Ki Tavo; Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8
We have begun the month of Elul, last month of Jewish calendar. We are to now turn to the task of teshuvah, repentance and preparation for the coming New Year. Our tradition teaches that Elul is for examining ones thoughts, deeds, words and actions of the past year. So that we will be prepared on the first of Tishrei and for the 10 Days of Repentance leading to Yom Kippur to ask for forgiveness from God and our fellow human beings. Our inner work of plumbing the depths of our souls is to be a part of our everyday activities and our daily prayer life includes special additional prayers of forgiveness, confession and repentance. Some communities include the blowing of Shofar at the end of each morning worship service to remind the worshippers in dramatic fashion of their task. Rituals reinforce our task and help to build our faith.
The opening verses of the Torah portion describe an ancient ceremony. The words familiar to anyone who has participated in the Passover sederMy father was a wandering Aramaen who went down to Egypt few in numbers and sojourned there but there became a populous nation. These verses studied and commented upon during the Passover meal are part of a special ceremony that took place in the temple. By taking the first fruits of the harvest in a basket to the temple, and reciting the verses so famous now from our Passover seder an individual would in dramatic ritual fashion see exactly how Gods covenant was fulfilled. The harvest of the land God gave as fulfillment of the promise to Abraham is dedicated in the Temple and acknowledged as fulfillment of the covenant. This ceremony makes real for those involved Gods living presence among them. This is an example of a dramatic ritual that build our faith.
So too this portion describes an additional ceremony that involves the duty of tithing. Tithing is giving a tenth of every part of the yield of the field to help take care of those in the community who needed help, the orphan and widow as well as the Levites who had no land of their own. In addition to bringing the tithe to the temple there was a declaration of faith which includes the words Look down from your holy abode, from heaven and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey as You swore to our fathers. This ceremony called Viddui Ma-aser, (the Confession of Tithing) was later done only in certain years of the seven year cycle on the last day of Passover in the evening. But this confession of tithing outlined the covenantal relationship between God and the Israelites and of the mutual pact to care for one another, Israelites for God, God for Israelites and Israelite for Israelite. This is but another ritual that the words and the actions reinforce the living covenantal promise of land and harvest and faith.
Yet Parshat Ki Tavo is most known for its description of the blessings and curses that will come to the Children of Israel if they follow or do not follow Gods commandments in the Promised Land. In fact, a great ceremony is described in the portion, taking place at Mt. Gezerim and it neighboring mountain, Mt. Ebal. There are six curses and six blessings, one for each of the tribe. A third dramatic ceremony to reinforce the special relationship between the Children of Israel and God and reminds the people of their task to follow Gods laws in the Promised Land. In dramatic fashion this ritual reinforces the importance of following Gods mitzvoth.
Ceremonies, rituals, declarations of faith whether in ancient day or now, help us to place ourselves in a larger context. These ceremonies for our ancestors helped to build their sense of being a people and being a unique nation. The ceremonies of today do the same. And for both the ancients and for us, ritual reminds us of that covenantal promise that can be as true for us as it was for them.
Perhaps as you prepare for the New Year, you will think about your relationship to God, our covenant as a people, and how the observance of rituals and mitzvoth can deepen your experience of the sacred and the Divine.
Posted by Lee at August 31, 2004 10:41 AM
