וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם
וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם
Parashat Ki Tavo, which we read this week, outlines a series of blessings contingent upon following God’s commandments and a series of curses for disobedience. This serves as a warning of what to expect upon entering the Promised Land.
A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of talking with someone interested in converting to Judaism. Since the pandemic, I have noticed an uptick in people interested in converting with me. In the conversation, I asked them more about themselves, their story, and their interest in casting their lot with the Jewish people. And although I’ve heard several answers now to this question of “Why do you want to convert?”, I had never heard this one before.
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A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman
Parashat Ki Tavo begins with two mitzvot which are declarations. The first is that of Bikkurim – the first fruits. This declaration is very familiar to us as it forms the basis of the Maggid section of the seder (Arami Oveid Avi… (Deut 26:5-10). The rabbis call this statement “mikra bikkurim” – “the declaration of the first fruits”.
The second declaration concerns the end of the three year cycle of tithes. In short, all the tithes of the cycle had to be properly distributed during three years. On the last day after each three year cycle, a declaration at the Temple was made. Here is that declaration:
I have removed the holy things (tithes) from my house, and I have also given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the Read More >
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| A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabbi Heidi Hoover (’11) In the megahit musical Hamilton, there is a song with the repeated line, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrMkdZtqiVI). The way that we know who we are and where we come from is through stories. Sometimes we call them myths; sometimes we call them history. There’s more overlap between those two than we’d like to admit. It is impossible to include every detail of something that’s happened in a story, so every single time we tell a story, we make choices about what to put in and what to leave out. And indeed, who tells your story can determine whether you are hero or villain, victim or victor—in fact, whether you are remembered at all. Sometimes stories are codified in an attempt to shape identity, to tie everyone into a community through agreement on a shared story. Politicians Read More > |
Coming of the Messiah: Sooner or Later?
A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo
By Rabbi Irwin Huberman (’10)
Perhaps no Jewish themed text has been more quoted in recent times than the 1971 theater production, Fiddler on the Roof.
In one of Fiddler’s closing scenes, as residents of the fictional town of Anatevka continue packing their belongings, one of the local characters, Mottel the Tailor, turns to the community’s rabbi and asks:
“Rabbi, we’ve been waiting for the Messiah all our lives. Wouldn’t now be a good time for him to come?”
To which the Rabbi replies: “I guess we’ll have to wait someplace else.”
The idea of a great national savior to either facilitate or preside over a perfected world has captured the imagination of Jews, among others, for centuries.
Allusions to this character appear in many prophetic books, most notably Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Hosea, Zachariah and Daniel.
As hardships continued to besiege the Jewish people over the Read More >
A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo
by Rabbi Bruce Alpert (’11)
One of the sublime joys of studying at AJR is experiencing tefillah in its community – especially at Retreat. Being in a room with 70 or 80 people, each of whom is, in some way, expert at Jewish prayer, is wondrous. And with a leader who is seeking – through her choice of prayers, songs, and niggunim – to impress upon her congregants a particular insight or perspective on our liturgy, you have an experience that can meet the high expectations for kavanah, for the intentionality that our rabbis have set for us as our goal in communicating with the Holy One.
I came to AJR with a very limited and narrow perspective on prayer. AJR broadened that perspective to my horizons, and then beyond them. It did so by fulfilling the words of Psalm 100: “Serve the Lord in gladness; come into His presence with Read More >
In this week’s Torah portion we are witness to a grand ritual – a dramatization depicting the landscape of choices within which we all reside, at all times. One half of the Israelite tribes are told to stand on Mt. Gerizim while the other half of the tribes are to stand on Mt. Ebal. Between the two mountains lies a valley – middle ground within which the tribe of Levi is to stand. From this middle ground of choice, the Levites call up to those on Mt. Ebal with a series of curses that will result from choices rooted in idolatry, dishonesty, greed and lust. The Levites then call up to those on Mt. Gerizim with a series of blessings that will result from choices to live a life of mitzvot, ethical behavior, honesty and support for the disenfranchised within the community. This is followed by a much more detailed set of Read More >
By Rabbi Jaron Matlow
Lately I have been focusing on Theodicy, the problem of evil in the world. Over the last several years, I have experienced a number of health issues that left me on total disability. In Parashat Ekev, we are told that if we follow God s Torah, God œwill remove all sickness from you (Deut. 7:15). God states further œI am your Healer (Exodus 15:26). So naturally I ask myself the question, œIf I m suffering all these things, am I being punished, and given the suffering of others, are they being punished? Have we not followed Torah and Halakha sufficiently?
Our Parashah, Ki Tavo, is noted for the Tokhehot, the warnings and curses, if we don t follow Torah. In it we find Yak kha YHVH bishhin Mitzrayim uvat horim uvagarav uvehares asher lo tukhal l heirafei. Yak kha YHVH b shiga on u v ivaron u v timhon leivav, œGod will strike you with Read More >
By Steve Altarescu
If Deuteronomic theology has not troubled you so far, Ki Tavo will now challenge you as it pushes the concept of reward and punishment to the limit. For the purpose of review here are some highlights of this theology from earlier in the Book of Deuteronomy.
œGive heed to the laws ¦that you may live to enter and occupy the land. (Deut: 4:1)
œObey ¦that it may go well with you. (4:25)
œGod ¦keeps the covenant faithfully ¦of those who love God and keep God s commandments but instantly requites destruction on those who reject Him. (7:9-10)
œIf you do obey these rules ¦God will maintain ¦the covenant. (7:12)
œSee, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing if you obey the commandments ¦and curses if you do not obey the commandments. (11:26)
In summary, the Israelites were told that if they followed the commandments they would be blessed and rewarded, and if they did not they would be cursed and Read More >
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