Parshat Ki Tavo

In the morning you will say "Would that it were evening"

And in the evening you will say "Would that it were morning"

From your heart's fright with which you will be afraid

And from the sight of your eyes that you will see.

(Devarim 28:67)

 

And your life will dangle before you: This refers to the danger from the enemies in whose midst they dwell; they will fear day and night and not trust for their lives. For daily they will think that death and bereavement will enter their windows and their palaces, so that "in the morning you will say, 'Would that it were evening.' And in the evening you will say, 'Would that it were morning'". Reasons are given for both: if they say that their desire at night is "Would that it were morning" - this is due to "your heart's fright with which you are afraid" - meaning to say that they will yearn in the hours of fog or morning - in order to shed the fear of frightening sights which form in their imaginations and scare them in their dwellings. "And in the morning they will say 'Would that it were evening" - "from the sight of your eyes which you will see" - meaning that at sunrise they will say "Would that it were evening", so that we could hide from those who beat and kill us. And all this matter of fear and trepidation and quaking does not describe [only] Jews, but also those who have left the faith and worship other gods. For even though they receive wealth and honor and standing among the nations of the world, and are nobles and ministers in their nations for many years, yet the fear and trepidation do not leave them, and always their lives dangle before them. For the nations will always be their enemy, and the sword will forever lie on their neck.

(Abarbanel, Devarim 28:66)

 

From your hearts fright, etc - even where there is no [real cause for] fright, but only the fright of what your heart imagines.

From the sight which your eyes see - Because you are in real danger.

 (Haamek Davar Ibid., ibid.)

 

Would that it were evening - The Talmud explains that this refers to "yesterday's evening", and the morning is that of the previous day. But the plain meaning refers to the future, because this is the nature of people in trouble, they loath the present and yearn for the future, perhaps their condition will improve. And why the repetition - both morning and evening? To tell us that in vain will they in the morning yearn for evening, because when evening comes they will return to yearn for morning.

(R' Yitzchak Shmuel Reggio, ibid., ibid.)

 

Look down . . .  And bless . . .

Shlomo Fox

 With blessings and best wishes to

 my sister Rachel and to Mordecai

 on the occasions of their marriage!

Our parasha begins with the commandments of Bikkurim - the offering of the first fruits -  and the biur maasrot - disposal of tithes. It then tells of the ceremony of inscribing the Torah on stones and their placement on Mt. Eval, and of the blessing/curse ceremony above Shechem, on Mts. Eval and Grizim, detailing the blessings and the curses.

We shall deal with two subjects which may be learned from the parasha.

1. The importance of location.

In the commandment to bring the first fruits we are told to bring the basket "to the place which God shall choose"; later (in Prophets-Scriptures) we understand that the reference is to Jerusalem. The midrash teaches us that the obligation to bring the first fruits falls only upon the landowner, i.e., ownership of a location is a prerequisite for the observance of this commandment.

The parasha then proceeds to describe the inscription of the Torah on the stones with lime, and their erection on Mt. Eval, and then the ceremony of the blessings and curses on Mts. Grizim and Mt. Eval, mountains that lie above Shechem. The Book of Joshua concludes with the Shechem Covenant in which Joshua reprimands the nation and again makes inheritance of the land conditional upon the observance of the Covenant. What, then, is the significance of this particular location?

It would seem that there is an equilibrium of locations; Jerusalem for Judea, and Shechem for Israel (Joseph). Tradition ties Jerusalem to the Akeida - the Binding of Isaac - , whereas Shechem is related to the lust of the Dina incident - the 'Akeida of Dina - and the envy of the brothers as they sell Joseph - the "Akeida of Joseph". The ritual held in this particular place obligates us to clarify what the location of the event is to signify. It is clear that location is an important factor of the commandment, both as regards the bringing of the first fruits and as regards learning the ideal behavior at hearing the blessing and the curse.

