/fornication vs. rape. Chapter 23 gives the restrictions on who is not allowed to enter the Assembly of YHWH. It also gives various laws about the wages of a whore, treatment of a runaway slave, vows, and gleaning from your neighbor's fields. Chapter 24 starts with the laws of divorce, and the specific conditions that must take place for it. It continues to give various laws, ranging from taking pledges, kidnapping, payday for hired servants, and again, leaving the gleanings. Chapter 25 begins with the proper way to punish the man whom the judges have ruled was at fault. It continues to give various laws for levirate marriage (if a man dies, his brother takes his wife to raise up an heir for him), proper weights and measures, and a reminder to destroy the memory of Amalek.

In this article, we will focus on small selections from each chapter, and (hopefully) connect a few dots along the way.

Chapter 21:10-23
10 When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and יהוה your Elohim delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you have a desire to her, and would take her to you as wife; 12 then you shall bring her home to your house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13 and she shall put the clothing of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a month of days: and after that you shall go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go for her being; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

15 If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers who was hated; 16 then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not make the son of the beloved the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn: 17 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 judgment of the firstborn is his.

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them; 19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place; 20 and they shall tell the elders of his city, "This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard." 21 All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so you shall put away the evil from your midst; and all Yisra'el shall hear, and fear.

22 If a man have committed a sin judged worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree; 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of Elohim; that you do not defile your land which יהוה your Elohim gives you for an inheritance.

We'll start here by looking at taking a captive wife. Many people today read sections of the Torah like this one, and cry foul. And to be sure, it doesn't jive with feminism at all. But we must take it in context, both of the Biblical model, as well as of the culture of the time this was written. Every word of YHWH is living and eternal. First of all, this does not apply to us today. I know, you may be thinking, "What a copout! Picking and choosing!" (Read this article, if you think that). But remember that context is king. Today, we are not being commanded by YHWH to go out to battle against our enemies, and take them captive. As we will see in a couple chapters from now, there are some laws that were only applicable for a short period of time, and for a SPECIFIC reason. But we'll get to that. Please note this is not the same as saying those laws have passed away, or that they were "done away with." Laws in America still exist governing how manual traffic lights are to be operated, even though none exist anymore. Those laws haven't disappeared, only the conditions that brought them about. Again, we'll get to that.

So as noted, men today cannot go out to a foreign people and capture a woman and marry her. The reason is, we are not the Hebrew nation being led into the Promised Land by sword to destroy the enemies of YHWH. When we are all gathered, Yeshua will be doing the fighting for us, and there won't be captives. Now then, to ease the feminist ever so slightly, bear in mind that there are laws elsewhere (which we will be getting to) that address rape. A man is never allowed to rape a woman. Never! So in the verses above about taking a wife from among the captives, it would only be possible IF she consented to marry him. We must remember that when it says, "take a wife" it doesn't mean, "take her forcibly" anymore than the "Need-a-penny Take-a-penny" dish at a restaurant implies the pennies must be taken violently.

Now regarding the "shave her head, pare her nails" bit, most Jewish sources state that the reason was to make her unattractive so that the man would no longer desire a foreigner. Rashi, on Midrash Tanchuma, states:

The Torah is speaking only to counter the yetzer ha-ra (evil inclination). For if God would not permit her to him, he would take her illicitly. [In essence, however, the Torah views this as a negative thing, and] if he marries her, he will ultimately come to despise her, as it says after this, "If a man has [two wives-one beloved and the other despised]..." (verse 15). Moreover, he will ultimately father through her a wayward and rebellious son (see verse 18). For this reason, these [three laws] are juxtaposed.

This provides interesting insight. While the Torah itself here offers no indication that it is a bad thing, there are various other warnings against taking wives of foreign people. Not that they were all evil, but that they had customs that were not compatible with a Hebrew life. They worshipped false gods, and did things unclean and abominable. Note also the connection made above that if the man despises his wife, he should let her go out free. This, I believe, does connect with the rebellious child in a sense. Think about it. If your father had two (or more) wives, and your mother was the despised (or even less-loved) one, would that not make you resent your father? Would that not lead most children to rebel against their parents? Now I do not completely agree that IF he marries her, he WILL despise her. If that were the case, he was supposed to let her go out for free, and therefore we would not have the statement in verse 19 that his father and his mother lay hold of him. Still, I believe there is always a connection. The Mishnah actually exempts a minor (boy under age 13), saying he does not yet come into the scope of the requirements of the commandments.

