Parashat Ki Teitzei for Kids
This week Moshe teaches more mitzvot than in any other parsha — and so many of them are about one quiet, beautiful thing: noticing. Noticing a lost mitten, a tired animal, a worker who needs paying, a person who needs help. Told for ages 5–9, with a ready 30-minute lesson.
Torah reading: Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 · full text on Sefaria
Read on Shabbat: August 22, 2026 · September 11, 2027 · September 2, 2028 (diaspora — see the full schedule)
What happens in this parasha?
Most parshiyot tell a big story — a journey, a miracle, a brave person who speaks up. This week is different. Moshe stands before the people and teaches them mitzvah after mitzvah — more than in any other parsha in the whole Torah! And when you look closely at so many of them, you find the same warm thread running through: they teach us to notice the people and creatures around us, and to be kind.
Imagine you are walking down the road and you spot your friend’s lost backpack lying in the grass. The easy thing is to keep walking. But the Torah says: stop, pick it up, and bring it back — this is hashavat aveidah, returning a lost thing. If you don’t know whose it is, you keep it safe until they come looking. The Torah also teaches us to be gentle with animals: before taking eggs from a nest, you first shoo the mother bird gently away so she isn’t frightened — that is shiluach haken. And if you see a donkey that has stumbled and fallen under a heavy load, you don’t walk past — you stop and help lift it up.
Other mitzvot this week teach us to keep people safe and to be fair. When you build a house with a flat roof where children might play, you put a little fence or railing around the edge so nobody falls — that fence is called a maakeh. And fairness is everywhere: when an ox is working hard pulling the plow, you let it nibble the grain as it goes — you don’t tie its mouth shut. When someone works for you all day, you pay them that very same day, so they can buy supper and not go to sleep worried.
And here is one of the gentlest mitzvot of all. When a farmer gathers the harvest and accidentally leaves one bundle of wheat behind in the field, the Torah says: don’t go back for it. Leave that forgotten sheaf — shich’chah — for someone who has no field of their own, so they can come and gather food. Even a mistake, a thing you forgot, can become a gift! That is the big idea of the whole parsha: Hashem notices every small kindness — so we learn to notice too.
The 30-minute lesson
Tell the story
Open with the surprise: this parsha has MORE mitzvot than any other in the Torah. Then walk through the kindness ones as little pictures kids can see: the lost backpack you bring back (hashavat aveidah), shooing the mother bird gently (shiluach haken), helping lift a fallen animal, the safety fence (maakeh), letting the working ox eat, paying a worker the same day, and leaving a forgotten bundle of wheat for someone hungry.
Wonder together
Ask: "So many of this week's mitzvot start with NOTICING something other people might walk right past. Why do you think the Torah cares so much about the small things we notice?"
Learn the Hebrew word
This week's word: maakeh — a little fence or railing you build so nobody falls and gets hurt. Say it together, ma-a-KEH. It teaches that keeping other people safe is a real mitzvah, not just being nice.
Build a maakeh (craft + game)
Give your child craft sticks (or blocks) and a square of cardboard as a pretend flat roof. Build a little maakeh railing all the way around the edge. Then play "lost and found": hide a few household items, have your child find them and cheerfully "return" each one to its owner, saying hashavat aveidah as they hand it back.
Wrap up with a kindness we noticed
Go around and each name one kind thing you NOTICED this week that you could do — a lost thing to return, an animal to be gentle with, a person to help. End by reminding them: Hashem notices every small kindness, and this whole parsha is here to help us notice too.
This week’s Hebrew words
| Hebrew | Say it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| מִצְוֹת | mitzvot | Mitzvot — this parsha has more of them than any other in the Torah |
| הֲשָׁבַת אֲבֵדָה | hashavat aveidah | Returning a lost object — bring back the thing your friend lost |
| שִׁלּוּחַ הַקֵּן | shiluach haken | Shooing the mother bird gently away first — being kind to animals |
| מַעֲקֶה | maakeh | A little fence or railing on a roof so nobody falls — keeping people safe |
| שִׁכְחָה | shich'chah | A forgotten sheaf left in the field for someone who is hungry |
| חֶסֶד | chesed | Kindness — the warm thread running through this whole parsha |
Three questions to ask
- You are walking and you find something a friend lost. What is the hard part about stopping to bring it back — and how would you feel if someone did that for you?
- The maakeh is a little fence that keeps people from getting hurt. What is one thing in our home that helps keep our family safe?
- The farmer leaves a forgotten bundle of wheat for someone hungry, even though it was a mistake. Can a mistake ever turn into something good?
Parashat Ki Teitzei FAQ
What does "Ki Teitzei" mean?
Ki Teitzei means “when you go out.” Like most parshiyot, it’s named for its very first words. What makes this parsha famous, though, is what comes next: it holds more mitzvot than any other portion in the Torah — and a remarkable number of them are about kindness and noticing the people and creatures around us.
Why are there so many different mitzvot in one parsha?
Ki Teitzei has the most mitzvot of any parsha — the tradition counts 74. For young children, you don’t need all of them. We’ve gathered the kindness ones into one warm idea your child can carry all week: notice the small things, and be kind. That single thread ties the whole parsha together for a five- or six-year-old.
Some of this parsha sounds like it has hard, grown-up parts. How should I handle that?
You’re right — mixed in among the many mitzvot are some genuinely grown-up topics. The wonderful thing is you can set those aside with a completely clear conscience, because the heart of Ki Teitzei for children is its kindness mitzvot. If your child asks about anything else, “that’s a grown-up part of the Torah we’ll learn when we’re older” is honest and enough. Nothing in this lesson goes near those parts.
What is a maakeh, and why teach it to little kids?
A maakeh is a small fence or railing the Torah says to build around a flat rooftop so no one falls off and gets hurt. Children love it because it’s so concrete — and it teaches a big idea early: keeping other people safe is a mitzvah, just as real as any prayer or blessing. It pairs beautifully with the build-a-fence craft in the lesson above.
Make the parasha a weekly rhythm
New kid-level parasha pages are published ahead of each Shabbat — the full 2026–2030 schedule shows what’s coming. Pair this lesson with candle-lighting times for Friday night, the Hebrew glossary, and free K–6 Hebrew printables.