This Week’s Torah Portion: Ki Tavo – כִּי-תָבוֹא (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)
“Amen” appears 12 times in 12 consecutive sentences in this week’s Parasha, Ki Tavo. Amen may be interpreted in several ways: 1) accepting the consequences of a statement; 2) agreeing to something that has happened or is currently the case; 3) expressing belief in something that will happen but has not yet come to fruition.
We are eight days away from Selichot and just two weeks away from Rosh Hashana. What are you saying “Amen!” to? What are you accepting, agreeing to, and stepping into faith for as you enter this New Year?
Amen also indicates a ritual of public performance. When the Hazzan completes the leading of a prayer, the kahal (congregation) will chant together “Amen” in response. It is a public affirmation of communal prayer. The linking of our voices in prayer gives even more sacred power to the season upon us. Let us come together as a community and imagine what we accept together. What are we stepping together in faith toward as we move forward as a sacred community?
Parsha Ki Tavo – כִּי-תָבוֹא Torah Summary:
The Israelites are instructed to express their gratitude to God for their bountiful harvests and freedom from slavery by tithing ten percent of their crops for the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. (26)
The people are told to display on large stones God’s commandments for all to see. (27:1-8)
The Levites are to proclaim curses upon those who violate God’s commandments. (27:15-26)
The Israelites are told that if they obey God’s mitzvot faithfully, they will receive every blessing imaginable. They are also told that if they do not fulfill their brit with God, many curses will descend upon them. (28:1-69)
Moses 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. (29:1-8) Ki Tavo – כִּי-תָבוֹא
“You have declared this day that Adonai is your God … And Adonai has declared this day that you are God’s people … ”(Deuteronomy 26:17-18)
We choose God and God chose us. It is a mutual relationship we have with God. As the rabbis interpret in the Talmud. The people of Israel crown Adonai every day when we say at our Temples and synagogues, “Hear Israel Adonai is your God, Adonai One.”
The Israelites are instructed to express their gratitude to God for their bountiful harvests and freedom from slavery by tithing ten percent of their crops for the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. (26)
The people are told to display on large stones God’s commandments for all to see. (27:1-8)
The Levites are to proclaim curses upon those who violate God’s commandments. (27:15-26)
The Israelites are told that if they obey God’s mitzvot faithfully, they will receive every blessing imaginable. They are also told that if they do not fulfill their brit with God, many curses will descend upon them. (28:1-69)
Moses 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. (29:1-8)