Chapter 22
1 You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely bring them again to your brother. 2 If your brother is not near to you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seek after it, and you shall restore it to him. 3 So you shall do with his donkey; and so you shall do with his garment; and so you shall do with every lost thing of your brother's, which he has lost, and you have found: you may not hide yourself. 4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely help him to lift them up again.

5 A woman shall not wear men's clothing, neither shall a man put on women's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.

6 If a bird's nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young: 7 you shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take to yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.

8 When you build a new house, then you shall make a battlement for your roof, that you do not bring blood on your house, if any man fall from there.

9 You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 You shall not wear a mixed stuff, wool and linen together.
12 You shall make yourselves tassels on the four borders of your cloak, with which you cover yourself.

13 If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and hates her, 14 and accuses her of shameful things, and brings up an evil name on her, and says, "I took this woman, and when I came near to her, I did not find in her the tokens of virginity"; 15 then shall the father of the maiden, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the maiden's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate; 16 and the maiden's father shall tell the elders, "I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of shameful things, saying, 'I did not find in your daughter the tokens of virginity;' and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity." They shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 The elders of that city shall take the man and discipline him; 19 and they shall fine him one hundred sheqels of silver, and give them to the father of the maiden, because he has brought up an evil name on a virgin of Yisra'el: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

20 But if this thing be true, that the signs of virginity were not found in the maiden; 21 then they shall bring out the maiden to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a senseless thing in Yisra'el, to whore in her father's house: so you shall put away the evil from your midst.

22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman: so you shall put away the evil from Yisra'el.

23 If there is a maiden who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lies with her; 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the maiden, because she did not cry out, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife: so you shall put away the evil from your midst.

25 But if the man found the maiden who is pledged to be married in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only who did lie with her shall die: 26 but to the maiden you shall do nothing; there is in the maiden no sin worthy of death: for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and kills him, even so is this matter; 27 for he found her in the field, the pledged-to-be-married maiden cried, and there was none to save her.

28 If a man find a maiden who is a virgin, who is not pledged to be married, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 then the man who did lie with her shall give to the maiden's father fifty sheqels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.

30 A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

Verse 11 states (in the SQV) not to wear a "mixed stuff." This may sound like an odd translation, but it is about as literally as we can get. Most other translations read "mixed threads" or "diverse materials." Specifically, the word in Hebrew is שַׁעַטְנֵז (sha'at'neiz), which is most likely derived actually from two Egyptian words, saht meaning "woven" and nudj, meaning "false." Thus a type of forbidden woven cloth. This verse is connected with Leviticus 19:19, which states not to wear a garment of "two kinds, sha'atneiz." So connected the "two kinds" mentioned in Leviticus, with the definition given in Deuteronomy, we can see these "two kinds" refer specifically to linen and wool. Note that the KJV translates this phrase as, "Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together." You should notice that the word "as" is in italics. In Hebrew, the "like, as" would be shown by a kaf (כ) prefix, which is not present here. Therefore we can see that it is not prohibiting garments that are mixed "as linen and wool" but rather specifically only linen and wool together. So no, this verse does not prohibit you from wearing a cotton T-shirt with 10% polyester.

Verse 12 reiterates the command from Numbers 15 that we are to wear tassels on our garments. Here, however, is an interesting variant. While Numbers 15 calls them tsitsiyot and states they must contain a cord of blue, Deut. 22:12 calls them גְּדִלִים (ge'dilim), and states they must be on the four corners of the garment which they adorn. The word ge'dilim actually means "twisted, braided" and refers to how they are made. The Karaites translate this word as "chain" and therefore make their tsitsiyot braided to represent chains. As for the "four corners," Judaism teaches this to mean they are only required on a garment that has four square corners. Yet the earth has four corners, and it's not a square. So if the round earth can have "corners" then so can any rounded garment.

Starting again in verse 22, we need to carefully define our terminology here. This is yet another place where the modern mind can get tripped up. From just a cursory glance, it would seem that if a man has relations with a married woman, he gets put to death. However, the woman does, too. What if she was raped? Why should she be killed if she was the victim? Well hold your horses, we're getting there. This section actually connects with Chapter 24 a little, but we'll make that connection in a moment.

