Ki Tavo

Parshah Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 Isaiah 60:1-60:22

This week I must admit, I was distracted in my studies by a great gift of mercy from H*shem.Sudden love fills my heart; I pray I can deserve it, honor G*d through it, and that it will strengthen my faith. I did do my parsha study. May I not slack in my devotions but 'busy myself' with life. I also pray that I can ground out in her depths. G*d be praised.

The title of the parsha is Ki Tavo ("when you come in") which addresses at its outset
Bikkurim (D 26:2) or the first fruits. We are commanded to acknowledge G*d by an offering of the first and best of the harvests. In doing so we recognize that the fertility of the land and our very existence is a miracle; as are the beautiful and diverse species of plants. It is no wonder nature has often been worship as a G*d for G*d's splendor and power is so evident in it. Yet our G*d is greater still!

The Bikkurim is tied in the text to a restatement of the idea of tithing. One meaning of this contrast is that we give to G*d we must also give to each other for all belongs to G*d and all is his. We can serve him by the 'justice' of charity. Moreover it is not just the poor and orphans but the Levites who are to receive benefits of the tithe.

What does this teach us? That it is not just the first and best are G*ds, not just the elect are G*d’s but all of creation is G*d’s. Maimonides in GTP stated "first of everything is devoted to G*d" Yet shouldn't everything be devoted to him? :)

When you listen to the liturgy imagine the Levites singing the psalms. Imagine that the origins of those psalms were ancient. Know they live in us; that G*d has been praised for generation on generation and dedicate yourself that it may be so always.

The first fruits indicate the Israelites have/will stop wandering. Yet they are commanded not to forget. 26:5-9 introduces the Passover Haggadah and begins "My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt."

An amazing article on this verse by Rabbi Felix

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/kitavo_bronfman.shtml

In the new land they are told to create stone alter, write laws on stones. One of my recent influences, RSR Hirsch (bless his memory) declares that this means the law was public and for all. This is seemly modern, but it was largely unprecedented. It is one of the cornerstones of civilization. (So many of which come from the ethics and constant analysis of the Israelites)

Least the grandeur of such a purpose go to their/our heads, we come to a litany of curses which will befall those who don't observe the commandments. It is a public expression replete with "amen"s of the bond of the covenant. It is gruesome in its brimstone, there are threats of plague, loss of sanity, and mothers eating children. A complete loss of order is implied in the lack of faith and service to G*d. This is uncomfortable but the unimaginable chaos of a world without ethics is unimaginable. May G*d take power from the agents of chaos and govern destruction to his ends alone.

The curses are to be shouted from one mountain to another mountain where blessing will be shouted. All of Israel is to stand and affirm these what both say. What a elaborate ritual, emblematic perhaps of the more than two millennia of continued study and belief. Praise Him.

To me this is proto-liturgical. I found the curses are known as the tokhacka, meaning rebuke. According to Lyn Light Geller there are 14 verses of blessing 53 of warning. They are reiterated here in devarim from an earlier parsha B'hukotai.
Ms. Geller also cited our champion Ezra who declared "that they read the curses in Roat Kohanim (lev) before Atzeret(Shavuot) and the one in mishne Torah (Deuteronomy) before Rosh Hashanah"

In an interesting article by Rabbi Dorothy Richman I learned that "The new year Yom Kippur is also (Zeman Matan Torateninu) the time of the giving of the torah." This confused me at first because Shavuot celebrates this. I realized then that Shavuot celebrates the reading of the giving of the Torah, and that Yom Kippur is the time of year it happened. The symmetry and depth of this underlie it significance to mankind.

I cannot think of any more important event in human history. May we all have a portion in the Torah and G*d's blessing for the glory of his ineffible name.