2, The importance of the Word - The Importance of the Act

"And all these blessings/curses shall reach you…" We recall similar phrases at the conclusion of the Book of Vayikra, in Parashat Bechukotei, and in Parashat Re'eh, in which God tells us 'Before you' are the blessings and the curses, it is for you to choose.

R' Haayim ben Attar asks and answers (Ohr HaHayim, Devarim 28:27):

…and I find it proper to note, why are these consolations following the curses not presented here in the order in which the curses in Parashat Behukotei are recorded, and also to explain the necessity of multiplying the curses and not making do with the curses in Behukotei.

It seems that it was necessary to multiply the curses because the curses in Parashat Behukotei were directed to Israel in general, as is indicated by the use of the plural from beginning to end. This opens the possibility that if a portion of Israel improves their behavior, God will not factor in the sinning segment - this is indicated by all the curses of our parasha appearing in the singular.

It is important to differentiate between the value of an individual and the value of a part of Israel even though often the totality of Israel is referred to in the singular. For example, (ibid. v.23) "And the heavens that are above your [in singular form] head etc," and "God will bring upon you [singular form] a nation from afar" (v. 49). These phrases apply to a portion of Israel - even though they may be many, they are referred to in the singular for the above-mentioned reason… Now we may understand why consolation is not attached to them; consolation appears only in connection with curses applying to the generality of Israel, for He will never leave them to destroy them; He will remember His covenant with their fathers, He will also remember the land.

This is not the case with individuals - when they do evil, eternal fire will devour them. For so we find that God commanded to destroy a city in Israel and to leave it an everlasting rubble heap - the Ir Hanidachat-.[an entire town sentenced to total destruction because of idolatry], and needless to say one found guilty and sentenced to death by a court. What consolation can he have after death…"

From this commentary we can understand that -  the power of the curse notwithstanding -  for the generality of Israel there is consolation.

This conclusion seems implicit in the words of the Mishna quoted by Rashi in his commentary on the verse "Look down from Your holy dwelling place from the heavens and bless Your people Israel and the soil which You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Devarim 26:16): "Look down from Your holy dwelling place" - We did that which you decreed, now You do that which you have to do, as you said (Vayikra 26:3) "If you go by my statutes… I shall give you rains in their seasons".

Said Rashi, basing himself on the Mishnah (Maaser Sheni 5:13):

 Look down from Your holy dwelling place from the heavens" We did that which You commanded us, do You that which You promised us, "Look down from Your holy dwelling place from the heavens and bless Your people Israel" - with sons and daughters; "and the soil which You have given us" - with rain and dew and cattle offspring; "as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey" - in order to impart deliciousness to the fruits.

This derasha explains why the commandment of Bikkurim and biur maasrot appear before the blessing and the curse, in the sense of "Precede the illness with the cure". There is a relatively simple way to observe and to demand the terms of the blessing. Yet more, included in the observance of these commandments is concern for the other, for the Levite, for the stranger, for the orphan and the widow.

The midrash (Tanhuma (Buber) Parashat Naso, Article 15) teaches that there is a way to cause God's blessing to be present in the congregation - in the Priestly Benediction. The Midrash reads:

"So shall you bless" - That which is written "Look down from Your holy dwelling place from the heavens and bless Your people", and also David said (Shmuel II, 7:29): "May it please you, therefore, to bless Your servant's house, that it abide before You forever… May your servants house be blessed forever by your blessing."

Said the Congregation of Israel before the Holy One, Blessed Be He: Master of the universe, You tell the priests to bless us, we need but Your blessing "Look down from your holy dwelling in heaven."

Replied the Holy One, Blessed Be He: Even though I told the priest to bless you, I stand with them and bless you - therefore the priest spread their palms, to say that the Holy One stands behind us.

And so it is written: "There He stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice." (Song of Songs 2:9) "Gazing through the window" - through the fingers of the priests; "peering through the lattice" - when they spread their palms, therefore it says "Thus shall you bless them."