Notice that it says the man and woman both die. If the woman were engaged, they both die, as being betrothed (engaged) in the Ancient Near East meant you were already married in the eyes of society and the law, just had not yet consummated the marriage. This is seen in the case of Joseph and Miriam when she became pregnant with Yeshua. Again, however, we'll come back to that. The next verse, however, provides the key to this entire section. Verse 24, "because she did not cry out." You see, Ancient Semitic language doesn't use terminology like we do today, nor do we share idioms. Here, if a woman "cried out" it means she was not consenting to the encounter, thus meaning it was rape. If she did cry out, as the following verses attest, then she did not consent to it. If she did not consent, it means the man is put to death, and the woman is free from guilt. So with this understanding in mind, now we can look at verses 28-29 and see that no woman is forced to marry her rapist. Rather, she consented to fornication, and therefore must marry him.

Chapter 23
1 He who is crushed, wounded, or cut off in his privy member shall not enter into the assembly of יהוה. 
2 A mamzer shall not enter into the assembly of יהוה; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of יהוה. 

3 An Ammonite or a Moavite shall not enter into the assembly of יהוה; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of יהוה forever: 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Mitsrayim, and because they hired against you Bil'am the son of Beor from Pethor of Aram-Naharayim, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless יהוה your Elohim would not listen to Bil'am; but יהוה your Elohim turned the curse into a blessing to you, because יהוה your Elohim loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.

7 You shall not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not abhor a Mitsrite, because you lived as a sojourner in his land. 8 The children of the third generation who are born to them shall enter into the assembly of יהוה.

9 When you go forth in camp against your enemies, then you shall guard yourselves from every evil thing.

10 If there is among you any man who is not clean by reason of that which happens him by night, then shall he go outside of the camp. He shall not come within the camp: 11 but it shall be, when evening comes on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.

12 You shall have a place also outside of the camp, where you shall go forth abroad: 13 and you shall have a spade among your weapons; and it shall be, when you sit down abroad, you shall dig therewith, and shall turn back and cover that which comes from you: 14 for יהוה your Elohim walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you; therefore your camp shall be set-apart, that He may not see an unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.

15 You shall not deliver to his master a servant who is escaped from his master to you: 16 he shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place which he shall choose within one of your gates, where it pleases him best: you shall not oppress him.

17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Yisra'el, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Yisra'el. 18 You shall not bring the hire of a whore, or the wages of a dog, into the house of יהוה your Elohim for any vow: for even both of these are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.

19 You shall not lend on interest to your brother; interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest: 20 to a foreigner you may lend on interest; but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that יהוה your Elohim may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land where you go in to possess it.

21 When you shall vow a vow to יהוה your Elohim, you shall not be slack to pay it: for יהוה your Elohim will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you. 22 But if you shall forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in you. 23 That which is gone out of your lips you shall guard and do; according as you have vowed to יהוה your Elohim, a freewill offering, which you have promised with your mouth.

24 When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat of grapes your fill at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your vessel.

25 When you come into your neighbor's standing grain, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not move a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.

As with anything, we need to first define our terms. The phrase "assembly of YHWH" used throughout the first few verses of Chapter 23 needs to be explained. It is generally understood to refer to a minyan, a group of 10 (generally) men that are required as a minimum to perform religious duties. Note that throughout the Torah we see reference to the "assembly" or "congregation" of Israel. This phrase, by definition, cannot refer to an individual Israelite, but rather only a group. According to Rabbinic teaching (as found in the Mishnah in Megillah iv. 3), the following instances require a minyan:

·        Public worship
·        The priestly blessing (Aaronic Benediction)
·        Reading from the Torah and Prophets with corresponding benedictions
·        Seven blessings (Sh'va Berakhot) recited at a wedding
·        Birkhat Ha'Mazon (blessing after meals)

A few others were practiced, but this generally encompasses the practices requiring a minyan. Now if we understand the "assembly of YHWH" to mean even a covenantal relationship with Him, as many understand this passage, we must then reconcile Isaiah 56, where it is stated that even the eunuch is invited to keep the Sabbath, and to become an Israelite. But if we understand that the assembly refers to a group that is eligible to perform religious duties, we can then link this to Leviticus 21, which gives restrictions on who may or may not perform the duties of a priest. So then it is not that a eunuch cannot become an Israelite, it is that he cannot perform certain duties, due to physical imperfections. This may also mean that the man may not marry an Israelite, though this interpretation is debated. Note that this will not apply after the resurrection, when physical deformities are no more.

