Weekly Shabbat Parsha Thoughts – Ki Tavo – 8.27.2010

This week’s portions says, "See, I have put before you, life and good, death and evil ... choose life so that you may live...”. Ki Tavo is about the decisions we make as a chosen people, and the consequences of our actions. It also affirms that these choices are definitively ours.

Our role in the covenant is one of partnership. We are not silent partners in the deal. This week the possibility of positive and negative results from our action are set out in front of us. This possibility reminds us that both can happen. Both are allowable within Hashem’s plan.

If both are allowed than we have a vital role. And that is choice. We must make a choice to achieve the rewards or punishments mentioned this week. It is part of the covenant.

The existence of a positive and negative this week reminds us our role and responsibility. We must choose to be happy, engaged, committed, connected, spiritual and accountable for our lives and results. If we are not happy with our situation, we must remember we have made many of the choices that got us there. And even more so, we have made the choice of how we respond and let the situation impact us.

So this week remember that we must choose to live the life we want. We must choose to live the dreams we aspire to, and we must choose to be a partner in our covenant with Hashem. The wonder of this week is that we have a reminder, a reminder that the consequences and rewards that we worry and hope for are not defined or predetermined, but in doubt. But while they may be in doubt, they are in our hands.

Our choice and path is not supposed to be easy or predetermined. We must be aware that we hold the choice in our hand. For it to matter it must be a challenge. It must be uncertain, and we must be able to affect the outcome. A movie where everything is set up and works out without much resistance and surprise is boring, same with life.

Hashem puts the options into our lives, including the difficulties. As we have evolved in the covenant more is on us - we have to act - our strength and growth comes from having to make choices and decisions.

Our choice should be to affirm life, accept the challenge of life, and be positive in our life. It is what we should do, and more importantly as we are reminded this week, something that are able and required to do.

Shabbat Shalom Parsha Summary

General Overview: The Israelites are commanded to bring the first of their fruit to the Temple, and to deliver all tithes to their proper recipients.Moses explains how the blessings and curses are to be proclaimed on Mts. Grizzim and Ebal when the Jewish nation enters into Israel. He then details the blessings they will receive for following the commandments of the Torah, and the calamities which will result from disregarding them. First Aliyah: This section introduces us to the mitzvah of bikurim, the requirement to bring one's first fruits to the Holy Temple. This mitzvah applies to fruits and produce grown in the land of Israel, and only those for which the land of Israel is praised: wheat, barley, dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates and olives. When in the Temple, the owner of the fruits recites a brief thanksgiving prayer to G‑d and presents the produce to the priests. Second Aliyah: During Temple times, Jewish farmers were required to separate from their produce several different tithes. These were distributed to the priests, the Levites, the poor, and one tithe which was eaten by its owners in Jerusalem. The different tithes were not all given each year, rather there was a three-year cycle. In this aliyah, the Torah gives the procedure to be followed on the day before Passover during those years which followed the conclusion of a cycle. The farmer was to declare that he has performed all his tithing duties and then beseeches G‑d to bless His people and the Land. Third Aliyah: Moses admonishes the Jews to observe G‑d's commandments; reminding them that they have selected Him to be their god, and He, in turn, has chosen them to be His holy and treasured nation. Fourth Aliyah: The Jews are instructed to gather large stones when they cross the Jordan River. These stones were to be plastered, and the entire Torah was to be engraved upon them. Another set of stones was also to be inscribed with the entire Torah, and be set on Mt. Ebal. Fifth Aliyah: The Jewish people are instructed to proclaim blessings and curses on Mts. Grizzim and Ebal. The elders of the Levite Tribe together with the Holy Ark stood between the two mountains, and six tribes were stationed atop each mountain. The Levites and priests faced each mountain alternately, and stated the blessing and curses. At the end of the aliyah, we are told of the bountiful blessings which will shower us if we hearken to G‑d's commandments. Sixth Aliyah: This section continues with the aforementioned blessings, and then launches a lengthy description of all the maledictions and suffering which will befall the Jews when they neglect the mitzvot. Seventh Aliyah: Moses reminds the Jews of all the miracles which have been their lot from when G‑d took them out of Egypt until that very day. He concludes by saying that it is therefore incumbent upon them to follow G‑d's covenant.

Parsha Summary

General Overview: Moses continues his pep talk to the Israelites, cautioning them not to fear the Canaanite armies for G‑d will wage battle for them. He also notifies them that their entry into the Land is not due to their own virtues – Moses reminds them of their many transgressions to emphasize this point – but rather, it is in the merit of the nation's Forefathers. The commandments of prayer and Grace After Meals are mentioned. The second part of the Shema is also found in this portion.

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First Aliyah: This section begins with a promise: if the Israelites observe G‑d's commandments, they will be blessed in a multitude of ways, including the obliteration of their Canaanite enemies. Moses enjoins the Israelites not to fear these enemies, for G‑d will miraculously deliver them into their hands. Moses instructs the Israelites to destroy all the idols and their accoutrements which they will find in Canaan. Moses then discusses their forty-year desert ordeal, and the many tests and miracles which accompanied them. Moses provides a description of many of the wonderful features of the Land of Israel, and the Israelites are commanded to bless G‑d after they eat and are sated.

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Second Aliyah: Moses admonishes the Israelites that the new-found fortune which will be their lot once they enter the Promised Land should not lead them to forget the One who provided them with the wealth. Such a blunder would lead to their destruction and ruin.

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Third Aliyah: Moses tells the Israelites that they will inherit the Land of Israel not due to their own merits and righteousness, but because of the promise G‑d made to the Patriarchs. In fact, Moses reminds them of the many times they angered G‑d while in the desert, placing special emphasis on the sin of the Golden Calf, when G‑d would have annihilated the Israelites if not for Moses' successful intercession on their behalf. He also makes brief reference to the other times when the Israelites rebelled against G‑d.

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Fourth Aliyah: Moses recounts how after the Golden Calf debacle, G‑d commanded him to carve two new tablets upon which G‑d engraved the Ten Commandments, to replace the first set of tablets which Moses had shattered. At that time, G‑d also designated the Levites to be His holy servants, because of the devotion they demonstrated throughout the Golden Calf incident.

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Fifth Aliyah: Moses charges the Israelites to love and fear G‑d, and to serve Him. He expounds on G‑d's greatness, and impresses on the Israelites their great fortune: that G‑d has chosen them to be His treasured nation. He again reminds them of the many miracles G‑d had performed on their behalf since they left Egypt.

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Sixth Aliyah: Moses tells the Israelites that the land of Israel is constantly dependent upon G‑d for irrigating rains, and that the land is constantly under G‑d's watchful eyes. We then read the second paragraph of the Shema prayer. In this section we are admonished to observe G‑d's commandments, which will cause G‑d to supply bountiful rainfall and harvests. Non-observance will lead to exile. We are commanded regarding prayer, tefillin, mezuzah, and teaching Torah to our children.

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Seventh Aliyah: Moses informs the Israelites that if they follow G‑d's ways and cleave to Him, they will easily occupy the land of Israel, and no man will stand up against them.