Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8
Moses continues his review of the Law begun in the previous portion, Ki Taytzay. He tells the people that when they enter the Land and settle it, they are to bring the first fruits as sacrifices. The ceremony for bringing this sacrifice is detailed. As part of this ritual, the priest recites a brief histroy of the Israelites - Abraham's/Jacob/s wanderings, the experience of slavery in Egypt, the Exodus, and ultimately the occupation and possession of the Promised Land.
Moses concludes his review of the Law with instructions about tithing. An individual's tithe is one-tenth of the harvest. This tenth part is divided and distributed among the Levites, the strangers, the orphaned, and the widowed.
Moses gives his final instructions to the people. Upon crossing the Jordan, the people are to set up 12 stones on Mount Ebal. The stones are to be covered with plaster and inscribed with the laws which Israel is to obey.
Ki Tavo concludes with a dramatic description of the recitation of the blessings and curses. The tribes are divided into two groups with Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin on Mt. Gerizim reciting "Amen" after blessings are pronounced, while the Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali tribes on Mt. Ebal respond "Amen" after each curse.
Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden
For your Shabbat table:
- Throughout the biblical period, prayer was largely unstructured, with each individual using whatever words and structure they chose. Are you comfortable with unstructured personal prayer, or do you prefer the structure of a service led by a rabbi or a hazzan?
- The history described in Ki Tavo later became the basis of the history told in the Passover Haggadah. In many prayers and Jewish texts, we are reminded to look upon ourselves as if we personally came out of Egypt. Why do you think the Passover story is so important to us as Jews?
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