Parshat Ki Tavo; Deuteronomy 26:1 –29:8 By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Here at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy we are reminded once again of the obligation to set aside a tenth of the produce of the field as a tithe to feed the orphan, the widow, and the stranger. Mentioned earlier in Deuteronomy (14:22-29) the tithe although an annual gift was given to the sanctuary. But every third year the tithe was not sent to the sanctuary but remained locally and given to the Levites and the poor. The Levites, you’ll recall, were given no land of their own in the Promised Land. They had to depend upon the other tribes for sustenance just as the Children of Israel depended upon the Levites and the Cohanim for spiritual sustenance in the performance of their duties in the Temple or earlier in the Tent of Meeting.

There is a different system of tithing mentioned in Numbers.

But the reminder of tithing in this week’s portion is reminder of this special obligation to give the tithe at home in the third year.

There are always many requests for tzedakah. There are national concerns and local ones. There are emergency appeals for Israel and neighborhood needs. Our Torah portion reminds us that along with national obligations we also have local obligations. We cannot forget those in our midst. The Torah had a system for taking care of both the national and the local issues. Today we need to be mindful that our tzedakah and our charity giving must also reach those at home as well the national scene.

As we enter the season of Repentance, we are reminded that tzedakah is one of the three main pathways to teshuvah. Take some time to review how you give your tzedakah and where you give your tzedakah. Take some time to make sure you are addressing both the local and national and even perhaps international needs. And make sure that your giving is done with a spiritual mindset that our Torah does indeed teach us—that we are doing God’s work with our giving. We are God’s messengers that help to heal the world and repair the damage. Our gifts of tzedakah repair the tears in the fabric of society and also the tears in the fabric of our own souls!

Posted by Lee at September 5, 2006 01:06 PM