Ki Teitzei, Ki Tetzei, Ki Tetse, Ki Thetze, Ki Tese, Ki Tetzey, or Ki Seitzei (כִּי־תֵצֵא — Hebrew for “when you go,” the first words in the parshah) is the 49th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in late August or early September.
Jews also read the part of the parshah about Amalek, Deuteronomy 25:17–19, as the concluding maftir reading on Shabbat Zachor, the special Sabbath immediately before Purim, which commemorates the story of Esther and the Jewish people’s victory over Haman’s plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther. Esther 3:1 identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. Numbers 24:7 identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. A Midrash tells that between King Agag’s capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel, Agag fathered a child, from whom Haman in turn descended.
The parshah sets out a series of miscellaneous laws, mostly governing civil and domestic life, including ordinances regarding a beautiful captive of war, inheritance among the sons of two wives, a wayward son, the corpse of an executed person, found property, coming upon another in distress, rooftop safety, prohibited mixtures, sexual offenses, membership in the congregation, camp hygiene, runaway slaves, prostitution, usury, vows, gleaning, kidnapping, repossession, prompt payment of wages, vicarious liability, flogging, treatment of domestic animals, levirate marriage, weights and measures, and remembrance of the Amalekites.
Read more about Ki Teitzei: Readings, In Classical Rabbinic Interpretation, In Critical Analysis, Commandments, In The Liturgy, The Weekly Maqam, Haftarah