Monday, September 3, 2012
Parshat Ki
Tavo
D’varim 26:1 – 29:8
21 Elul 5772 / September 7-8, 2012
D’varim 26:1 – 29:8
21 Elul 5772 / September 7-8, 2012
It’s Mine! Or is It?
by Rebecca Karp, MH East Regional Director
by Rebecca Karp, MH East Regional Director
As we are in the thick of the text of Devarim
(Deuteronomy), the last book of the Torah, as we push ever closer to the high
holidays and begin again, Ki Tavo reminds us of a few key points HaShem made
earlier on in our story.
The bulk of the parsha (weekly Torah portion) speaks
about our covenant with G~d and how, if we follow the various dictums G~d has
laid out for us, we will be supremely blessed. There are details upon details
of how those blessings will manifest in our lives, the lives of those closest
to us, and so on.
In contrast to this list, albeit in its own right
lengthy, there is a far more detailed account of what curses will befall us
should we fail to obey and participate in G~d's covenant. The details of the
curses that will come upon us outweigh the blessings almost 3:1! Curses that
affect mind, body and soul, personal livelihood and community, your family and
those under your care.
Now, when I wrote the Dvar Torah I gave at my Bat
Mitzvah, on this very parsha, I focused on on those blessings and curses. I
spoke about why the curses would be so much more detailed and lengthy than the
blessings and I would be happy to debate my thoughts on the matter again.
However, today, I chose to go in a different direction.
The first section of this portion reminds us of a commandment that was first
mentioned in Shemot (Exodus) 23:19 - the commandment of בכורים/Bikkurim or first fruits. From Ki Tavo,
Devarim 26:2 "...you shall take of the first of every fruit of the ground
that you bring in from your Land that HaShem, your G~d, gives you..." and
26:10 "And now, behold! I have brought the first fruit of the ground that
You have given me, O HaShem! And you shall lay it before HaShem, your G~d, and
you shall prostrate yourself before HaShem, your G~d."
That, to me, is quite remarkable. To think, you have been
wandering through the desert for forty years and you have finally reached The
Promised Land. The land that G~d has brought us to. The land that we have
inherited. And now, you have even spent enough time in that land, working its
soil, tilling the earth, watering, waiting, watching, that that earth has born
fruit. If that were me, I would be thrilled. Ecstatic, in fact! And when I saw
that fruit, say, that delicious cherry tomato or raspberry on the vine, I would
pluck it and drop it into my mouth to savor my handiwork. Almost without a
second thought. And that, I believe, is exactly the point.
We often work so hard at something, whether it be a
professional degree, landing that new, great job, finding a partner and
starting a life together, that when we succeed in obtaining that
"fruit", we forget to look at our surroundings and offer blessings and
thanks for what brought us to that point. That, for me, is the lesson in בכורים/Bikkurim that
we can take from this parsha.
As we wind down the days of Elul, a traditional time for
stock-taking and review of your deeds and actions over the past year, I hope
you are able to look at your first fruits within their larger context. May we
all be blessed to bear many first fruits in our lives, and to have the courage
and self-awareness to give thanks and offerings for those fruits.
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