This week's Torah Reading:
Ki Tavo
: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
The
parasha
begins with two liturgical declarations. The first involves a declaration that is made when gathering the first fruits of the land each year, which are dedicated to God. The second declaration is made when the tithe, fully 1/10
th
of the years’ crops, is set aside for the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.
Following the giving of these instructions, Moses then goes over the ceremonies that will mark the people’s entrance into the land of Israel. Contained in these ceremonies are a series of blessings and curses which are to be recited by the Levites “in a loud voice”. “If you obey the Lord your God, to faithfully observe all the
Mitzvot
which I enjoin upon you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” (Deut 28:1)
The remainder of the Torah portion contains what is traditionally known as the
Tochechah
, which is a rebuke and a warning, concerning all that will befall the people if they do not faithfully observe God’s laws. It is the custom to read the section in a subdued voice so that we are not too overwhelmed with its horrific consequences!
Saturday night begins the High Holiday season with the
Selichot
service. That service contains a series of prayers and psalms that center on the major theme of the holidays-forgiveness.
Parashat Ki Tavo
provides a perfect introduction to that with the two declarations it mentions, in particular the one over the tithe. In that declaration the Torah instructs us that "you shall declare before
Adonai
your God, 'I have cleared out...from the house'..." (Deut 26:13).
Each human being also has a house-our physical being that contains our soul. What after all is a confession of our sins other than a metaphoric "clearing out our house"? According to Maimonides code of law, the
Mishneh Torah
, the first act of repentance is the recognition of our sins and confessing them before God. We are taking note of the ways we need to change, and, like with both the first fruits and the tithe, we are declaring our intentions out loud before God. Just as our ancestors made the declarations found in the
parasha
, showing that they were ready to initiate a new beginning in the land of Israel, so do we, beginning with
Selichot
and continuing through
Yom Kippur
, declare that once our own house is clear of that which needs to be removed, we will be ready to begin the New Year.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Rabbi Steven Kane