The Priestly Benediction, in conjunction with observance of the tithing commandments brings down God's existence to our world, God is in our midst. The Priestly Benediction empowers us to demand our due and to transform curse into blessing - and so we read in the midrash (Shemot Rabba (Vilna), Parasha 41:1):

"When He concluded he gave to Moshe" - thus began R' Tanhuma ben Abba (Daniel 9):

With You, O Lord, is the right, and the shame is upon us" . . . Said R' Nehemiah: Even when we do right, our actions look at us and we are ashamed, at no time do we demand forcibly, but when we dispose of our tithes, as is written "When you finish tithing" - what is written at the conclusion? "Look down from your holy dwelling in heaven."

Said R; Alexandroni: Great is the power of those who give tithes, for they transform the curse into a blessing. Usually, when Torah employs the word "hashkifa" - 'look down' - it is a term connoting sorrow, as is written, "And God looked down at the Egyptian encampment", and so with Sodom, as is written (Bereishit 19) "And He looked down upon Sodom." But here (in our parasha) this is not so."

If we fulfill our part, we may demand! We may request without shame!

With all this, there is need for clarification: Does this line of thinking open a window to hope in times of calamity?

In his derashot in the Warsaw Ghetto, Rav Kalman Kalmish Shapira, the Rebbi of Piaseczno [Poland], explains how he saw the Holy One "looking down" upon him. He expounds upon the words of Bavli (Sandhedrin 59b):

Rabbi Shimeon b. Manassia said: Woe for the loss of a great servant. For had not the serpent been cursed, every Israelite would have had two valuable serpents, he would send one to the north and one to the south to bring him costly gems, precious stones, and pearls. Moreover, one would have had fastened a thong under its tail, with which it would bring forth earth for his garden and wasteland. (soubriquet)

The Esh Kodesh ("The Holy Fire". The name given to Rav Shapiro's collected sermons) asks: Why of all animals was the serpent chosen to bring Adam precious stones?

He explains (according to the Yerushalmi, Peah, 1:1): Unlike other animals which act out of self- interest, the serpent's actions are dictated not by considerations of benefit, but by the command of God.

This being the case, we may imply the following: When we see someone acting not out of self-interest, there exists the potential for great good, but for this to happen, the curse must be neutralized. It is only the curse which prevents his positive actions. Therefore, says the Talmud, were it not for the curse, every man would have two serpents to tend his needs.

The Esh Kodesh elucidates the events of his day:

 According to this, when we see, heaven forefend, that they torture us and torment us in matters which do not in any way benefit the torturer and tormentor - affliction for its own sake - the revelation of retribution [din] in unnatural garb, we know from this that when we shall return and pray to God He will then deliver us with salvation through unnatural means . . . and this is also the ability of the Israelite person to strengthen himself midst these terrible catastrophes, these unnatural misfortunes , unnatural punishments, then also the strengthening is through unnatural means, for one cannot in natural terms understand how one can regain strength; therefore strengthening one's self also helps transform strict retribution into mercy [rachamim]…

…Everywhere the picture bodes badly and here it is transformed into good, because strengthening one's self will itself act to transform from bad to good and to bless Your people Israel, and bless Your nation Israel.

A year later (1941) he homiletically elaborates on the verses of the Bikkurim recitation (Devarim 26:6,7):

 And the Egyptians did evil to us and abused us and set upon us hard labor. And we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our abuse and our trouble and our oppression.

The moment it was written that God listened, the verse details what God heard - our abuse, our trouble, and our oppression, and, as we know from the Pesach Haggdah, every word symbolizes another form of affliction. The Esh Kodesh asks: "Why do the detailed evils not appear at the beginning of the description where it says "and they did evil"?

He replies:

The simple reason is that - as our Sages (Shabbat 13) said "Dead flesh in a living person does not feel the scalpel.: - We feel only the trampling on all our bones, our world is dark, neither day nor night, only confusion and bewilderment; it seems as though the entire world lies upon us squeezing and oppressing us until, Heaven forefend, we break,  -  but we do not feel each individual pain in all its force. Therefore, in "the Egyptians did evil to us" details of the abuse are not listed, because Israel did not feel each evil decree individually, but He, Blessed Be He, heard our voice and saw the details of each distress, as our Sages [in the Haggadah] taught…  and He had mercy and saved us.

