Deuteronomy Ki Tavo

Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8

I. Summary

A. Ki Tavo = “when you enter” (the land …).

B. Moses describes rituals for first fruits and tithing. Israelites are instructed to express their gratitude to God for their bountiful harvests and freedom from slavery by tithing ten percent of their crops to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. (Deut 26:1-19)

C. Moses outlines ceremony for when Israelites arrive in Promised Land … a) inscribe laws on stone and display them on Mount Ebal, b) erect an altar, c) sacrifice and meal of rejoicing and d) pronouncement of listed curses by Levites. (Deut 27:1-26)

D. Moses tells the Israelites that if they obey God’s mitzvot faithfully, they will receive all blessings imaginable. They are also told that if do not fulfill their b’rit with God, many curses (which Jewish tradition holds were all fulfilled) will descend upon them. List of curses much larger than preceding list of blessings. (Deut 28:1-69)

E. Moses opens his final address and reminds the Israelites of the miracles they witnessed in the wilderness and commands them to observe the terms of the covenant so that they may succeed in all that they undertake. Moses notes future generations to be bound by covenant and covenant is not hidden document but rather is accessible to all (Deut 29:1-8)

II. Commentary (Plaut, various websites, Jewish Study Bible and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Unconditionality of curses - Curses describe cataclysmic events that will befall the Jewish people as a public entity. They are addressed to the Jewish public rather than to individuals; according to Nachmanides they are firm prophecies that describe real future events; they were never intended to be regarded as contingent possibilities. His basic thesis: the curses of Parshat Bechukotai (prior recitation of curses) foreshadow the destruction of the First Temple and its aftermath, while the curses of Ki Tavo describe events that occurred during the destruction of the Second Temple and its aftermath. Issues: 1) philosophical problem of predestination versus free will; 2) Given that public tragedies are the consequences of public transgressions, our sense of justice is outraged by the thought of the entire Jewish people having to suffer for the actions of individuals, i.e. note issue of how it is possible for a people to transgress as a people; 3) Contra, curses are conditional (more appealing interpretation), i.e. an implied threat that God will no longer view Israelites as “chosen” people if they sin (Deut 28:1 says “ … if you obey … divine commandments … God will set you high above all nations …”).

B. Blessings from curses – Consider good that comes from bad, i.e. learn and evolve as result of going through difficult experiences. Similarly, do not let possibility of falling to temptation of bad behavior (and being “cursed”) prevent you from striving for good behavior (and being “blessed”), i.e. accept that we must live life fully as long as we are blessed with it. “It is not up to you to finish the work, yet you are not free to avoid it” (Pirkei Avot, 2:15–16).

C. Using curses to reconcile “Chosenness” with historical tragedies of Jews - There must be some way that Jews are identifiably different from the people who have acted against them in history. There has to be some apparently threatening factor that triggers oppressive acts against Jews. Only if we assume that Jews have a distinct quality of soul that sets them apart from the rest of humanity, a spiritual essence that other human beings are sensitive to can we come up with a trigger for anti-Semitism. The existence of this unique spiritual quality makes us “chosen.” It is essential that all Jews recognize and understand this unique spiritual quality inherent in themselves. All the suffering predicted in the curses, most of which we have already endured, was inflicted to drive home this one single message. The curses are not to be understood as punishments. They reflect the fact that we Jews differ spiritually from the rest of mankind; the sort of life-style that is appropriate for other people is so inappropriate for us. We are primarily spiritual; we need a Torah life style not only to earn our reward but because it is the only sort of life that suits us. We inevitably suffer when we attempt to live as others do.

D. Don’t take God for granted and be humble - Deut 26:7-10 describes how God responded to our pleas by bringing us from Egypt to the Promised Land. Reminds us to thank God for those things that we seem to have accomplished ourselves and not succumb to idolatry of the self. In a critical evaluation of our accomplishments in life, we must never see ourselves alone: We must also see the hand of God and remain humble.

E. Heart and soul - God dictates not only that we celebrate our observance of these commandments but that we "observe them faithfully with all our heart and with all our soul." (Deut 26:16) Can the Torah impose attitude? Two possible answers … 1) ceremonies are necessary to communicate a feeling about a particular moment in order to facilitate learning and connectedness and 2) the gratitude inherent in overcoming hardship increases the joy of the celebration inherent in bringing in a successful harvest. Either brings "heart and soul" to the rejoicing.

F. Displaying God’s commandments – Not clear what Deut 27:3 (“inscribe … all the words of this Teaching”) required Israelites to display. Joshua 8:32 suggests this means the entire book of Deuteronomy (Moses’ summary of all of God’s words intended for Israelites). Mishnah suggests it means the whole Torah (God’s words themselves). Josephus suggests it means only the blessings and curses (motivation to follow God’s words).

G. Stones making threshold - Laws inscribed on stones coated with plaster set upon Mt. Ebal (Deut 26:2-4) represent a threshold experience in the life of our ancestors … think of the great stone pillars on the border of the ancient Land of Israel as a national mezuzah, marking a threshold in the historical and spiritual experience of our people, impressing upon them the lasting significance of the boundary they were crossing.

H. “My ancestor was a fugitive Aramean”– Required use of these words in prayer to God (Deut 26:5) upon entering Promised Land is an expression of thanksgiving for successfully overcoming dangers to survival. In stating that our father was an Aramean who was lost, we remember that each parent must let the next generation search. Possible references: 1) Abraham (issue = Abraham not a fugitive), 2) Jacob (issue = Jacob not an Aramean) and 3) using translation of “The Aramean caused my father to be lost”, Laban is “Aramean” and Jacob is “father.”


(Revised 9/6/09)