The Hebrew word mamzer (מַמְזֵר) is usually defined as "one of illegitimate birth, a bastard." However, there is a little more to it than that. Simply put, it refers to a person who was born of a forbidden relationship. This could include being born out of wedlock, born to one Israelite parent and one heathen, born out of incest, and so on. It is related to the word זר (zur), which means "strange." The Talmud states that an Israelite may not marry a mamzer, though it is possible this was only intend up to the 10th generation.

Moab and Ammon are actually tied into the context of the preceding verse. According to Gen. 19, Moab and Ammon were born via incestuous relations between Lot and his two daughters. Thus Moab and Ammon are, strictly defined, mamzers. Now one may well take note that Ruth was a Moabite, and yet she was not only allowed to convert and come into covenantal relationship with YHWH, but she was also allowed to marry Boaz, a Jew. Why is this? Consider the following. Moab and Ammon were born around the same time as Isaac (compare Gen. 19 with Gen. 21). Given that, we can safely assume they were the same generation. Here is Isaac's line, continuing through Jacob and Judah:

1.      Isaac
2.      Jacob
3.      Judah
4.      Perez
5.      Hezron
6.      Ram
7.      Amminadab
8.      Nahshon
9.      Salma
10.   Boaz

So if Boaz was the 10th generation from Isaac, does it not make sense, then, that Ruth would also be the 10th generation (or later!) down from Moab? So when it was commanded that no Moabite or Ammonite should enter the assembly, "to the 10th generation," we can see that Ruth was the first generation that qualified! The command "to the 10 generation" is taken by some to be an idiom for "forever," as the end of verse 3 does, in fact, say "forever." But if that means no Moabite can ever enter, then we have two question. 1) What about Ruth? And 2) why even say "10 generations"? Well the clause "forever" applies to the first 10 generations of Moabites. This means that, say, a 3rd generation Moabite would never, ever be allowed in, even if he lived until the 10th generation. Make sense?

A brief note on verse 18, the phrase "the wages of a dog" is generally understood to be an idiom for a male prostitute.

Chapter 24
1 When a man takes a wife, and marries her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some nakedness in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorce, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 When she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. 3 If the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorce, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, who took her to be his wife; 4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before יהוה: and you shall not cause the land to sin, which יהוה your Elohim gives you for an inheritance.

5 When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, neither shall he be assigned any business: he shall be free at home one year, and shall give gladness to his wife whom he has taken.

6 No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he takes a man's being to pledge.

7 If a man be found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Yisra'el, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so you shall put away the evil from your midst.

8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy that you guard diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so you shall observe to do. 9 Remember what יהוה your Elohim did to Miryam, by the way as you came forth out of Mitsrayim.

10 When you do lend your neighbor any kind of loan, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you do lend shall bring forth the pledge outside to you. 12 If he be a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge; 13 you shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless you: and it shall be righteousness to you before יהוה your Elohim.

14 You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he be of your brothers, or of your sojourners who are in your land within your gates: 15 in his day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it – for he is poor, and sets his being on it – lest he cry against you to יהוה, and it be sin to you.

16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 You shall not distort judgment to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow's clothing to pledge; 18 but you shall remember that you were a bondservant in Mitsrayim, and יהוה your Elohim redeemed you there: therefore I command you to do this thing.

19 When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that יהוה your Elohim may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a bondservant in the land of Mitsrayim: therefore I command you to do this thing.

Verse 1 probably reads different than any other version you've ever read from. This is because it is translated quite literally. The word in question in Hebrew, עֶרְוָה (ervah), means literally "nakedness." This is normally translated as "indecency" or "unseemliness." However, that does not carry the full context, and does not mesh with other Scriptures on the topic. Here it means that if the man finds a matter of "nakedness" in her, that is, that she has previously had relations with someone. Now this doesn't matter if she was previously married, as the husband would surely know this. But if she was supposed to be a virgin, then it would be a problem. As we looked at earlier, a woman who has relations with a man, if neither are married, must then marry him. So if the woman had previously had relations, it means she should have been married. That, or she lied about being a virgin, which also connects with previous sections.