I can hear the Rebbi of Piaseczno's method of text explication infusing hope. He succeeded in translating the "Redemption from Egypt" into hope for redemption in his day. He translated that which his eyes witnessed, the general suffering, the parasha's curses which materialize one by one and, at first glance, indicate "concealment of His face" - he still is able to see the presence of God's supervision in the fact that the oppression is done purposelessly, without benefit; in this the oppressors resemble the serpent, and this is the middat hadin- the quality of strict retribution, and if it is indeed middat hadin, prayer and good deeds can convert it into middat harachamim - the quality of mercy!

The importance of the location and the importance of the word and the act, obligate man to clarify what is dependant upon him, what is within him and within his power to do in order to change his destiny.

Shlomo Fox teaches in the Hebrew Union College and in Kolot

 

 

The Promise of the Land: End or Means

"You are to write on them all the words of this instruction… in order that you may enter the land" - said Rabbi Avraham: For the Lord will help you when the mitzvoth become obligatory, for this is the first mitzvah upon their entering the land. In my opinion, "in order that you may enter" alludes to all the words of the Torah, this is to say, you shall write on the stones all the words of this instruction immediately upon crossing the Jordan in order to enter the land, because it is for this Torah that you come there. Similarly, "Your servant and your maid may rest as one like yourself, in order that you bear in mind that you were a serf" -your servant and maid like you shall rest, so that you remember that you were a serf.. An alternate reason, write upon them all the words of this Torah so that it be for you a reminder, so that you will enter the land and conquer it, and inherit all those nations thanks to your bearing in mind the Torah and observing all its commandments.

(Ramban, Devarim 27)

 

For this Torah you are coming into the land - this is the rationale for the mitzvah of setting up the stones, for only by the merit of Torah did we merit inheriting the land.

(Rabeinu Bahayey, ibid.)

 

The Divine promise is always bound up with presenting man with a demand. Perhaps it may be said that the fulfillment of every mission is bound up with the fulfillment of the promise; the two are bound together, without any possibility of separation.

(Y. Leibowitz: Seven Years Of Discussion Of The Weekly Parasha, p. 898)

 

The blessing is contingent upon our moral standards

"And to set you most high above all the nations…" - Said Rabbi Levi, "What is this "elyon" ["most high"]? It is like this thumb [Trans. note: Also called "elyon"]. If you are meritorious, you will be above four fingers, and if not, you will be beneath four fingers. "The Lord your God will make you most high" - on condition; and if not, "the ger in your midst will rise high above you, higher and higher." "Blessed be you in your coming-in," on condition - on your coming into synagogues and houses of study. "And blessed be you in your going-out" - from synagogues and houses of study. "Blessed be you in the town, and blessed be you in the field." It would have seemed logical to say "Blessed be you in the field and blessed be you in the town," for with the produce one brings from the field is he blessed in the town! But what is taught by "Blessed be you in the town, and blessed be you in the field?" Should the opportunity of performing a mitzvah present itself in the city, say not "I was commanded only in the field, to set aside heave offerings and tithes outside [the town]". Said The Holy One, Blessed Be He, "In the town, too, open your hand." An alternative explanation: "Blessed be you in the town" - through those mitzvot which you perform in your house in the town, such as sukka, mezuza, and parapet. "Blessed be you in the field" - such as lekket, shichcha, and peah. Another possible explanation: Let man not say, "Had The Holy One, Blessed Be He, given me a field, I would have given tithes from it. But now that I have no field, I give nothing." Said The Holy One, Blessed Be He, "See what I wrote in my Torah, 'Blessed be you in the town' - those who dwell in the town; 'And blessed are you in the field' - those who have fields."

(Tanchuma, Ki Tavo, 4)

 

 

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