As for the Talmud, this is where it gets interesting. Of the two ruling schools during the days of Yeshua, our Messiah almost always lined up with one in particular. These two schools, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai, both had large followings. Messiah Yeshua almost always agreed with the rulings from Hillel, and even quoted Hillel. For instance, the statement that we call the "Golden Rule"? You know, the old adage, "Do unto other what you would have them do unto you"? Yeshua didn't coin that phrase, He merely paraphrased Hillel. Hillel had said, "That which you abhor, do not do unto your neighbor." Hillel was known as the house that "loosened" while Shammai was the house that "bound." To "loosen" means to reduce restriction, to "bind" means to increase restriction.

So on most issues, we find that Yeshua agreed with the House of Hillel. Hillel's grandson was Gamaliel, who is mentioned in the Book of Acts as both a great wise teacher (who seemed sympathetic towards the early Believers), and the teacher of Paul. Paul said he was "trained at the feet of Gamaliel" (Acts 22:3). This meant that Paul was trained and instructed in the ways of Hillel, and his letters show that he, too, agreed with Hillel the vast majority of the time. Now there is one major issue, however, where Yeshua did not agree with Hillel: divorce. The House of Hillel interpreted the phrase in Deuteronomy 24, "indecent thing" to mean anything that displeased a man about his wife. In fact, the Talmud says:

"The House of Shammai says, 'A man may not divorce his wife unless he found in her an act of adultery. [Because it is written:] "Because he found in her an adulterous matter."' But the House of Hillel says, 'Even if she burned his meal.' [Because it is written:] "Adulterous or any other matter.' Rabbi Akiva says, 'Even if he found another more attractive than her.' [Because it is written:] "And it comes to pass that she does not find favor in his eyes."'" – Gittin 90

Note that, odd as it may seem, Yeshua agrees with Shammai's ruling here.

9 And I say to you, whoever sends away his wife – except for whoring – and marries another woman commits adultery. – Matthew 19:9

According to Yeshua, this ruling of adultery being the only grounds for divorce, now makes sense given the context and language of Deuteronomy 24. Also we see that the Rabbis had already discussed this issue, and so they already had their own opinions when they asked Yeshua this question.

Deuteronomy 25
1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall declare the righteous right, and condemn the wicked; 2 and it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number. 3 Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then your brother should be degraded to you.

4 You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the grain.

5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a foreigner: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him as wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 It shall be, that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Yisra'el.

7 If the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, "My husband's brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Yisra'el; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me." 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he stand, and say, "I do not want to take her"; 9 then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, "So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house." 10 His name shall be called in Yisra'el, the house of him who has his shoe loosed.

11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draws near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him who strikes him, and puts forth her hand, and takes him by the genitals; 12 then you shall cut off her hand, your eye shall have no pity.

13 You shall not have in your bag diverse weights, a great and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house diverse measures, a great and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect and just weight. You shall have a perfect and just measure, that your days may be long in the land which יהוה your Elohim gives you. 16 For all who do such things, even all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.

17 Remember what Amaleq did to you by the way as you came forth out of Mitsrayim; 18 how he met you by the way, and struck the hindmost of you, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear Elohim. 19 Therefore it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which יהוה your Elohim gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amaleq from under the heavens; you shall not forget.

In Acts 23:5, Paul was just arrested at the Temple after offering sacrifices for cleansing after a vow. In verse 2, the High Priest at that time commanded Paul to be struck on the cheek. Paul then replied with, "Elohim will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit and try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?" Now the response was that he should not revile the High Priest. Then Paul apologizes, and quotes Exodus 22:28, which says not to curse a judge or ruler of the people. However, when Paul mentioned that they were in violation of the Law (Torah) to command him to be struck, what did he mean? He was referencing the section above, from Deut. 25:1-3. According to these laws, Paul could not be struck or punished in any way, until the trial was over, and he was found guilty.

In the next section, again we find a parallel to the story of Ruth. Ruth was the woman whose husband died childless, and so she married a relative (Boaz). Even the removal of the shoe is mentioned in Ruth. Note also that in the previous chapter, we learned that the edges of the fields were to be left for the sojourners. Ruth was a sojourner when she returned with Naomi, and thus the gleanings of the field were lawfully hers regardless.

This entire parashah, actually, is perfectly related to the story of Ruth. From being a 10 generation Moabite, to being a sojourner, to marrying a relative through Levirate marriage, even to the naming of Obed. Obed, the first son of Ruth and Boaz, was delivered to Naomi. This is because the Law requires that the firstborn of the woman (Ruth) and the relative that redeemed her (Boaz) was to bear the name of the deceased man (Mahlon, in this case).